BLACKMAILED BY THE BILLIONAIRE

Chapter 40: A Silence Too Loud

 Harry

Each unanswered ring sends a sharper pang of anxiety through me, my fingers almost numb from dialing Bella's number over and over. The silence that greets me each time is a stark, chilling contrast to the warmth I've always associated with her. Standing at the door of her apartment, the quiet that meets me feels like a tangible force, heavy with unspoken fears. Something deep within refuses to accept this silence; it's out of character, alarming.

Bella has never been one to push me away, not even on my worst days. No matter how difficult I was, she never ignored a call, responding with a patience I've often taken for granted. She's been the steady presence in my tumultuous life, her voice a beacon of calm in the stormiest nights of my existence. Now, with that beacon extinguished, I'm adrift, caught in a rising tide of panic at the thought that she might be in harm's way.

I curse myself for not being more insistent earlier. The thought of her alone, vulnerable on the city's streets or on the train, gnaws at me with sharp, relentless jaws. If anything were to happen to her... No, I can't even let that thought finish. It's been eight hours—eight hours of this maddening silence, and I'm at my wit's end. In desperation, I've mobilized my security team, tasked them with scouring the city's surveillance footage.

My mind races with worst-case scenarios, each more horrifying than the last. I've even gone as far as to involve the police, sparing no expense, demanding they deploy every resource to find her. The urgency I feel is indescribable; I need her safe, back by my side where I can protect her.

Then there's Lisa, Bella's best friend, her worry mirroring my own when she came to my office. The absence of any word from Bella has alarmed her too, confirming my fears that this situation is far from normal. "Can you think of anywhere she might have gone? Any place she'd go without telling anyone?" I asked her, clinging to any shred of hope.

Lisa's face crumbled with worry. "No, she wouldn't just go off like this. Not without me. Not without telling someone. This isn't like her... She's in danger, I can feel it," she whispered through tears.

Seeing Lisa so distressed, knowing how close she and Bella are, it hit me hard. I've not always been the best to Lisa, but right now, her pain, her fear for Bella, it's all too real. "Listen, Lisa," I said, my voice firm with resolve, "I will find her. I'm not stopping for anything. And whoever took her, they're going to regret it. I swear, they'll beg for mercy by the time I'm done with them. We'll get Bella back. I'll do whatever it takes."

The promise hangs heavy in the air between us, a vow made in the face of an unknown enemy. The uncertainty is a gnawing beast, but one thing is crystal clear: I will move heaven and earth to bring Bella home.

The hours stretched into an endless tapestry of worry and action, each moment slipping through my fingers like grains of sand, each one a reminder of Bella's absence. The updates from the security team and the police were a constant stream of nothingness—no leads, no clues, no Bella. The updates—or, more accurately, the lack of them—from my security team and the police department were driving me to the edge. With every passing hour, the frustration built up like a storm inside me, each report of their fruitlessness a lightning strike to my heart.

The updates—or, more accurately, the lack of them—from my security team and the police department were driving me to the edge. "How can there be nothing? She didn't just vanish into thin air!" I found myself barking orders more than I ever had, my voice hoarse from yelling at anyone who came to me without news of her whereabouts.

"We need to do more, cover more ground, check the cameras again!" I demanded, my desperation turning into anger. It wasn't their fault, I knew, but the helplessness was maddening. I authorized helicopters to sweep the city, the noise of their blades a constant echo in the sky, a searchlight in the growing darkness. I hired additional security teams, expanding our search beyond the city limits, beyond the places Bella knew.

Despite the vast resources at my disposal, the feeling of utter powerlessness was overwhelming. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Perhaps there was something everyone else had missed, a clue, however small, that could lead me to her. I scoured her apartment once more, desperate for any sign of where she might have gone or what might have happened to her. But all I found was the echo of her laughter in the walls, the ghost of her presence in the empty space.

Defeated, I retreated to my office, the weight of the situation crashing down on me. The walls that had witnessed countless decisions, that had stood firm through crisis after crisis, now bore witness to my breaking point. I sat there, alone, allowing myself to imagine the worst for the first time. Tears came, unbidden, a silent testament to the depth of my fear and my love for Bella. The thought of a world without her, of never seeing her smile again or hearing her voice, was unbearable.

The solitude of the office was suffocating, each sob a stark reminder of how much Bella meant to me. The realization that she might be out there, scared and alone, or worse, was a torment I couldn't bear. I wiped my face, steeling myself with a shaky breath. Crying wouldn't bring her back. I needed to act, to harness this grief and transform it into something productive.

With renewed determination, I poured over maps of the city, cross-referencing them with Bella's known habits and routines, looking for any overlap or anomaly that might suggest where she could be. I reached out to anyone who might have seen something, posting rewards for information, no matter how insignificant it might seem.

Each step I took was fueled by the love I felt for her, a love that refused to give in to despair. The night stretched on, a marathon of phone calls, emails, and dead ends, but I refused to stop. Bella was out there somewhere, and I was going to find her, no matter what it took. The thought of failing her, of not being there when she needed me most, was anathema. I would find Bella. I had.