Chapter 692

The acrid scent of smoke assaulted Alexander's senses. He turned toward the factory entrance, his face hardening instantly.

Though this abandoned facility stood isolated, it bordered miles of dry woodland.

A single spark could ignite an inferno.

The entire mountain range would become a blazing hellscape.

The devastation would be catastrophic.

Alexander grabbed Officer Chambers' arm. "Get the fire department here now! We're losing control!"

The officer sprinted to his radio without hesitation.

While others scrambled for buckets and extinguishers, Alexander's piercing gaze swept across the warehouse.

He was searching for Isabella.

The kidnappers lay handcuffed on the concrete floor.

But their victim had vanished.

No cries for help. No traces of struggle.

The cavernous space took Alexander five agonizing minutes to search completely.

When he kicked open the control room door, the metallic tang of blood hit him first.

Fresh crimson streaks marred the steel table. His stomach twisted. That was Isabella's blood.

The gruesome scene unfolded in his mind.

Her kidney forcibly harvested while she screamed.

Guilt clawed at his throat.

He needed to find her. Needed to know if she still drew breath.

Alvin burst in, coughing. "Alexander! The wind changed direction! Flames are closing in!" Toxic fumes already snaked through broken windows.

Alexander pressed his sleeve to his mouth. "I know! But we haven't—"

"She's not worth dying for! That fire will consume this building in minutes!"

Just as Alvin tried dragging him out, a faint movement caught their attention.

"There!" Alvin pointed to a crumpled form near overturned crates.

Alexander lunged forward.

His hands shook when they made contact.

Her skin felt like marble in winter.

Isabella lay motionless, her pallor ghostly.

Fingers trembling, Alexander found the faint flutter beneath her jaw.

The weak pulse nearly buckled his knees.

Even hardened Officer Chambers recoiled at the brutality.

No criminal case had prepared him for this savagery.

Isabella needed a hospital. Now.

Alexander cradled her broken body and ran.

The jostling roused her slightly. Eyelids fluttered against the blinding light.

"Alexander..." she whispered through cracked lips.

"I've got you. Stay awake. Just hold on a little longer."

Behind them, Alvin organized the evacuation. "Take her! I'll secure the scene!"

The police cruiser's engine roared to life.

Hidden among the trees, Andrew exhaled shakily.

Seeing Isabella safe should have brought relief.

Instead, bile rose in his throat.

Half his men were in custody.

The trap had sprung perfectly.

All because he'd rushed in blindly.

The Alexander he'd known as a starving boy was gone.

In his place stood a ruthless adversary.

Sunlight dappled through the leaves as the police car sped away.

Andrew melted deeper into the shadows.

His skull throbbed from Daniel's earlier blow.

Every step sent fresh pain radiating through his body.

But he couldn't stop.

Not until he disappeared into the wilderness.

Isabella's skin felt like ice.

Alexander cranked the heat to maximum.

Her blood-soaked clothes had fused to her wounds.

The contrast against her waxen complexion turned his stomach.

He wrapped his coat around her fragile frame.

"Isabella, look at me." He tapped her cheek gently. "Daniel will kill me if I let anything happen to you."

At her brother's name, her lashes fluttered.

"Alexander... my brother... he's..."

Her whisper faded into silence.

She hadn't eaten in thirty-six hours.

Hadn't slept.

Hadn't stopped bleeding since the miscarriage.

Every syllable cost her dearly.

Her lips moved soundlessly as darkness claimed her again.