Jake
The hall around me fell into an almost surreal silence as I processed what I'd just watched, the echo of Laura's cold words and that final kiss with Jackson replaying over and over in my mind. I just couldn't believe what I saw and heard in the video. Laura was playing me all along and I suspected nothing. How could I have missed the signs? She seemed so in love with me. She was sincere. She craved me, she wanted me.
Thinking about everything all again, and as devastating as it was to think she could betray me like that, something just didn't sit right.
Something was definitely wrong. There was no way Laura lied for so long and I didn't notice.
I looked at Moira, my thoughts spinning. Her face was a mask of sympathy, but that sympathy felt off, too neat, too convenient. My gaze flicked back to the phone, replaying Laura's face in my mind. The tone of her voice, the tension in her eyes, the way she looked so stiff when Jackson kissed her... almost like she'd flinched.
Then it struck me. In the video, Laura's hands were tight in her lap, fingers gripping each other in a way she always did when she was nervous or stressed. My gut twisted. If Laura had truly betrayed me, why would she look like that? She was scared, and it was obvious from the way she was acting in the video. Her face and body screamed for help.
My mind drifted to the night we'd spent together, to how she'd opened up about her fears and her past, and I knew she wasn't someone who would lie this convincingly, not without something forcing her hand.
My gaze shifted back to Moira, who was watching me, her eyes widening slightly as if she was calculating my reaction. Suddenly, every word she'd just told me replayed in my mind. How she'd supposedly tried to warn me but was "overpowered" and tied up, left behind like a pawn when Laura and Jackson fled. It all sounded good on paper, but where were the signs of a struggle? She didn't have a single scratch on her.
There was no way she fought with two people, especially a man, and there was no sign on her.
I took a step toward her, feigning acceptance. "I appreciate you trying to help me, Moira," I said softly, keeping my tone neutral. "If what you're saying is true… if Laura was really planning this with Jackson all along, then maybe I should've listened to you sooner."
"I'm so sorry, I was so blind to your love. Now I've lost money and back where I started." I let out.
Moira's eyes flickered with a glimmer of satisfaction, and that told me everything I needed to know. "Don't beat yourself up too much. Atleast, I'm here and thankfully, I was looking out for you, Jake," she murmured, feigning sympathy. "I couldn't stand by and let her ruin everything you've worked so hard for. Everything we worked and still working for." She chimed in.
"I know, I know," I said, forcing a calm expression. "You've always looked out for me, haven't you?" I moved closer and, carefully, reached out to untie her hands. The look of relief that crossed her face was almost laughable.
Once her hands were free, I gave her a reassuring smile. "Let's get you into the car so someone can get you checked. Are you sure they didn't injure you? Should I take you to the hospital or get an ambulance." I suggested, nodding toward the car outside.
"Ohh come on, Jake, look around you. We are in the middle of nowhere in an abandoned building. You really think calling an ambulance is the right solution. They didn't injure me and I'm fine since you're here now… for me." She let out with a smile.
"Let's just go to the car then." I chimed in while she nodded.
She followed me, clearly convinced that her plan was working. Once we were in the car, I quickly hit the child lock, sealing her in before stepping back outside and facing my security team.
"Jake! Jake!!" She kept screaming while slapping hard at the door but I didn't flinch.
I motioned to my head of security, Frank, who came forward immediately. "Get Laura's location," I said in a low, urgent voice. "Now. Check the tracker in her necklace."
Frank nodded and began typing rapidly on his handheld device. I'd slipped the tracker into the pendant just before the event, knowing Jackson was still lurking around. I never thought I'd need it so soon, but thank God I'd been cautious. If Moira was lying, and every instinct told me she was, Laura was in danger, and every second counted.
As Frank worked, my heart pounded, anxiety building in my chest. I needed to find her, to make sure she was safe. I couldn't shake the memory of her face on that video, the way she looked almost… haunted.
Frank's voice broke through my thoughts. "Got it, sir. Her location is still in the vicinity, not too far from here." He pointed at the map on his device, and I could see the dot indicating the tracker. It wasn't moving, which worried me more than I cared to admit.
"Let's go," I said, keeping my voice steady even though every instinct was screaming at me to move faster. I quickly briefed the team. "She could be injured or being held against her will. Approach carefully, but cover every possible escape route. I don't want anyone slipping through."
Frank nodded, rallying the rest of the team, and soon we were spreading out across the nearby buildings and alleys, searching every shadowy corner for any sign of her. I went with Frank, my eyes scanning the dark surroundings, heart racing with every step. My mind kept flicking back to the small tells, the way she'd looked so off in that video.
After several tense minutes, Frank held up his hand, his gaze sharp. "Over here, sir."
I followed him to a narrow alley where the tracker signal was strongest, my heart hammering in my chest. I spotted something glinting faintly in the moonlight just a few feet away, and my stomach dropped as I moved closer, dread pooling inside me. Reaching down, I picked up the pendant.
It was her necklace, the one I'd given her before the event, now broken, the thin chain snapped as if in a struggle. But Laura was nowhere to be seen.
A chill ran through me as I stared at the broken pendant in my hand, my mind racing. If the necklace was here, abandoned, it could only mean one thing, she'd been taken…