Top Note

Chapter 37

Darcel

Eriantha had vanished, to where I didn't know. The very thought turned me livid, she was just fucking gone. Her car door was still agape, her cellphone was standing on the grip-stand, the black box was stolen, which made it worse.
I realised it a bit too late that the GPS tracker, which I had attached to her cell phone without her knowledge hasn't been moving for a long time. I had been like that for more than thirty minutes in front of that seedy restaurant where she had went to look for some closure with her mom.
What made me flip was that, I had let her go, I shouldn't have to begin with, but I was stuck the entire day with Maximilian Karwitz and his insane sense of what Eriantha would have called God complex, and his ways of looking past things when it involved Leonel. It was tiring, to be precise exasperating, even a patient man like uncle Ben had freaked out, especially when even a physician of close acquaintance had confirmed that the DNA reports of baby matched with Leonel. The Murrows seemed too jubilant about it, of course now finally they could get rid of their promiscuous daughter for good. It's becoming almost impossible to pull their reins to stop them from announcing Harley's engagement with Leon. That fucker who had fucking passed out after drinking like shit, this time I was really pissed off at him and so was Gemma. We were tired of clearing his mess, he should have known better than anyone else that how important was our long standing alliance with the Ambers.
In fact, I am certain they already knew everything, and even then the Ambers were surprisingly quiet. It was definitely a stillness before the storm the Ambers weren't to be taken lightly, they were a reputed family in our world, and for them old values were like words of God. What I heard from Gemma, it was Vivian who had managed to put them off from acting first and surprisingly for once her family was on the same page, for the breaking of this alliance would incur huge loss to them as well, along with a scar in their otherwise clean reputation, after all back in the days the Ambers were a nobility. Amidst all this ruckus I wasn't there when my wife went out all by herself to meet her mom, who was an ally of the man I despised with irrevocable passion. Not that I could or would have stopped her, because I could understand how important this closure was for her, what it felt like to be abandoned, to feel unwanted.
Whip me a thousand times and call me crazy, because earlier I never gave a fuck to what anyone else felt, but with Eriantha it was different, everything about her felt like matter of high importance, she was my wife and loved her.
Fuck! I did... And she might be mad at me, or hate me because of this, but I couldn't hide it anymore that I loved Eriantha. She might even hate me for saying it. But now she was gone, and I  had no clue, who did it. where she was and how she was right now.
I was an asshole of a husband she never deserved.
In this situation the most rational thing would have been to report to the police. However, rationality was the last thing I had in me right now, my wife was gone, somebody had dared to fucking abduct her, when I was busy in cleaning up someone else's mess.
Driving my car like a bat shit crazy person I ended up at the willow's residence, and before I knew it I had already barged inside their house. Of course the security muscle bods stopped me right at the door.
"Hey! This isn't a park mate, you can't just..." One of the men tried to toy with me, by grabbing my collar. I wasn't a pack of muscles like them but I knew a few moves too, and right now I could probably even thrash a giant. So, I double smacked him on the nose  and kicked the second one st his groin as he doubled up in pain.
"Just ask your lady to come out right away, I am in no mood to play games."
The door opened as Gregory Willows appeared, "That's not how a gentleman should enter someone's house sir."
Gregory was standing right in front of me, Eviana wasn't there, but my eyes zeroed on man at the bar in the lounging area, the one who had taken away every possible happiness in my life, the one for whom my childhood had become miserable. My father, who was drinking away the evening at his leisure.
How could he be so cruel! It must be him right? He must have known that Eriantha was my weakness and that man must have done something to take her away from me, my last ray of hope, my Eriantha.
He was the last person I needed to have in front of my eyes, raw rage engulfed me, I shoved Gregory and because of the sudden attack he lost balance and hit himself at the large center table.
"Where the fuck is my wife?" I roared grabbing his neck, blood was rushing rushing through my veins like molten lava, hatred, anger,and some other inexplicable feeling was carving my insides.
The man was choking his face had turned red and the veins in his head were swelling, but he laughed, as if it doesn't hurt him at all.
That malicious fucker!
"Finally you chose to find your dad bub." His voice was faint, but his voice  charred my insides.
Is he for real? Why the fuck is he saying this now!
Is this some kind of sadistic joke, did he hurt Eriantha to get a grip on me?
"Shut up. Just. Shut. The. Fuck.Up." I warned him, grabbing his collar harder.
My voice roared in the gigantic room.
Gregory had already managed to get back to his feet, and he along with a couple of his men were trying to get me away from Viktor, but my hands were on death grip, and after a tussle  they managed to separate us.
