CHAPTER 21 : THE BLUE DOT
*TWO WEEKS LATER*
Eleanora was walking down the road, talking on phone with one hand while carrying a parcel in which sat a 1 Kg fruit cake, with name 'Eth' written in capital followed by a heart made by fruit jam of red colour.
"I told you to wait for me, Ellie!" Ethan spoke from the other side.
"I will take a cab, Eth. Chill." Eleanora said as a smile formed on her face.
She had thought that she will need to take a lot of efforts so that Ethan won't remain angry over her.
The look he had given while leaving her behind along with Alexander had haunted her for every single day she stayed at the hospital.
But contrary to her expectations, Ethan had instead planned a short date after her return and even apologised for his rude behaviour back then.
He didn't question her, in fact not even mentioned Alexander's name once in front of her.
But as usual his goodness only made her feel overwhelmed and guilty, which was why today here she was, planning a small date for Ethan.
"No. It's already past 9 pm. Just send me your location, I am coming." Ethan said from the other side.
"No Eth. Promise me you are not coming! And it's just 9 pm. We have literally stayed out all night before this!" Eleanora said, worried that Ethan's care might ruin her surprise plan.
"Didn't you just say 'we'? I was always there with you. So I had no issues. But this time it is different. Please let me-"
"Nooooo!" Ethan was speaking when suddenly Eleanora shouted.
"Ellie! Ellie, answer me! Love what happened??" Ethan was beyond panic as there was no reply from the other side.
"Ellieee answer-" this time Ethan was almost shouting when the call went off.
Ethan immediately dialled her number, only to hear that the number was switched off.
He tried one last time before pressing some more keys and ultimately a map opened on his phone.
It showed a blue dot in middle of screen, locating the site where Eleanora's phone had been seen the last time, which turned out to be a narrow colony barely two hundred metres from main highway.
He zoomed in a little, taking in all the nearby areas before dialling another contact.
"Hey-" a boyish voice could be heard from otber side, but Ethan had already lost all his patience.
"Steven, mail me the footage from Lane 3 of Sunnyvale highway for the past five minutes. Within three minutes." Ethan ordered.
"There are no CCTV over there." Steven immediately answered in a serious tone.
"Anything nearby?" Ethan asked, his voice dripping from venom by the end of statement.
"Two shops in the same lane have CCTVs at their entry." Steven replied as sound of fast keyboard typing could be heard from his side.
"Send that." Ethan said before hanging up the call, while entering his mercedes, his heart beating loudly as he stepped on the gas pedal.
'Nothing will happen to my Ellie! She will be alright! She never goes against anyone and is so so good. Nobody can even think of harming her. I am simply overthinking. Ellie is alright!' Ethan said to himself as he sped past every vehicle, even breaking some of the traffic lights.
The Mercedes came to halt with loud noise, a contrast to the stark silent and dark surroundings.
He walked with quick steps while taking out his mobile phone, walking towards the place where the blue dot was seen. The blue dot started beeping, showing he was almost there when Ethan suddenly paused.
His eyes zoomed on the object that was lying on the floor - a crushed phone.
Ethan clutched his chest as he felt oxygen leave his body at that sight.
'No, no I am overthinking. Ellie must be alright! She would have accidently damaged her phone-' Ethan was nearly crawling towards the phone, struggling to breathe when his phone rang.
He looked at the caller, who was none other than Steven.
"I have sent the video-" Ethan didn't even let him finish the statement, before hanging up the call and opening his mail.
He nearly cussed all his past generations till the time the two videos were getting downloaded, impatient to survive another second without knowing how Ellie was!
As soon as the videos finished downloading, Ethan immediately clicked on the first one, as if his life depended on it.
The video footage belonged to a domestic bakery where Eleanora could be seen leaving with a box and was then out of sight.
Ethan paused for a moment before clicking the second video, praying he could find any clue, but to his dismay, the footage belonged to the exit of the lane, and unfortunately Eleanora never made it till the end.
"Fuck fuck fuckk!!! ELEANORAA!!" Ethan screamed loudly, his voice cutting through the silence like a sharp knife.
He once again opened the first video, slowing it down to watch every move from Eleanora's side. And this time he finally found something - in fact someone.
A man could be seen in the background, standing against a car while scrolling his phone.
As soon as Eleanora exited the bakery, he looked at Eleanora, who was busy talking on the phone.
Eleanora could no longer be seen but the man waited for another ten seconds before following in the same direction as Eleanora's.
Ethan zoomed into the man's image, taking a screenshot before sending it to Steven, asking him to find that damned man and car ASAP.
He locked his phone, taking in a deep breath before his murderous aura was back at its peak, ready to destroy the world for her.
*SOME ABANDONED FACTORY*
Eleanora opened her eyes to pitch blackness, struggling to see anything. It took her another moment to realise that her body was tied to a chair, while her mouth was taped tightly, not letting her move even a centimetre.
"Mmmmm! Mmhmm.. mmmhhh.. hmmm-"
"Finally you are awake." A man's bone-chilling voice interrupted her attempt to make any further move or noise, terrorising Eleanora for her life.
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- Kizy