Bodyguard: Ace Cain

|33| Welcome Back

|Welcome Back|

The air was cold, and my head spun as I realized I was bound to a chair with my mouth gagged. The dim light from a tiny window barely illuminated my surroundings, and panic threatened to take over.

My heart sank as I searched for any indication of where I was, but there was nothing. Someone had trapped me in this dark room with no escape.

Suddenly, a door creaked open, reminding me of the eerie warehouse I had followed Ace to before. The state of decay sent chills down my spine.

The next thing that sparked fear in my body was the sight before me. When the door opened, more light came into the room. That is when my gaze fell on the man I had been looking for. My father sat there dazed, bound in the same way as me. He was completely oblivious to my existence and the events surrounding him.

My eyes welled up with tears, and I immediately began making sounds with my mouth. It was difficult to speak because of the gag, but it piqued my father's interest nonetheless. When his eyes caught sight of me, he began to panic. I was glad to see him, despite the fact that neither of us could hear what the other was saying.

We both attempted to lift ourselves out of the chains but were unsuccessful. I yearned to embrace him and express my profound longing for him. It was wonderful to know he was still with me. Even under these dire circumstances. Knowing he was alive helped me get through this.

With both of us sobbing, the door opened fully, and three people in masks entered. They stood there, menacingly silent. Their identities and distinguishing features eluded me. The tears in my eyes did not help matters either.

Noel Blackman was easily identifiable and did not attempt to hide himself. My heart sank instantly. I knew he was trouble, but I did not expect him to go this far. He was diabolical in the most negative ways possible.

Noel Blackman smirked as he stood between my father and me, his henchmen right behind him. "Welcome back, little girl." I could kill him. "Is it not a lovely family reunion?"

His amusement irritated me greatly, and I scowled at him. Nothing about this screamed lovely. This was morbid and sadistic. The man was completely devoid of empathy. How can one enjoy holding people hostage? He brought us both here against our will, and he had the nerve to smile. So cold-blooded.

Noel snapped his fingers, and one person approached to remove the gag around my mouth, while the other released my father. I couldn't tell how long the ties had held us, but I could feel their marks on my cheeks. I only needed to be able to speak properly to curse Noel out.

"What the fuck?" I immediately questioned him. "Why the hell are we tied like this?"

Noel gave a fake wince at my words. "Hunter, have you ever considered teaching this girl manners?" He continued to find amusement in all of this.

"Fuck you!" I shouted at him.

"Reign," my father called out to me. It is not as if he had never heard me curse before. Admittedly, I was extremely agitated at this point.

Noel smiled as he shook his head at me. What could he want from my father? I knew something was wrong. Noel was far more powerful than he had ever been, yet he chose to target my family. I found it incomprehensible and concluded that he was simply concealing more information.

I ignored my father's words and pressed Noel for an explanation. "Why did you take me? Take us?" I asked. "First you got my mother's phone, and now this?"

Father looked at me, perplexed. "Your mothers...Reign, how do you know this?"

I sighed, realizing that I had never told him what had happened. "This guy was texting from her phone and asked me to retrieve it," I said.

Now my father was enraged. "Do you mean you left the house without my permission?" He was angry.

"Now is not the time for you to parent," I told him.

Honestly, he had no reason to be upset. Given what I now know, I could tell he was preoccupied with Noel's response. However, he had not been home in weeks and still wanted to fulfill his responsibilities as a father. As excited as I was to see him, our relationship was far from ideal. The last thing we needed was an argument.

Noel's laughter filled the small room we were in as he looked at us with delight. Everything we did amused him. That is why we did not bring any personal issues into the situation. If we were to get through this, we needed to put our differences aside. Noel would use anything against us, no matter how big or small. It would be preferable to give him nothing at all.

Noel crossed his arms and returned to the statement I had made before, with a revelation washing over him. "Your sweet, sweet mother," he said. "How does one even describe her in such brief detail?"

My heart rate increased as I maintained eye contact with him. I refused to back down. "What are you talking about?" I questioned him, my voice filled with hostility.

"I'm talking about Mrs. Helix. Rose Helix." He spoke her name as if it were a sweet melody. "God, she was so beautiful!"

My tough exterior cracked when I heard that single word. "Was?" My voice quivered, hoping he was not saying what I assumed he was.

I did not want to think about anything negative happening to my mother. She was the light of my life. I have been dying to know where she was. Noel didn't seem credible, but could he possibly be telling the truth? Even at the cafe, he instructed me to ask my father what had happened to her. If he knew the whole time, I'd be even more angry, but isn't it better to know?

After listening to Noel, my father kept his eyes buried in his lap, almost as if he was pouting. All this time, he has not said anything about my mother or expressed any emotion about her absence. As I stared at him, he appeared to be filled with remorse. He could barely make eye contact with me, making Noel's words more real.

"Don't," was all my father said.

Noel gave him a soft expression. "I won't," he replied, as my father relaxed. "But you will." His devious smirk returned.

This man was cold. "Why would I do that?" My father finally raised his head, and I saw tears well up in his eyes.

I was too stunned to speak as I watched these two go back and forth. The emotion drained from my face as I tried to figure out what had happened to my mother. I was hesitant to accept Noel's testimony due to his lack of trustworthiness. It's possible that he is simply lying for his own benefit. His intention could be to further damage my bond with my father. In such a high-risk situation, he could say anything to make us nervous.

Even so, my father's reaction indicated that Noel was not lying. He immediately opened his mouth, forcing Noel to stop speaking. No one would treat someone that way unless they were being truthful. Furthermore, my father was crying again. For a man who rarely expressed his true feelings, I knew something was wrong. It appeared that we were both keeping secrets from each other.

"Because," Noel said as he walked in front of my father, snapping his fingers. One of the masked individuals approached him with a case, which he then opened. "If you choose not to say anything, your ass is grass."

His hand moved quickly inside the case, pulling out a revolver. My eyes widened with fear as he pointed it directly at my father. His dark eyes conveyed a serious demeanor. Nobody dared to stop him, either. With the gun so close to my father's temple, I was afraid that if I made one of my smart remarks, he would shoot me. Point-blank range would lead to devastation.

My father's face turned pale because he was defenseless. Chained to the chair, he had no escape route, leaving him with no options. He had to choose between revealing the truth to me or facing an unfortunate outcome. Noel was not giving him any other options. The shithead.

"Please, don't do this," my father muttered. "Just keep her out of it!"

Noel shook his head. "It's a bit late for that," he said. "Now, tell her." He demanded.

My father thought hard because he did not want to have to do this. My chair jerked as I tried to get out, but I failed. I sobbed more intensely, pleading with my father to utter words in order to prevent further harm. Even if knowing the truth was painful, it was preferable to seeing my father die in front of my eyes.

Cocking the hammer, Noel becomes even more enraged by my father's behavior. "You have 5 seconds," he said with little emotion in his voice.

This time, I begged my father to just get it over with. "Dad, please...tell me!"

Just as Noel was about to press the trigger, his face fell, and my father spoke up.

"Reign, she is dead."

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