16. Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Sixteen
Amelia
T he phone call hit me like a punch to the gut. I felt the blood drain from my face as the voice on the other end spoke in a cold, menacing tone.
“If you want to see your best friend alive, come to Zampalan Park. Come alone. Any mistake... I won’t hesitate to kill her.”
“What!” I screamed.
My stomach twisted, and before I could even gather my thoughts, the line went silent. I stood frozen, staring at the phone in my hand, the words still echoing in my mind.
"Amelia, what's wrong?" Aidan’s voice broke through the fog of panic in my mind. I could feel Finn’s piercing gaze on me, but I couldn't look away from the screen, my hands trembling.
"It's... Sienna," I whispered hoarsely, my heart hammering in my chest. "They've got her."
Finn’s face darkened in an instant, but before he could speak, I pressed the phone back to my ear, my voice trembling.
"Please, I need to speak to her. Please, give her the phone."
The voice on the other end paused, as if considering it, before a cold chuckle filled the air.
"You want to speak to her?"
I could hear the faint sound of muffled crying in the background, and my blood ran cold.
"Please," I begged, my voice breaking. "I need to hear her voice. Please, let me talk to Sienna."
There was a long, tense pause before they finally relented.
A moment later, the phone was passed.
"Sienna?" My voice cracked as I spoke her name, the desperate need to hear her answer driving me to the edge of tears.
The first thing I heard was the unmistakable sound of her screams, sharp, frantic cries filled with pain. My heart twisted in agony as her voice wavered through the phone.
"Amelia! Please, help me! They're hurting me!"
"Sienna!" My voice was raw with panic. "Please, just tell me where you are. I’ll come for you, I swear I will…just stay with me!"
But Sienna's voice, though faint and filled with terror, was barely above a whisper.
"Amelia... they…" Her words were cut off by another scream, more tortured than the last.
"Sienna!" I shouted, pleading with them. "Stop hurting her! Please, I’ll do whatever you want, just don’t hurt her."
The voice on the other end laughed, the sound hollow and malicious.
"You have to come alone, Amelia. You make one wrong move, and she dies. Understand?"
I could barely breathe, my chest tight as I struggled to hold it together.
"Please, I’m begging you," I cried, my eyes filling with tears. "Don’t hurt her, I’ll come alone. Just... just don’t hurt my friend!"
Another scream from Sienna pierced the phone, flooding me with rage and terror. I slammed my fist into the table, the impact rattling me, but it did nothing to stop the crushing helplessness.
"You’re running out of time," the voice said coldly. "Zampalan Park. You have one hour. Come alone. If you don’t, you’ll never see your best friend again."
The line went dead.
I stood there, phone in hand, the silence ringing in my ears as my world spun out of control. "Amelia, listen to me," Finn said, gripping my shoulders. "You can’t go alone. We’ll go with you."
“No,” I snapped, tearing away from him. “I’m not risking Sienna’s life! She needs me, Finn!”
I turned to Aidan, my voice shaky but filled with desperation.
"I need your help. I need... I need a way to get there quickly, without anyone seeing me. They said I have one hour, and if I don’t do exactly what they want, Sienna’s dead."
"You’re not going alone," Aidan’s expression was unreadable, but his jaw tightened.
I shook my head, the panic threatening to drown me.
"I have to. I have to do this on my own. If you come with me, they’ll kill her. They said so."
Aidan’s eyes hardened, but he didn’t argue. Instead, he moved toward the door, his voice cold but commanding.
"We’ll make sure you’re not followed. You’ll get there. But we’ll be watching from a distance. You’re not going into this blind, Amelia."
I wanted to protest, to tell them I could handle it myself, but I couldn’t. The fear of losing Sienna was too much, and I didn’t care who I had to break to get to her.
“I can’t lose her,” I whispered, my breath ragged as I turned to Finn. “I just… I just can’t lose her.”
Finn reached for me; his grip gentle yet firm. "We’ll do whatever it takes to bring her back, Amelia. You’re not alone in this."
I felt like I was suffocating, the panic threatening to tear me apart as I watched Aidan dial the phone. His face was a mask of tension, his eyes flicking between Finn and me.
“Julian,” Aidan said, his voice cold and efficient as he placed the phone to his ear. “Track the number that called Amelia. I just sent it to you. Find out where it’s coming from. We need answers, fast.”
I tried to breathe, tried to steady my mind, but my thoughts kept spiraling back to Sienna.
After what felt like an eternity, Aidan hung up and turned to us.
“It’s Orson’s doing, he’s the only one I can think of that plays this dirty and besides, he tried to kidnap Amelia,” he said, his eyes narrowing with the fury of old grudges.
Minutes later, the phone rang again. Aidan’s expression darkened as he listened, his jaw clenching.
“The IT team is having trouble tracking the number. The SIM card’s broken, but they’ve managed to track the province where it was purchased,” he said as he turned to Finn and me.
Aidan’s eyes flickered with controlled anger.
“Surround the area. Get my men there, undercover. We’re not letting anyone jeopardize Sienna’s life,” he said to Julian over the phone.
“Aidan, what if we track Sienna’s phone instead? It might give us a lead on where Orson is hiding,” Finn spoke, his voice firm.
