Chapter 212: Cedric, the kidnapper

The car finally stopped.

Evelyn had no idea how long they had been driving. Her body ached from sitting in the same position, and her cheek still burned from the slap.

The door opened.

One of the men grabbed her arm and pulled her from the car roughly.

Evelyn stumbled onto the ground. She looked around with horror and desperation.

They had brought her to an old, abandoned building far from the city. The place was surrounded by thick bushes and broken concrete walls. There were no nearby houses, no streetlights, and no people.

The windows were covered in dust, some of them broken. The walls were stained and cracked, and the air smelled damp and rotten.

Evelyn’s heart sank. No one would find her here. She struggled against the man’s hold.

But the man dug his hard nails into her flesh as he dragged her inside.

A single weak bulb hung from the ceiling, barely illuminating the large room. There was almost nothing inside except a few old chairs, a wooden table, and some dirty mattresses pushed against one wall.

They forced Evelyn into a corner.

"Sit there."

She refused to cooperate. "Let me go."

One of the men grabbed her shoulders and shoved her down. Before she could get up, they tied her wrists behind her back. Then they tied her ankles. The rope dug painfully into her skin.

Evelyn struggled against it.

"Untie me," she demanded.

The men only laughed.

"Look at her." One of them crouched in front of her. "The princess still thinks she can give orders."

Another man laughed. "She doesn’t understand where she is yet."

Their eyes moved over her with cold amusement.

Evelyn felt exposed and vulnerable under their stares.

They looked at her as if she were nothing more than a helpless captive they could toy with whenever they wanted.

Fear crawled through her body.

She pulled her knees closer and tried to move farther into the corner, but the ropes made it impossible.

"Please, let me go," she whispered.

The men burst into laughter.

"Once you are here, there is no turning back, princess," one of them said. He stepped in closer. "Whether you can leave this place or not depends on your brother. If he fulfills our demands, we’ll let you go."

Tears filled Evelyn’s eyes.

She wanted to go home. She wanted to hold her son. She wanted to hear his little voice calling for her.

Then Ian falling onto the ground and rolling came rushing to her mind.

She started sobbing. "Ian."

"Stop crying," the man shouted. "Or I’ll kill you."

Evelyn tried to control herself. But the tears kept falling.

"I’m warning you." The man’s expression hardened. "If you keep crying, I’ll put a bullet in your head."

Evelyn immediately lowered her head and pressed her mouth against her arm. She was terrified. She had never felt this helpless in her life.

The men continued talking and laughing among themselves while she sat tied in the corner. One of them opened a bottle and began drinking. Another started eating from a packet of food.

They behaved as though nothing unusual was happening.

Evelyn’s mind returned to the restaurant. She recalled Maya standing close to Ian and holding his hand.

The scene had made her so furious that she immediately decided to leave. Now she regretted it.

She closed her eyes tightly. If only she hadn’t left, if only she had stayed and listened to Ian, none of this would have happened.

Then she remembered the guard stopping her outside the mansion.

’Madam, I’ll accompany you.’

But she had refused. ’No. I’m meeting Ian. I want to spend some private time with him. I don’t want anyone following us.’

The guard had hesitated.

But she had shot him a cold look and stopped him firmly.

In the end, the guard had agreed not to follow her.

Now, when that memory returned, regret slammed into her chest even harder.

If only she hadn’t dismissed him and had allowed him to come, she wouldn’t be here now.

Then her thoughts returned to Ian. Her heart began pounding.

She remembered seeing him running after the car.

’Is he safe? Why did he follow me? Why didn’t he stay inside?’

Her chest tightened.

"Ian, you fool." Fresh tears filled her eyes. "Why did you chase me? Why couldn’t you stay inside with Maya?"

A bitter ache spread through her heart. "Didn’t you always care about her?"

She remembered all the years she had spent waiting for him. All the times she had felt like she was nowhere in his world. And yet, when she had walked away from him, he had chased after her without hesitation.

She swallowed painfully.

’He is hurt because of me.’

Guilt pressed heavily on her. She lowered her head as tears dropped onto the floor.

What Evelyn didn’t know was that Ian had never once thought about his own safety.

The moment he saw her being taken, he had only thought about saving her. He wouldn’t turn back. And he wouldn’t hesitate to put himself in danger for her.

Ian had already arrived at the abandoned house.

The building stood in complete darkness except for a faint light coming from one of the rooms.

He parked his car several meters away and got out. Keeping low, Ian moved toward the building. His heart was pounding violently.

Every instinct told him this was dangerous. But Evelyn was inside. That was what pushed him forward.

He couldn’t leave her in danger.

’Don’t be scared, Eve. I’m coming. I’ll take you out of here, no matter what.’

He reached the side of the building and found a partially open window. Ian slowly climbed through.

He landed silently on the floor. He looked around, searching for the familiar face. Then he heard voices.

Ian moved toward them. He stopped behind a wall and cautiously looked inside. His blood boiled.

Evelyn was there. She was sitting on the floor in the corner. Her wrists and ankles were tied. Her hair was disheveled, tears streaked her face, and one side of her cheek was still red from the slap.

Ian’s fists clenched.

One of the men was sitting at the table, drinking and eating as though he had nothing to worry about. Another man stood nearby, keeping watch. The others were sitting on the floor, playing cards.

Ian wanted to rush inside. He wanted to tear them apart. But he forced himself to stay hidden.

There were too many of them. He couldn’t fight them. He needed help. Quietly reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his phone and sent the location to Elias.

He even took several pictures of the men and the surroundings. He sent all the photographs to Elias.

’Come here quickly.’

Before he could send the message, footsteps echoed through the hallway.

The men immediately stopped talking.

Ian froze. ’Someone is coming.’

He ducked.

The door opened. A man stepped inside.

Ian’s eyes widened. His entire body went cold. He knew that face.

Cedric Sterling.

’Why is he here?’ Ian wondered in a daze.

Cedric slowly walked into the room and looked toward Evelyn. A faint smile appeared on his face.

Evelyn lifted her tear-filled eyes. She stared at him in disbelief.

"You?" She gritted her teeth. Anger surged. "It’s you who kidnapped me. Why?"