Chapter 23
The others dragged him off, cackling instead of helping. One of them clapped him on the back. “You got bested by a tied-up girl. Pathetic!”
I sat there breathing hard, my mouth full of copper, but I wasn’t scared. I was furious. Every hour I studied them. Who smoked more, who carried keys, who left their gun on the table when they played cards. I counted footsteps, memorized rotations. I was building my way out.
Then it happened. The moment I thought I was ready to strike, the warehouse door groanec open. Boots clicked inside, polished, expensive. Not the usual filthy mercenaries.
froze.
And then I saw them.
(vette’s parents walked in first, elegant and smug, like they owned the room. And behind them (vette herself. Dressed like she came from a gala, smirking like she had been waiting for this
noment all her life.
Well, well,” Yvette purred, eyes landing on me like poison. “The mighty Dahlia Castillo. Look: ike money couldn’t save you after all.”
Her mother added with a cruel smile, “You should have known, child. The world doesn’t nee
nother Castillo. Especially not you.”
My chest went ice cold. My blood boiled hot. Both at once.
Yvette,” I said slowly, staring straight at her, “you finally crawled out from hiding. Tell me-did i eel good paying men to do what you could never do yourself?”
she tilted her head, her lips curling. “Oh no, bitch. This is just the beginning. You thought you vere untouchable. Let’s see how untouchable you are now.”
clenched my fists against the rope until I felt skin split. Rage swallowed my fear whole.
MAXIMILIAN’S POV
t’s been hours since we got a report from our men that Dahlia was taken. My fists are still :lenched, jaw tight enough it might crack. Every second she is out there, tied up and hurt, I can eel it in my bones like someone’s hammering on my chest. I hate this. I hate feeling powerless.
Dr. Celeste paces behind me, voice trembling, but firm as ever. “Max, you lead this. I trust you. You are the only one I trust to bring her back safe.”
glance at her, grateful and furious at the same time. “Abuela, I swear, I am going to rip those pastards apart and bring her back myself. Nobody touches her.”
Don Castillo slams his hand on the table, muttering under his breath. “This is a failure. A stain ɔn everything we built. She should have never been vulnerable like this. I should have protected her better. I failed her.”
I step closer, voice low and deadly. “Abuelo, stop blaming yourself. I am going to fix this. Nobody hurts Dahlia and walks away.”
Dr. Celeste’s eyes flicker with worry. “Maximilian, they are ruthless. You must be careful, but do
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not hesitate. Her life is everything.”
The phone rings, shrill and urgent. I snatch it up. The voice on the other line is cold, merciless. They want one hundred billion. One hundred billion for her life. My stomach twists, rage flaring hotter than ever. Money is nothing.
slam the phone down, the receiver bouncing off the desk. “One hundred billion,” I mutter hrough gritted teeth. “They think money buys anything. They think they can play with her life.” Don Castillo’s hands curl into fists. “We need to pay it. One hundrebillion was small amount. We
ave to protect her. This is a matter of life and death.”
shake my head, snapping. “No. Nobody is buying her life from a pack of traitors. Not one cent. I vill get her back myself. I will get our tech men on this now. Every drone, every camera, every ignal. I want that warehouse tracked like I have eyes on it already.”
stomp over to the tech room, barking orders. “I need thermal scans, GPS triangulation, heat napping, everything. I don’t want a shadow of her to be left unchecked. I want to see her. I want > see her breathing. I want to see those bastards paying for every second of this.”
he lead technician swallows nervously, looking at me like I might snap. “Sir, our drones are repped, the thermal feeds are active, GPS intercepts online. We can triangulate her location ithin minutes.”
lean over the console, eyes scanning the screens. “Good. Make it fast. I don’t want to wait. I ant to know she’s alive, conscious, and ready for me to bring her home.”
- Celeste’s hand rests lightly on my shoulder, soft but grounding. “Maximilian, bring her back ring her back to me. Bring her back to all of us.”
stare at her, my voice low, full of promise and fury. “Abuela, I will. I swear on everything we are lobody touches my woman. Nobody.”
very finger, every screen, every piece of tech becomes a part of me in that moment. I can feel he rage burning like fire, but it is focused. I am going to bring Dahlia back, and when I do, the world will remember why messing with the Castillo family is the stupidest mistake anyone could
nake.
was finalizing the location when Austin arrived, looking like he had just stepped out of a storm f regret and guilt. He jogged up to me, soaked from the rain, and his voice carried that esperate edge I knew well. “Maximilian, I got reports from my men. Dahlia was kidnapped. I an help. Let me in on this. Please.”
studied him, eyes narrow, hand tightening on the tablet. My jaw clenched. “Austin, one wrong nove and you are dead. She comes first, not you. You understand that?”
He swallowed hard, nodding quickly. “I get it. I do. I just… I want to help. I cannot stand knowing she’s out there, alone, because of me.”
let out a slow breath, gesturing toward my men. “You follow orders exactly. No improvising. You stay with the flank. Nobody touches her but me. You slip up, and it’s over for you, Austin. Got it?” ‘Yes. I understand,” he muttered, his teeth clenched. I could see the guilt eating him alive, but
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there was no room for hesitation here.
I turned back to the tech division, pointing at the screens. “This is it. Warehouse coordinates confirmed. Thermal feeds show at least thirty armed men inside. They have reinforcements on the perimeter. I want simultaneous entry points. Demolition on the gates first, then we move in fast and precise. We don’t want her getting hurt in the chaos.”
My most trusted men, sharpshooters and demolition experts, nodded and began preparing. Austin’s men spread out along the flanks, tense and ready, guns glinting under the dim streetlights.
The rain hit harder as our convoy rolled in, engines low, tires slicing through puddles. My hand rested lightly on my pistol, heart thumping, adrenaline sharp in my veins. Scouts radioed in whispering over comms. “Multiple armed guards, heavy presence near main hallways. Reinforcements on standby.”
I muttered under my breath, more to myself than anyone else, “They picked the wrong night to touch my woman.”
Austin leaned closer, voice low, eyes scanning the screens. “Let’s see whom she chose afte this.”
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