"Oh god! what the hell is happening...Greg?"
Eviana froze midway, as I made another attempt to lunge at her, but the men restrained me in place.
"Look... Just tell me while I am being really nice. Where is my wife? Where's Eriantha?" My whole body was still shivering from the fit of rage, "you are her mother aren't you Eviana, I am sure you don't wish to hurt her. Don't listen to this man" I pointed my chin towards my father who was still recovering from breathlessness,
"She's happy with me, please...Please tell me where have you kept her?"
Eviana's eyes widened out of shock, she shook her head, "What are you talking about?"
As if she didn't know, was she really such a good actress?
"Let go off my son. Nobody touches him."
They released me right away.
I dreaded it, how effortlessly those words rolled from his tongue.
Did he just acknowledge my existence? Why now? Why after so many years?
However, I didn't have the time Or patience to dig into that matter.
He slowly dissolved the distance between us, and stood placidly as if I hadn't just brought him to the brink of death.
I fixated my eyes on him aping his action, his eyes we're just like mine and I hated it, but I was nothing like him, I protected what's mine and no matter how sick of a game he was playing with me right now, I would bring Eriantha back.
"What's going on Darcel?" Eviana asked on the verge of tears.
"Don't act as if you don't know. You people must have trapped her, because she has been missing ever since she went to meet you."
I barked, "What kind of a mother does that? Just how much is he paying you for this?"
"Careful Mr.Karwitz" Gregory hissed, as if I cared, I would break hell if I didn't get my wife back right away.
Eviana broke down, "Eri's what? What are you saying she was just there and we chatted, and then we parted... What is he saying Greg. Is... Is it true?"
She broke down and Gregory wrapped her in his arms.
"I would never do that.Never" He whispered to her.
"And you think we abducted your wife?" He narrowed his eyes.
"And why would I do that son? Why would I hurt the woman you love?"
So, he knew I loved her, and now he wants to take that away too. I was blinded with anger and hatred, to even reason out anything, the very fact that he was here, to me it meant he wanted to rob me off anything that was precious to me.
"Yes" I snarled my voice barely audible even to me, such was my anguish, "Because she's involved with me, and you hate my existence, don't you Mr.Cedine?"
There was an overwhelming silence, and to my own surprise, I desperately wanted an answer, but instead he simply smiled, "I will say that later son, but trust me it wasn't me. I am not your enemy."
Really? Says who? You left us, and never looked back, I hate you with every darkness within me.
"Don't call me that" I barked but he ignored me.
"Gregory" He ordered, and the msn disappeared, while my father took his place back at the bar.
in another few minutes, he reappeared to report to his boss.
"The Davytans, they took Eriantha."
"What?" Eviana screamed and broke down right away.
"What the hell?" Viktor roared, Gregory nodded, while giving the report, his tone clinical, "They had his brother on trap he had been gambling at the circle, but taking him to the circle was their trap. They thought he had leads of their drug deals which his father had stolen from one of their under bosses."
"Why did they take Eriantha?They would never dare to touch a Karwitz."
I interceded, it was true that the Davytans had been getting on our nerves recently, but it still didn't make sense that they would harm someone from Karwitz family.
My question went unanswered, as Gregory continued, "They were chasing Anders Reux, and followed him to where he met his sister. They took her right outside the restaurant."
I hadn't noticed till now but my father's demeanor had changed and a cold rage was now at play, his facial muscles had tightened and one of the veins on his forehead was ticking vigorously. He was no more the calm and placid Viktor Cedine I had seen a few minutes back, he looked dangerous.
"How dare they?" Was all he asked in an extremely low voice.
"They know you are here Mr.Cedine, that's a breach of the treaty." Gregory stated nervously.
"Call Diana." He barked.
"But Mr.Cedine" Willows tried to intercede but my father was livid and I was enraged and clueless as to what was going on, and lack of a grip on the situation.
"I don't repeat myself Willows. She should have known better..."
He grabbed the cellphone Gregory handed and spoke in an extremely low voice, "Diana Viktor here, your men dared to touch my daughter in law."
Did he just say daughter in law?
I couldn't here what the person on the other side said but he gave a dry laugh, and there was a malicious glint in his eyes, "I don't care what your deal with the Reux was, that man is dead, and this girl is not someone you should have touched. I had kept my part of the promise,  but your end of the promise lacks strength, I had stayed away, I didn't come here to start a war, but you touching my family means war. You should have known better, that he's my son.Let go off her, unharmed or else face the consequences.I still am the same monster Diana" He warned, "Don't wake the dormant beast,or, I will burn you."
There was a moment of silence, and then I heard him saying, "Alright I will be there."
I couldn't take it any longer, "What's going on here? Is this some joke? Just tell me where's Eriantha?"
There was more to it than I knew or could see, but right now I needed my wife back at all cost.