31. I was freezing
Adrian's POV:
Oliver had already shared his location.
The four of us-Sophia, June, Evan, and I-were inside my car. Evan was driving while I quickly texted the investigating officer about the ransom call we had received and informed him that we finally had a clue about Vanessa's whereabouts.
His reply came almost immediately.
"We're on our way. Share your live location. Until we arrive, do nothing except keep an eye on Vanessa. Don't confront her. Do not take any action yourselves."
I immediately shared our location.
Soon, we reached the place Oliver had sent.
In front of us was a narrow, congested lane-so narrow that taking the car inside was impossible.
June suddenly pointed ahead.
"That's Oliver's car."
Sophia leaned forward through the windshield and nodded.
"Yes... that's definitely Oliver's."
Evan parked our car by the roadside, and all four of us got out.
As we walked toward Oliver's car, it became obvious from a distance that it was empty. No one was inside. It was simply parked there.
According to the live location Oliver had been sharing with Sophia, he himself was somewhere inside that narrow lane.
Sophia frowned slightly.
"I think I should call him and ask if we need to go inside."
We all agreed.
She dialed his number and put the call on speaker.
He answered almost instantly, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Sophia... have you reached?And has police arrived?"
"Yeah," she replied quietly. "We're standing near your car. The police are on their way too... but where are you? Do we have to go through that lane... the narrow one?"
"Yes," he whispered hurriedly. "That lane only. Come through it."
The moment he confirmed it, we didn't waste another second.
We rushed into the lane, following the live location on Sophia's phone.
The alley was dark, damp, and unbelievably narrow. Old walls stood on either side, making the path feel even tighter. Hardly any sunlight reached inside.
No one spoke.
The only sounds were our hurried footsteps and our anxious breathing.
We kept walking...
and walking...
until the cramped lane suddenly opened into a vast stretch of empty land.
Fields.
Nothing but endless fields spread before us.
The sudden openness after the suffocating lane felt strangely unsettling.
We looked around, searching for any sign of Oliver.
All around us were endless fields. It was an early winter morning in Manchester, and the icy wind cut through our clothes, making the already freezing weather feel even colder.
Suddenly-
We heard the sound of rustling grass.
All of us turned at once.
There he was.
Oliver.
He emerged from behind the tall grass, dressed in a winter football jersey. His breathing was uneven, and he was slightly bent over, clearly exhausted from running.
As soon as he reached us, he looked around anxiously and asked in a hushed voice,
"Where's the police?"
"They're on their way," I replied immediately. "But where's Vanessa? And... did you see Lily?"
Oliver shook his head.
"I didn't see Lily. I only saw Vanessa. She went inside that abandoned farmhouse."
He pointed towards an old, isolated farmhouse standing far ahead in the middle of the fields.
It was quite a distance away from where we were standing.
"I didn't go inside," Oliver continued. "I think there could be other members of the gang in there... and they might even be armed."
Evan nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, you did the right thing. The police specifically instructed us not to take any action ourselves or alert them that we're here."
Just then, my phone rang.
It was the investigating officer.
"I've reached the location," he informed me.
Within moments, we saw several police vehicles arriving silently from different directions. Officers stepped out quickly and spread across the area with remarkable coordination.
The abandoned farmhouse was surrounded within minutes.
One of the senior officers stepped forward and spoke through a loudspeaker.
"Attention! This is the Greater Manchester Police.
The farmhouse has been completely surrounded.
Every exit is under police control. Anyone inside is instructed to come out immediately with your hands visible.
Surrender peacefully. Any attempt to flee, resist arrest, or endanger the hostage will be met with immediate police action. This is your final warning."
The announcement echoed across the silent fields.
None of us moved.
We stood at a distance, our eyes fixed on the farmhouse...
Praying that Lily was safe.
Sophia had completely broken down.
Tears streamed endlessly down her cheeks. Her face had turned crimson from crying, and her trembling hands remained tightly clasped together as she whispered over and over,
"Please, God... please save my daughter... please..."
June wrapped both her arms around her, gently rubbing her back.
"Sophi... Lily will be absolutely fine. She'll come back to us. Nothing will happen to her."
Sophia nodded weakly, but fresh tears continued rolling down her face.
Beside them stood Oliver, Evan... and me.
From the outside, I remained silent.
But inside...
I was falling apart.
I had trusted the wrong person.
And now...
My own daughter was suffering because of the choices I had made.
A wave of guilt crashed over me.
If only...
If only I could go back in time.
I would undo every mistake.
Every wrong decision.
Every moment where I chose the wrong person over the ones who truly cared for me.
Sophia was right.
I had turned out to be a terrible husband...
And an even worse father.
-----------------------
Vanessa's POV:
I had just finished giving Lily her medicine when a loud announcement echoed from outside.
I froze.
Police?
My heart dropped.
I rushed to the window and carefully peeked through a tiny gap in the curtains.
The moment I looked outside...
My blood ran cold.
Police.
They were everywhere.
"Oh no..."
"Oh my God..."
"What do I do now?"
Panic completely took over me.
Lily had heard the announcement too.
She was still weak with fever, her tiny face flushed red. She let out a soft sob and shifted slightly on the mattress, but she was too exhausted to understand what was happening outside.
Meanwhile...
I was panicking now. I had no idea what to do. Charles wasn't here, and we definitely hadn't expected to get caught this soon. No... no way.
