Chapter 88: Her Biological Father

Michael’s POV

I was already inside the elevator when I noticed that Emerald had listened to my voice note.

I stood with my car keys in one hand and my phone in the other, staring at the WhatsApp conversation on the screen.

The voice note had been played, but there was no response. I frowned.

Under normal circumstances, I would not have given it much thought. Emerald had been in a grocery store when she sent her last message, and she said she was leaving because she felt as though someone was watching her.

She could have been busy paying for her groceries or driving back to her dorm. But something about the silence did not sit right with me.

I looked at the time again. If she had listened to my voice note, why then hadn’t she replied?

My thumb hovered over the screen as the elevator continued its descent. A strange feeling began to settle in my chest as my heartbeat increased.

I became more aware of the movement around me, the mechanical sounds of the elevator and the voices coming from somewhere beyond its doors. My senses sharpened without my consciously willing them to.

Draxen stirred. He had been quiet while I was preparing to leave my house, but he was restless now. Something was wrong indeed.

The thought entered my mind before I could stop it.

What if Emerald was already trapped?

What if she could not respond after listening to my voice note and not because she forgot?

My jaw tightened.

The elevator doors opened, and I stepped out immediately.

There was no reason to stand there and speculate when Emerald had already told me she felt unsafe. I walked quickly through the underground parking lot before breaking into a run.

My car was only a short distance away. I unlocked it and got inside. The engine had barely come to life when I pulled out of the parking space and drove toward the exit.

Just as my car reached the road leading out of the underground parking lot, my phone began ringing.

I glanced at the screen. Emerald was calling. The call was coming through WhatsApp.

Instantly, relief moved through me. Possibly, I had been overthinking the entire situation. Then I swiped across the screen and answered. Emerald’s voice entered my ear almost immediately.

"I didn’t touch anything!"

I held back from speaking because Emerald sounded scared. My whole body stiffened completely. Just as I was about to call her name, another voice cut in from the other side—a man’s voice, older and harsh.

"Don’t you dare try to pick up that phone, or I will put a bullet through your side!"

My grip tightened on the steering wheel. The brief relief I had felt vanished, and so did every doubt.

Emerald was trapped. A man was inside the vehicle with her, and he was holding a gun against her.

Anger rose inside me so quickly that Draxen reacted with it. I forced myself to stay silent.

The man did not know that Emerald had called me. That gave me an advantage, and I had no intention of losing it, so I quickly muted my side of the call. Then I drove out of the estate.

The road opened ahead of me, but I kept my attention on the call as much as the traffic would allow. I needed to hear where the man was taking her.

There was a brief silence from the other end, then Emerald spoke. "Where are we going?"

"Keep your eyes on the road!" The man’s response was sharp enough to make my jaw tighten.

A few seconds passed, then I heard him barking orders at her. "Take the next left at the intersection," he instructed. "Then keep driving for five kilometres."

My attention sharpened. I had been hoping for an opportunity to learn where Emerald was. And here it was.

Emerald asked, "Why should we follow—" Then she mentioned the name of the road.

I understood what she was doing immediately. She knew I was listening, so she was trying to give me their location.

Despite the situation, a grim satisfaction passed through me. She was frightened, but she was thinking.

The road name registered in my mind.

I stretched my senses outward and located it almost immediately. I changed direction without hesitation, moving toward the road Emerald had deliberately mentioned.

The man suddenly spoke again. "Do you think I’m a fool?"

The atmosphere on the other end of the call shifted. I sensed Emerald’s silence. Then the man continued.

"Your mother really thought I would die in prison."

My eyes narrowed.

"I bet she forgot to keep tabs on me."

At this juncture, everything fell into place. I knew exactly who had taken Emerald.

Some months ago, after first encountering her at the Mercer Technologies party, I had ordered a thorough background check on her.

That was when I learned about the circumstances surrounding her childhood.

Fifteen years ago, Emerald had been kidnapped by her biological father. The Hugo family had paid the ransom he demanded in exchange for her release.

Paul had taken the money and refused to honour the agreement. The Hugos had then involved the police.

Emerald had been rescued safely, and Paul had been arrested for kidnapping her and his other crimes.

He had been sentenced to fifteen years in prison.

I had understood why the information had not become widely known.

The details of the kidnapping and Emerald’s biological connection to Paul were never publicly disclosed. The general public knew the Hugo family as Emerald’s family, and very few people knew that she was not related to them by blood.

Until now, the information had been nothing more than a part of Emerald’s history. But the man on the phone had just confirmed everything I needed to know.

Paul had served his sentence, and now he had returned for Emerald.

My hands tightened around the steering wheel. Draxen’s rage pressed against my consciousness.

A mere human had taken Emerald and pressed a gun to her side, unaware that I was already on my way to him.