Ties That Bind

EP31

Kabir’s heart raced as he, Andre, and Seyi rushed out of the café. The message had hit him like a punch to the gut.

He couldn’t afford to waste a second. The three men hurried into the SUV, the driver slamming the door shut behind them. Kabir's knuckles whitened as he gripped the armrest.

"Drive. Now!" Kabir ordered sharply, his voice carrying a tone of urgency that Andre and Seyi had never heard before.

The vehicle sped through the streets, weaving between traffic. No one said a word. Seyi’s phone rang incessantly as he attempted to coordinate with security teams and local law enforcement. Meanwhile, Andre was furiously typing on his tablet, searching for any trace of Zara through satellite feeds and traffic cameras.

As they approached the gates of the governor’s mansion, Kabir’s pulse quickened. His thoughts were consumed by Zara’s face—the last moment he had seen her that morning, annoyed that he’d left her at home. Now, that decision felt like a knife twisting in his gut.

The SUV screeched to a halt at the entrance. Kabir threw open the door before the vehicle had fully stopped, racing toward the house. His eyes immediately fell on the security guards standing by the gate, battered and bruised. Three of them lay unconscious, their shirts soaked with blood, while the other clutched his arm, grimacing in pain.

Kabir’s chest tightened as he barked, "What the hell happened here?"

The conscious guard struggled to stand. "Sir… there were too many of them. We didn’t… didn’t even see them coming. Armed. They… they took her…"

Andre and Seyi exchanged grave looks. Kabir clenched his jaw, anger and fear boiling within him.

Then he told the guard to tell Seyi the details of the car and all that.

Without waiting for more, Kabir pushed past them, sprinting inside the house. His footsteps echoed through the eerily silent hallways. The living room was in complete disarray. Pillows were tossed around, and a shattered vase lay on the floor. His eyes darted around, searching for any sign of Zara or Doyin.

"Doyin!" Kabir shouted, panic creeping into his voice. "Doyin!"

Seyi and Andre rushed in few minutes after him, scanning the area for anything useful.

Seyi was already on the phone again, contacting every security agency available, while Andre frantically searched for more clues.

Then they found her. Doyin was crouched behind the kitchen counter, visibly shaken, her face streaked with tears. She looked up at Kabir, her eyes wide and terrified.

"They—they came out of nowhere," she sobbed. "I tried to hide, but Zara... she—"

Kabir knelt beside her, gripping her shoulders firmly. "Doyin, focus. Who were they? How many? What did they say?"

Doyin wiped her eyes, her voice trembling. "I don’t know, sir. There were at least five men. They moved so fast, and they— they called her by name. They knew exactly who she was. Zara tried to fight them, but they were too strong."

Kabir stood, his entire body trembling with rage. His mind spun as he tried to process everything. Whoever had taken Zara had planned this—down to the last detail. There was no doubt. This was bigger than just a simple kidnapping. This was targeted, calculated, and precise.

He stepped away from Doyin, his hand gripping his phone tightly as he dialed a number. His voice was low but lethal when Seyi and Andre turned toward him.

"They want me to give up my seat as governor," Kabir growled. "That’s their price. I swear, whoever this is… they’ve made a grave mistake."

Andre’s eyes widened. "Sir, you can’t just—"

"I know," Kabir snapped, cutting him off. "But we need to find her first."

Suddenly, Seyi’s phone rang. He answered, listening intently, his expression growing grimmer by the second.

"They’ve found a vehicle matching the description of the one used in the kidnapping," Seyi said, lowering the phone. "But it's abandoned. No sign of Zara or the kidnappers."

Kabir felt a wave of despair, but he forced himself to stay composed. He couldn’t afford to lose control now.

"Keep searching," Kabir ordered, his voice cold. "I don’t care what it takes. We’re not stopping until we find her."

Andre nodded, immediately returning to his laptop. Seyi was already on another call, pulling every string he could to get more men on the ground.

As Kabir stood in the chaos of his own home, surrounded by broken glass and overturned furniture, the message replayed in his mind.

The person behind this wasn’t just playing a game. They wanted to take everything from him, everything he had worked for. But as Kabir thought of Zara, fear and guilt weighing heavily on him, he knew one thing for certain: whoever had taken her didn’t realize the depth of the fight they had just unleashed.

He would find them. And when he did, no seat—no title—would be enough to stop him from getting her back.