Chapter 9 - THE NIGHT EVERYTHING CHANGED

I don’t remember running upstairs.

I don’t remember opening doors.

I only remember one thing.

My daughter was gone.

“Isabella!”

Nothing.

I searched every room.

The bedroom.

The bathroom.

The guest rooms.

Nothing.

Then I found her stuffed rabbit on the floor.

The one she carried everywhere.

My hands started shaking.

Because children don’t leave their favorite things behind.

Unless they are scared.

My phone rang.

Unknown number.

I answered immediately.

“Where is my daughter?”

Silence.

Then a voice.

Beatriz.

“She’s safe.”

My entire body went cold.

“Where is she?”

“You need to listen to me.”

“No.”

My voice became hard.

“You listen to me.”

A pause.

“If anything happens to Isabella…”

“You won’t hurt me.”

Her voice sounded different.

Not confident.

Desperate.

“You think you know everything.”

“I know enough.”

“No.”

She whispered.

“You don’t.”

The line went quiet.

Then she said:

“Come alone.”

My grip tightened.

“Where?”

“The old villa near the coast.”

The abandoned property.

A place we owned but rarely used.

My mind started racing.

“Why?”

“Because we need to talk.”

“No.”

I looked around the empty house.

“You need to explain.”

She hung up.

I called Marcus immediately.

“She has Isabella.”

There was no hesitation.

“I’m coming.”

“No.”

“Sir—”

“I need you to do something else.”

“What?”

“Track the phone.”

A pause.

Then:

“Already doing it.”

I grabbed my keys.

For the first time in my life, I felt completely powerless.

Not because someone threatened my company.

Not because someone tried to steal my money.

Because my daughter was somewhere scared.

Waiting for me.

The drive to the old villa felt endless.

Every second felt like an hour.

When I arrived, the lights were off.

The house looked abandoned.

I stepped inside.

“Beatriz!”

My voice echoed.

Then I heard something.

A small voice.

“Dad?”

My heart almost stopped.

“Isabella?”

I followed the sound.

And there she was.

Sitting in a chair.

Safe.

But terrified.

I rushed toward her.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded.

But she was crying.

“I’m sorry.”

I held her.

“You have nothing to be sorry for.”

Then I looked up.

Beatriz was standing across the room.

And she wasn’t alone.

A man stood beside her.

Adrian.

The person behind everything.

He smiled.

“You really thought you could win?”

I stepped in front of Isabella.

“You made a mistake.”

Adrian laughed.

“And what mistake was that?”

I looked at my daughter.

Then back at him.

“You forgot one thing.”

“What?”

I moved closer.

“I’m not fighting for money.”

The smile disappeared from his face.

“I’m fighting for my daughter.”

Then the lights suddenly turned on.

And behind Adrian…

Were police officers.

Marcus had followed the signal.

Adrian’s face changed.

But the biggest surprise came next.

One officer walked forward.

“Mr. Alvarez.”

“Yes?”

“We need to talk to you about another piece of evidence.”

I frowned.

“What evidence?”

The officer looked at Beatriz.

Then back at me.

“Evidence that suggests someone tried to harm you months ago.”

The room went silent.

I looked at Beatriz.

She looked terrified.

May you like

THE MAID’S DAUGHTER

“GET OUT OF MY HOUSE,” HIS FIANCÉE TOLD THE MAID—THEN THE MAFIA BOSS LOOKED AT HER LITTLE GIRL“Get out of my house. And take that...

**MY HUSBAND CALLED ME A “BARREN LEECH”—HE DIDN’T KNOW MY MONEY WAS KEEP...

My husband threw his wedding ring at my feet and told security to remove the “barren leech” from the ballroom.He had no idea he wa...

MY DAUGHTER’S NOTE STOPPED MY WEDDING—AND EXPOSED MY BRIDE

MY DAUGHTER SLIPPED ME A NOTE BEFORE “I DO”—AND EXPOSED MY BRIDE’S PLANPART 1 — TEN MINUTES BEFORE THE VOWS“Daddy, if you marry he...

Because whatever they had found…

Was something even she couldn’t explain.