Bound to the Don

chapter 18

Third person pov

After several minutes, Louis made his way to the third floor, specifically the abandoned room in which Salma was locked in but on getting there he met with a disturbing sight.

Louis's eyes narrowed as he took in the scene before him. The door was widely opened and the hinges were ripped off. He didn't care about what happened to her; what infuriated him was that she had managed to escape in the first place. How had she done it? And why hadn't anyone alerted him?

He stormed out of the room, his mind racing with anger and questions. He needed to get to the bottom of this. He made his way to the security room, his footsteps echoing down the corridor, his strides long and purposeful.
He burst through the door, slamming it shut behind him startling the occupants of the room.

"Show me the footage from the abandoned  room on the third floor," he barked at the security monitor , who quickly hastened to comply .

The man fast-forwarded through the footage, stopping at the point where Salma started banging on the door.

Louis watched intently as Salma's frantic banging grew louder and more insistent filling the air with a loud and jarring sound. Suddenly, Armando appeared in the hallway, his face twisted in anger. Louis face darkened and he whispered a curse as if he knew what exactly was coming.

Armando stormed towards the door, his fists clenched in anger. He yanked the door open forcefully, the hinges creaking in protest causing it to fall apart.  The force to which it opened made Salma to stumble forward losing  her balance and crashing to the ground. Her eyes went wide with terror as Armando seized her arm, his grip crushing, and pulled her up with such immense force that Louis feared he might snap her arm.

The footage showed Armando dragging Salma down the hallway, her feet stumbling to keep up with him. Then they  turned a corner, and Louis lost sight of them. He turned to the security guard, his voice low and menacing.

"Get me the footage from the rest of the building. I want to know where Armando took the girl now!"

With a fearful tremble, the man obeyed Louis's command, frantically searching the footage for any glimpse of the girl.

But despite scouring all the footage, they couldn't pinpoint Salma's location. Louis's frustration boiled over into fury. He slammed his fist into the computer screen, shattering it, before unleashing a torrent of curses. He spun around, ready to leave, but not before barking an order at the security team.

"Get this computer fixed immediately!" he thundered, before s torming out of the room.

Louis hastened towards Armando's office his expression unreadable. He was well aware of Armando's notorious anger issues and his strict no "noise" policy when he enforced was around. Salma who was unaware of this strict rules had unknowingly crossed a line with her incessant banging.
Louis's expression remained impassive but he couldn't help think that Armando's anger might have gotten the best if him.

He reached the door to Armando's office,  pushed it open without knocking and stepped inside.
His eyes scanned the room and locked into Armando seated behind his sleek mahogany desk intently focused on the documents in front of him.

Louis began to approach towards him, his movements deliberate and calculated. As he  stopped in front of the desk, his gaze drifted downwards and is eyes widened in shock.

On the floor, partially hidden from view, was a bundle of hair. But as he looked closer, he realized it was a woman, her head bopping up and down as she tried to please Armando.

Louis shook his head, surprised at Armando's nonchalance. What would it take to break this man's composure? He wondered, but he didn't have time to dwell on it. He had a more pressing concern - Salma's fate.