Chapter 35
I was sitting in my office, trying to get some rest while waiting for Eda and Can to arrive, when Leyla and one of my men—the one who had gone to the doctor with them—came running in, panicked, their faces pale and their breath coming fast. I knew something was wrong.
The guard could barely get the words out, and my heart sank at what was coming.
“Mr. Ayaz, we need to talk. We have bad news,” he said breathlessly. “Eda and Can were captured by Hilal Aydin’s men. We were ambushed.”
The world collapsed around me. Despair flooded my chest, and for a moment, I was speechless. Eda and Can, my reason for living, were in danger. I couldn’t let anything happen to them.
I knew I couldn’t waste time. Eda was the woman I loved, and Can was my son.
I had to rescue them. I found my voice again, ordering all my men to gather immediately.
It was time to analyze the enemy’s moves and put together a rescue plan.
We knew it would be dangerous and we’d have to move fast, but we were willing to do anything to get them both out of there.
“Mr. Ayaz, we have information about their whereabouts,” Farid said urgently, bursting into my office. “They’re being held in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city—the same one where they held your Uncle Zeki.”
I looked at my men with determination, my eyes reflecting the fury and worry I felt.
“We’re bringing them back at any cost,” I ordered, my voice firm.
Our plan was set in motion. A small army of well-trained men gathered around me, and we set out for the abandoned warehouse. The fight would be quick and intense.
As soon as we arrived, the battle began.
We split into groups and went after the kidnappers.
We fought them, firing shots that echoed through the building; launching tear gas grenades, we stormed the warehouse.
The tension was unbearable. There were chases, gunfire, and explosions everywhere.
It was like something out of an action movie.
Eda and Can were in there somewhere, and we wouldn’t rest until we found them.
Finally, we reached the place where my family was being held. My wife was gagged, handcuffed, and terrified. The feeling of having them in my arms again was indescribable. I kissed Can’s little face, my voice choked with emotion.
She was still shaken, but a relieved smile crossed her lips.
“Ayaz, I knew you’d come.” Her voice was full of gratitude. “You came to save us.”
“I’m taking you both home, my love.”
But tragedy was still lurking. Something unexpected happened just as I finished untying her.
While we were fleeing the warehouse, Hilal Aydin appeared—Eda’s baba, leader of the enemy faction and the kidnappers.
He pointed a gun at me, hatred burning in his eyes.
The moment unfolded in slow motion, and I braced for the worst.
Before he could shoot, Eda, who was at my side, threw herself in front of me, taking the bullet meant for me. The impact hit me like a punch to the stomach. The pain I felt in that moment was indescribable.
That’s when everything stopped.
I couldn’t believe what had happened.
Eda was wounded, and I didn’t know what to do.
One of the men in the warehouse—I don’t know if he was from my organization or the enemy faction—was quick enough to put a bullet in Hilal Aydin’s head. A precise shot that killed him instantly. His men retreated like cowards the moment it happened.
Eda fell to the ground, bleeding, and I knelt at her side, my voice faltering.
“Eda, no, please…” I screamed in desperation.
But she spoke in a weak voice, full of tenderness, her eyes brimming with love.
“Take care of our son… and ask him to forgive me. Tell him I did everything I could to stay by his side forever, but fate had other plans.”
She closed her eyes, leaving only a void of pain behind, and my world collapsed once more.
The woman I loved, who had risked her own life for me, was now gravely wounded.
I held her close, feeling the overwhelming agony of losing her.
She had sacrificed herself to save me, and now it was my turn to protect our son and try to save her life, which hung by a thread.