Chapter 10
Chapter 10
The Kidnapping
The black envelope slipped from Julian Rossi's hand.
It landed on the restaurant floor beside shattered glass and overturned chairs.
Around him, guests screamed as security guards rushed people toward the emergency exits.
But Julian heard none of it.
His eyes remained fixed on the photograph.
Elena.
Sleeping peacefully in her hospital bed.
The picture had been taken only hours ago.
Someone had entered her room.
Someone had stood close enough to touch her.
And no one had noticed.
Nathan snatched the photograph from the floor.
"We're leaving. Now."
Julian didn't argue.
For the first time since finding Elena, fear outweighed every other emotion.
The black SUV sped through the rain toward St. Augustine Medical Center.
Nathan spoke into his earpiece.
"Lock down the maternity floor."
"No visitors."
"No exceptions."
A tense voice answered.
"Already on it."
Julian stared out the window.
"If they reached her once..."
He couldn't finish the sentence.
Nathan glanced at him.
"They won't get another chance."
But neither man truly believed those words.
Twenty minutes earlier...
Elena had finally fallen asleep.
The medication had eased her contractions.
The baby's heartbeat remained strong.
A young night nurse quietly checked the monitors before leaving the room.
Everything was calm.
Everything seemed safe.
Until the elevator doors opened.
A man in a white doctor's coat stepped out.
He wore a surgical mask.
An identification badge.
Blue medical gloves.
To anyone watching...
He looked like another physician beginning his evening rounds.
He approached the nurses' station with complete confidence.
"Room 417," he said.
"The obstetrician requested another ultrasound."
The nurse checked the schedule.
"I wasn't informed."
He smiled politely.
"Emergency request."
He handed her a printed form bearing the hospital logo.
Everything looked authentic.
The nurse nodded.
"I'll notify the patient."
"No need."
"I'll take care of it."
She thanked him.
The man walked calmly toward Elena's room.
Inside...
The monitors beeped softly.
Elena stirred as the door opened.
She smiled weakly.
"I thought the examination was tomorrow."
The man closed the door behind him.
Then...
Locked it.
Elena frowned.
"Doctor?"
Without speaking, he removed his surgical mask.
She had never seen his face before.
But she recognized his eyes.
Cold.
Empty.
The same eyes that had watched her apartment from across the street.
She instinctively covered her stomach.
"You..."
The man smiled.
"Mrs. Rossi."
"It's time to go."
Across town...
Julian's phone rang.
Maria.
He answered immediately.
"Maria?"
Her voice shook violently.
"Julian..."
"What happened?"
"There was a fire alarm."
"They evacuated half the floor."
"I can't find Elena."
Julian's face turned white.
"What?"
"She's gone."
The SUV accelerated.
Sirens echoed through the city.
Nathan called hospital security.
"No one leaves the building."
A frightened supervisor answered.
"We've already searched every room."
"She's not here."
At the hospital...
Chaos filled the maternity ward.
Doctors hurried from room to room.
Security officers questioned staff.
The surveillance team reviewed camera footage.
Julian arrived moments later.
He ran directly to Room 417.
The bed was empty.
The IV line had been torn from its stand.
One monitor still flashed a steady heartbeat.
No patient.
No Elena.
Only a single white rose rested on the pillow.
Julian picked it up.
Wrapped around the stem was a small card.
Five handwritten words.
She chose this herself.
Julian crushed the card in his fist.
"No."
Nathan examined the room.
"There was a struggle."
The bedside table had been pushed aside.
A broken bracelet lay beneath the bed.
Julian recognized it instantly.
It was the simple silver bracelet he had given Elena on their first wedding anniversary.
She never took it off.
Until now.
A security technician hurried inside.
"We found something."
They followed him into the surveillance office.
The cameras showed a doctor pushing a wheelchair down the corridor.
A pregnant woman sat inside.
Her head rested against the side.
She appeared unconscious.
Julian leaned closer.
"Zoom in."
The technician enlarged the image.
Elena's wrist hung over the armrest.
Her fingers moved.
Weakly.
Slowly.
She wasn't unconscious.
She was trying to leave a trail.
One finger traced something across the blanket.
Nathan paused the video.
"Can you sharpen it?"
The technician enhanced the frame.
A single letter became visible.
M.
Julian frowned.
"M?"
Another frame.
A.
Then...
R.
Finally...
E.
Nathan whispered,
"She's spelling something."
The technician advanced the footage.
Letter by letter.
M
A
R
E
K
Julian stared at the screen.
"Marek?"
Nathan's eyes narrowed.
"That's not a place."
"It's a name."
The footage continued.
The fake doctor entered a service elevator.
The doors closed.
The next camera should have shown him exiting.
Instead...
The screen went black.
Exactly forty-seven seconds of missing video.
When the image returned...
The elevator was empty.
Nathan looked at the technician.
"What happened?"
"I don't know."
"The recording was deleted."
Julian's jaw tightened.
"Someone inside the hospital helped them."
Meanwhile...
Elena slowly regained consciousness.
Her wrists were tied.
The vehicle beneath her bounced over uneven pavement.
Her head throbbed.
She tried to move.
Pain shot through her abdomen.
The baby kicked.
She whispered,
"It's okay..."
"I'm here."
A man's voice came from the front seat.
"She's awake."
Another voice answered.
"Good."
"We'll arrive in twenty minutes."
Elena forced herself to stay calm.
She looked through the small side window.
Dark water.
Shipping containers.
Tower cranes.
The docks.
They were heading toward the old industrial harbor.
Back at the hospital...
Nathan spread a city map across a table.
He circled the harbor district.
"If Marek is a person..."
He looked at Julian.
"Do you know anyone by that name?"
Julian searched his memory.
Nothing.
Then...
Something surfaced.
Giovanni.
Years ago, the old butler had once mentioned a former dock supervisor.
A man who disappeared after exposing corruption.
His name...
Was Marek Kovac.
Nathan immediately looked up the file.
One address appeared.
An abandoned customs warehouse.
Pier 17.
Julian was already moving toward the door.
Nathan called after him.
"We need the police."
Julian didn't stop.
"I've already lost eight months."
"I'm not losing them tonight."
Inside the moving van...
Elena felt another contraction.
The kidnapper looked back.
"Is she in labor?"
The driver cursed.
"Not yet."
"We're not ready."
The man in the passenger seat calmly pulled out his phone.
He dialed a familiar number.
"We have a problem."
The cold voice answered.
"What now?"
"The pregnancy."
A long silence followed.
Then came the order that chilled everyone inside the vehicle.
"If the child comes early..."
The voice remained completely emotionless.
"Save the mother."
Another pause.
"The baby..."
"...is not part of the plan."
The line went dead.
Elena had heard every word.
Tears rolled silently down her face as she wrapped her bound hands around her stomach.
"No..."
she whispered.
May you like
"You'll have to go through me first."
End of Chapter 10
