Now You Want Me? Too Late

The sound reached Evelyn’s ears. "Elena?"

No reply came.

A masked man quietly dragged Elena away.

Inside the cubicle, Evelyn frowned.

"Strange. She told me she would be waiting for me. Has she left already?"

She stood up, found her stick, and came out of the cubicle. "Elena, are you still here?"

Tilting her head slightly, she listened carefully.

The restroom was eerily silent. She could tell no one was there.

"You left already." She was a bit disappointed. "You know I can’t see. Yet you left me alone."

The words sounded unbelievable even to her ears.

’No, Elena is too thoughtful to leave a blind person alone.’

A moment later, another possibility crossed her mind. Her doubts faded, replaced by a mischievous smile.

"You are hiding, aren’t you?" She shook her head in defeat. "Okay, stop playing games with me. Take me back to the restaurant. I am hungry."

To her surprise, she didn’t get any response.

The smile froze in the corners of her lips. "Elena, come out," she said, this time a little louder.

Uneasiness crept into her voice. "This is not funny anymore."

Holding out her stick, she moved forward cautiously. Suddenly, her foot struck something.

She crouched down and reached toward it.

"What is this?" Her fingers brushed against a familiar shape. "A phone?"

She picked it up. An ominous feeling settled in her heart.

"Could it be Elena’s phone?" she wondered, confused and worried at the same time. "Why would she leave her phone like this? Where could she go? Is she okay?"

Her heart trembled at the thought that something might have happened to Elena.

Just then, she heard footsteps entering the restroom. She lifted her head frantically, hoping that Elena was back.

"Elena, is that you?"

"Excuse me! Do you need help?"

It was not Elena’s voice.

Evelyn felt a cold shiver crossing down her spine. "Did you see Elena?" she asked anxiously. "My sister-in-law?"

The woman looked at her closely and quickly realized she was blind. "There is no one here. I didn’t see anyone outside either."

Evelyn’s heart dropped. She was now certain that Elena was in danger. Or her phone wouldn’t have been found lying on the floor.

"Help me," she said. "I am blind. I need to call my brother."

The woman panicked, sensing the urgency in her voice. "Okay. Tell me his number. I’ll call him."

On the other end, Elias stared at the screen, hoping to get a reply from Elena. But nothing came.

Then the screen lit up, an unknown number blinking.

He frowned slightly as he answered the call. Unexpectedly, he heard Evelyn’s trembling voice.

"Elias, come over. Something is not right. Elena is missing."

"What?" Elias jumped to his feet. His heart lurched violently. "What do you mean she is missing?"

He was already striding out of the restaurant.

"I-I don’t know," Evelyn stammered through her tears. "She was right here with me. She said she would wait for me, but when I came out, she was gone."

Fear tightened around Elias’s chest. "I’m coming. Stay there."

His expression darkened instantly. The air around him seemed to grow colder. Guests and staff instinctively stepped aside as he stormed down the corridor toward the restroom area.

When he arrived, he found Evelyn standing near the entrance with another woman. Her face was deathly pale, and tears streamed continuously down her cheeks.

"Eve." He rushed over.

"Elias!" The moment she heard his voice, Evelyn broke down completely.

He pulled her into his embrace.

Evelyn clutched his shirt tightly, her entire body trembling. "I’m so scared," she sobbed. "I can’t find her."

"Don’t worry," he said, forcing calm into his voice despite the panic clawing at his own chest. "I’ll find her."

With her shaking hand, Evelyn held up the phone she had picked. "I found this," she said. "Is it Elena’s phone?"

The instant Elias saw it, he recognized it. He snatched it from her hand. "Where did you get it?"

"Inside the restroom. It was lying on the floor."

Elias’s jaw twitched.

Elena would never leave her phone behind like that. Something had gone terribly wrong with her. His mind was losing. But he forced himself to think rationally.

"The driver will take you home. I’m going to find Elena."

He walked away, dialing a number. "I need access to the surveillance footage at the Grand Meridian."

His voice was frighteningly calm.

"Now. My wife is missing. If anything happens to her, I’ll burn down the whole city."

"Mr. Rowan, calm down." Ryan sounded anxious on the other end of the phone. "I’ll tell the manager right away. And I’m coming."

The call ended.

Elias shoved the phone into his pocket and strode down the corridor. Every muscle in his body was rigid. His pulse hammered violently in his ears.

Dark thoughts flooded his mind one after another.

’Who took her? Was she hurt? She must be scared. She must be calling me.’

The mere thought made his blood boil.

The hotel manager hurried toward him with alarm written all over his face. "Sir... Mr. Rowan... I didn’t know you were here."

He was shaking.

When Ryan had informed him that the hotel’s owner was on-site and that his wife had disappeared, he had felt the ground had slipped beneath his feet.

He had nearly collapsed on the spot.

"I-I’ve already ordered security to pull up all surveillance footage," he stuttered nervously. "We’ll find Madam as soon as possible."

Elias turned his head slowly toward him.

The manager stepped back unconsciously. The fury in his eyes made his legs weaken.

"Pray that she is unharmed." Elias ground out those words through his bared teeth. Every word sounded like a dead sentence. "Or you will be done."

The manager trembled visibly. "We will find out what exactly happened with her. Please, this way."

He hurried ahead, leading Elias toward the security room.

Meanwhile, the masked man dragged Elena into a room. Two more men were already waiting inside. When they saw Elena’s unconscious form, ugly smiles spread across their faces.

Their eyes roamed over her body hungrily.

"She is beautiful," one of them drawled, licking his lips. "Tonight will be fun."

"She’ll make us rich," the other one said.

The masked man threw Elena onto the bed. Her body sank into the mattress, completely motionless.

"Set up the camera," he commanded. "Hurry up. We don’t have much time. Or her husband will be alerted."

"By the time he finds her, we’ll have had sex with her."

The three men burst into laughter.

One of the men adjusted the camera while another stepped toward the bed.

His eyes glinted with lust as he stared at her. A lecherous smile touched his lips.

"She is attractive," he murmured, brushing his finger down her neck to her cleavage. "I can’t wait to have her."

He impatiently started unbuttoning her shirt. When her pale skin came to his view, he laughed vilely.

The man behind the camera zoomed in on her, starting the recording.

When he finished unbuttoning her shirt, he pulled it out of her body and tossed it aside. "She is even more gorgeous without her top. I’ll fuck her hard tonight."

His hands moved toward her breasts, eyes wide with greed and lust. Just then, the door exploded inward.