Aidan’s eyes flashed with agreement. He grabbed the phone again and barked orders to Julian. Minutes later, he hung up.
“It’s done. We have her phone’s location.”
“I’ll get my pack to surround the area. We’ll take care of things from our side,” Finn said.
Aidan’s eyes were cold as he glanced at Finn.
“Don’t forget to tell them to use a scent removal spray. The last thing we need is a vampire sniffing around and ruining this mission.”
“Scent removal?” I asked.
“A vampire can a sniff a werewolf that’s nearby. Hence the scent removal, how do you know about that Aidan?” Finn asked.
“I’ve been on earth long enough to know that” Aidan said.
Finn nodded, then called his pack. After hanging up, he handed me a necklace with a small pendant.
“This has a tracking device in it. Just in case. It’ll help if something goes wrong.”
I stared at the necklace, my hands shaking as I reached out to take it.
“Thank you.”
“We’ll keep you safe,” Finn promised, his eyes softening for just a moment. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
I slipped on the necklace, its weight a reminder of the danger, but also a comfort knowing Finn and Aidan had my back.
“Let’s go now. We are running out of time, Zampalan is a thirty-minute drive from here. Amelia, you will drive with Finn, and I will follow you with my car.”
We got in the car. Finn drove with tense precision, his eyes never leaving the road ahead. Finn pulled the car over a little further than expected.
“We don’t want to raise suspicion,” he said, his voice tight. “Orson’s men might be watching.”
I nodded, fear rising. I hailed a taxi to Zampalan Park, heart pounding. As we approached, my phone rang again. I answered, desperate not to miss anything.
“Amelia,” the voice said, cold and calculating. “You see that van parked in front of you? Get in. Don’t cause a scene. Don’t raise any alarm. Just get in, or I swear, your friend will suffer for it.”
My stomach twisted, bile rising in my throat. I glanced at the van parked a little further down the road. It was unmarked, nondescript, and perfect for someone trying to hide their intentions.
“Please,” I whispered, the tremble in my voice betraying my calm exterior. “Please, don’t hurt Sienna…”
The voice cut off, and the van door opened. Despite my fear, I stepped inside, glancing back, trusting Finn and Aidan were watching. I took a deep breath and climbed in.
The van door slammed shut, and I was blindfolded, my heart racing in fear for Sienna.
“Where are you taking me?”
“Shut up!” One of the men said.
After what felt like forever, the van stopped. They dragged me into a dim room and ripped off my blindfold.
The first thing I saw was Sienna, tied to a chair, unconscious.
“Oh my …” tears welled in my eyes as I gasped.
"Sienna!" I cried out, struggling against the ropes that bound me to the chair. "Wake up! Please, wake up!"
I yanked at the ropes, my heart pounding. I kept calling her name, but she didn't answer. My chest tightened with panic and frustration.
“I kept my end of the deal!” I shouted, my voice breaking. “I came alone! You promised! You promised you wouldn’t hurt her!”
I cried, but Sienna remained still.
“Stop shouting!” A man stepped from the shadows, eyes cold, roaring his voice was cold, commanding.
My breath caught as I recognized him. The man who tried to kidnap me at the hospital.
“You...” I whispered hoarsely, realization crashing down on me like a wave. “You’re Orson.”
A cruel smile appeared on his face. He gestured for one of his men to pour water on Sienna. The man did, and instantly, Sienna’s eyes flickered open, her body jerking as she groaned.
"Sienna!" I cried out, my voice breaking with relief. Tears rushed down my face. "Are you okay?"
Sienna’s eyes met mine, bloodshot and filled with fear. She smiled weakly, her voice barely a whisper. “I will be… once we leave here.”
Orson approached slowly; his eyes filled with hatred as he towered over me. Something twisted inside me as I met his gaze.
“You look exactly like my sister Alma,” he said softly, his voice tinged with malice. “You are truly her reincarnation.”
My stomach twisted as Orson dragged a chair closer and sat, his posture casual, as if telling a story.
“Would you like to hear how Alma died?” he asked with a sickening sarcasm in his voice.
My blood ran cold. I nodded stiffly, unable to speak. My heart pounded in my chest, every word from him threatening to shatter everything I thought I knew.
Orson’s face twisted with jealousy, and his eyes darkened.
“I’ve always been jealous of her. Despite being adopted, Alma was loved. She had everything. And her love for Aidan? That’s what got her killed.”
The words hit me like a physical blow. I shook my head in disbelief.
“How could you? ...”
“You see, Alma was never meant to marry Aidan,” Orson interrupted, his voice low and venomous. “He was a member of a rival vampire clan. A power struggle. Your beloved Aidan... He didn’t belong with her. But Alma was stubborn. She got her way, even with our father. Eventually, he softened, and he gave in to her. He let her marry him.”
The rage bubbled inside me, but I couldn’t speak.
“You are heartless. You killed your own sister,” I spat, my voice filled with disgust.
Orson’s smile widened, but there was no warmth in it.
“I didn’t kill her.” His voice dropped lower. “I only made sure the coast was clear.”
My stomach turned, the pieces of the puzzle clicking into place, and then the horror of his next words struck me like a lightning bolt.
“The one who killed Alma,” Orson continued, his voice now a chilling whisper, “is someone close to Aidan.”
“What!”