Chapter 70
Chapter 70
Zac frowned immediately.
From the moment Winter returned to her building to the second Zion found her missing, Chris was the only person who had appeared.
“It had to be him. He must have used some other method to smuggle her out,” Zion declared firmly. He turned to gather his men, ready to head straight to the Xander Corporation and demand answers.
“Wait. Let me make a call first.” Zac pulled out his phone and dialed Chris’s number.
The call rang until it went to voicemail.
No answer.
He held out his hand to Zion. “Where is Winnie’s phone p>
“Right here. Just in case, I set her screen to stay on after I hung up on you p>
Zac nodded. However, he didn’t scroll through her contacts for Chris’s number. Instead, he quickly dialed her emergency speed–dial. He knew Winter had two emergency contacts set up.
One was Chris.
The other was William.
In the main conference room at Xander Corporation, a senior executive meeting was underway.
Chris sat at the head of the table, his expression cold and severe.
He was usually reserved, but today he seemed carved from ice. The tension in the room was suffocating.
The executives sat stiffly, reporting their updates with extreme caution, afraid that the slightest misstep would set him off.
The phone on the table lit up.
An incoming call from Zac.
The image of Winter putting food onto Zac’s plate at the restaurant flashed through Chris’s mind. His lips pressed into a thin line before he forced his gaze away.
He glanced at the marketing director, who was nervously swallowing, and said flatly, “Continue p>
The screen went dark.
A second later, it lit up again.
Earlier, when Chris had glanced at his phone, the marketing director had thoughtfully paused mid–report.
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The icy look Chris gave him for stopping had nearly frozen him in place.
So this time, he didn’t dare hesitate. He kept talking.
Just as he was wrapping up his presentation, the sharp scrape of a chair echoed from the head of the
table.
Chris closed his hand around the still–vibrating phone, stood up, and walked out without a word. As he passed, he made a brief gesture to Gavin.
Gavin inclined his head and turned to the executives. “We will pause here p>
Outside the conference room, Chris looked down at the name flashing across the screen. His dark eyes were dangerously unreadable.
He swiped to answer.
It wasn’t her voice on the other end.
“Chris, did you take Winnie p>
Unconscious, Winter lay slumped across the backseat of a van, her body swaying with the motion.
The tires rolled over a rock, and the vehicle jolted sharply.
She frowned. Her eyelids trembled before slowly cracking open.
Memory flooded back.
Chris had grabbed her in the elevator and his injured back had slammed into the wall. She had seized the chance to escape and watched the elevator doors close between them.
She then made it to her apartment and was just about to call Zac when a hand in a black glove clamped over her mouth.
Cold sweat spread down her spine.
Kidnapping.
She realized she was in a van. Outside the window, trees blurred past. The road was uneven, the ride so
rough it made her nauseous.
The moment she shifted, a harsh unfamiliar voice snapped from the driver’s seat.
“If you don’t want to die, don’t move p>
She froze and looked toward him.
Even from the side, she could tell he was young, around her age.
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There was no one else in the vehicle.
“Who are you?” she asked.
He didn’t answer.
She forced herself upright just as the van came to a sudden stop.
The man got out, yanked open the back door, and grabbed her arm.
“Get out p>
The cold wind hit her the moment her feet touched the ground. She shivered uncontrollably.
They were surrounded by mountains, their peaks capped with white. The terrain was steep and jagged. The road ended there.
Wind roared through the empty valley, producing a low, hollow sound that almost resembled a wail.
Before she could figure out where they were, he dragged her forward.
She stumbled several times, nearly falling, but he didn’t slow down. His grip tightened, hauling her like dead weight.
Suddenly, he shoved her to the ground.
Pain shot through her, and her vision blurred for a moment. When it cleared, her breath caught in her
throat.
A dark, weathered tombstone stood directly in front of her.
P
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Florence
A passionate storyteller who brings emotions to life through her words. When she’s not writing, she finds peace nurturing her garden.