Kidnapping the General's Daughter

Chapter 26: Never Ending Runaway (Final Chapter)

Barra held his breath, his heart hammering against his ribs as Dominik lowered his phone. "Well? Did you get through?" he asked, his voice thick with desperate hope.

Dominik shook his head dejectedly. "I called the villa in Bali-the one I booked for you guys back then. They said no one checked in under Alma's name. Not today, not yesterday."

Barra slammed the car into park on the side of the road. He gripped the steering wheel tight, his mind a chaotic blur of maps and possibilities. "Don't bother, Dom. She's not there. She was never going to be there."

"Wait, she could be at other-"

"Dom," Barra cut him off, turning to him with eyes that looked hollow. "Do you know why we aren't being followed anymore? Why the shadows in the trees finally disappeared?"

Dominik frowned, confused.

"Because they've already moved on. They're already at the finish line. Bromo, Ubud, Semarang... they've checked them all. Alma isn't in any of those places. They followed me in Jakarta because they thought I was the one hiding her. The moment they saw me searching, they realized I was just as blind as they were."

Dominik's eyes widened. "Damn... you're right, Bar. So, what now?"

Barra leaned his head back against the seat, a jagged, broken exhale escaping his lips. "I'm at a dead end, Dom. I'm completely lost. Maybe I should have never started this. If I hadn't stayed with her, she wouldn't be out there, alone, in danger..." His voice cracked, turning into a raspy whisper.

Dominik patted his shoulder. "You can't blame yourself. It's fate, man. Alma chose you."

"But what if something happens to her?" Barra slammed his fist against the wheel in frustration. "Why hasn't she called me, Dom?!"

"Maybe she's waiting. Or... maybe she doesn't want to be found."

Barra went silent. He stared out the windshield at the hazy horizon. "If you were Alma-someone who's never gone anywhere alone, who just had a massive blowout with her father-where would you go?"

Dominik thought for a second. "I'd go somewhere familiar. Somewhere I know the corners."

Barra's eyes suddenly ignited. "Surabaya. She's still in Surabaya. She's too terrified to go any further on her own."

Dominik let out a huff of relief, a small laugh escaping him. "Thank God we didn't drive all the way to Bali!"

Barra managed a thin, weary smile. The car surged forward again, but this time, Barra carried a new, fragile kind of hope in his chest.

***

The massive house with its towering iron gates stood like a fortress, casting an invisible, suffocating pressure the moment they pulled up. The security guards eyed them with cold suspicion before finally letting them through.

Inside, a middle-aged woman appeared. Her face drained of color the moment she saw Barra. "Barra... I thought you were with her?" her voice trembled, brittle with fear.

Barra and Dominik exchanged a look, then shook their heads.

"We just came from Malang looking for her, Tante," Barra said softly.