I have to escape. At any cost.
"Take a deep breath, Vanessa... deep breath," I muttered to myself.
My eyes darted around the room. I had no weapons except a small vegetable knife lying on the counter.
Lily was still unconscious.
Should I take her with me... or should I escape alone?
For a brief second, I thought about abandoning her. But then I shook my head.
No.
I picked her up. She was still half unconscious, and if needed... I could even use her as a hostage to escape.
Without wasting another second, I hurried downstairs and rushed towards the attic. There was another way out from there, but I would have to wait for the right moment. The police had already surrounded the farmhouse from every side.
As I reached the attic, Lily suddenly stirred in my arms.
No way...
She was slowly regaining consciousness.
I couldn't escape with her awake. If she started crying... or called out for her Mommy or Daddy... I would be caught immediately.
"No... no... what do I do?" I whispered frantically.
My mind refused to work.
Then another announcement echoed through the farmhouse.
"This is the police. We once again instruct everyone inside the premises to surrender peacefully. Do not attempt to flee or resist. Any attempt to escape or threaten lives will compel us to take necessary legal and tactical action."
My heart almost stopped.
Lily was waking up.
Panic completely took over me.
Just then-
BANG!
They were trying to break the main door.
My breathing turned uneven.
What should I do?
Without thinking further, I rushed upstairs, gently laid Lily on the bed, and then sprinted back towards the attic. I climbed inside an old metal drum and curled myself into it, trying to stay hidden.
A second later-
CRASH!
The front door gave way.
Heavy footsteps echoed throughout the farmhouse.
They had entered.
----------------------
Adrian's POV:
The police force broke down the main gate and stormed inside the farmhouse.
The five of us instinctively followed them, but one of the officers immediately stopped us.
"Please stay back. It's not safe."
We had no choice.
We stood a little away from the entrance.
The farmhouse was surrounded by huge fields, and because of the irrigation system, several narrow water channels ran through the muddy ground-thin canals carrying icy water across the fields.
None of us could take our eyes off the farmhouse.
Every passing second felt like an eternity.
Then...
One of the officers came running out.
Lily was in his arms.
Before anyone else could react, Sophia ran towards the officer. The moment Lily was placed into her arms, she hugged her tightly as if she never wanted to let go again.
"Oh my God... my baby... are you alright?"
She kissed Lily's forehead again and again.
Lily looked drowsy, barely conscious.
"Mommy..."
She weakly wrapped her tiny arms around Sophia's neck before closing her eyes again.
Suddenly Sophia froze.
Her expression changed completely.
She placed her palm on Lily's forehead, and her eyes widened.
"L... Lily is burning with fever," she whispered before looking at all of us in panic. "We... we have to take her to a doctor."
I immediately stepped forward, took Lily into my arms and touched her forehead.
She was burning.
Her body felt frighteningly hot.
Without wasting another second, I turned to rush towards the car.
But then-
"Catch her!"
"Stop her!"
"She's escaping!"
The loud shouts made all of us turn around.
It was Vanessa.
She came running out of the farmhouse with a knife clutched tightly in her hand. Several officers were chasing after her while others tried to block her path.
She forcefully pushed past them.
Before any of us could even react-
She slammed straight into Sophia.
With one violent movement, Vanessa twisted Sophia around, yanked her back against her own chest, pinned one of Sophia's arms behind her back, and pressed the sharp knife tightly against her throat.
Everything happened in barely a second.
All of us froze.
"Vanessa!" I shouted.
"You have a problem with me! Then take your revenge on me-not on my wife or my daughter!"
June stepped forward too, her voice trembling with fury.
"What do you even want? You're surrounded by the police! Hurting Sophia will only increase your punishment! Leave her!"
The officers immediately raised their guns.
"Drop the weapon!"
"Surrender immediately!"
But Vanessa only tightened her grip around Sophia and slowly stepped backwards, dragging Sophia along with her.
"Let me go," she shouted hysterically.
"Let me leave... and I'll let her go safely."
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Sophia's POV:
The cold steel of the knife rested only millimetres away from my throat.
One wrong movement...
One tiny mistake...
And the blade would slice through my skin.
I forced myself to stay calm.
I only needed one chance.
Just one second to push the knife away.
The police were already ready.
Vanessa had restrained my right hand behind my back, but my left hand was still free.
Without giving myself time to think, I swiftly swung my left hand and shoved the hand holding the knife away from my throat.
Vanessa immediately forced it back.
The sudden struggle threw both of us off balance.
Neither of us could hold our footing.
We fell.
The next second-
An icy shock shot through my entire body.
We had fallen straight into one of the narrow irrigation canals running through the fields, filled with freezing winter water.
The officers immediately lunged forward and pinned Vanessa to the ground before she could move again.
Meanwhile...
June, Adrian, Oliver and Evan all came running towards me at once.
June reached me first.
She stretched out her hand.
"Sophi!"
I grabbed it.
The moment I stood up, the freezing Manchester winter wind hit my completely drenched body.
My soaked clothes clung to my skin.
The icy water dripped from my hair.
Within seconds, my entire body started trembling uncontrollably.
I was freezing.
Couldn't update yesterday so gonna update twice today the 2nd update will be at 3 pm (GMT)
Next chapter is gonna be super amazing ??