I want you back..✔✔✔✔(Re-edited)

17.

Aaron's POV

I sat hunched over my laptop, fingers tapping anxiously against the keyboard as I scrolled through every possible lead, every shred of information about that woman—the one who had turned our lives upside down. But still, nothing. No name. No face. No clue about who she was or what she wanted. It was maddening. The more I searched, the more the silence screamed back at me. Who was she? What was her connection to us? Why did she haunt every corner of our lives with such terrifying precision? The unanswered questions made my blood boil.

Suddenly, my phone pinged, the sharp sound cutting through the quiet hum of the room. It echoed softly from the side table. I reached over and picked it up, eyes immediately locking on the notification glowing on the screen; "Jax." The name sent a small jolt through me. Jax was the hacker I had contacted earlier that morning, the fourth in a long line of experts.

I hesitated for a moment, fingers hovering over the screen before I finally swiped to open the message. The text was brief but urgent: "Check your secure email. Sent everything you asked for. No guarantees, but this might be what you need."

 "S-sir... Ma'am is missing," one of them stammered, voice breaking.

"What?!" I exploded, the words ripping out of me. The blood drained from my face.

"Sir, I... I don't know how. She said she was going to the garden, but when I went there later, I heard a yelp and she was gone. There was blood on the floor," he added, barely able to keep his composure.

I didn't need to hear anything more. Without a second thought, I bolted out of the room, my heart hammering in my chest like a war drum. I sprinted to the control room, praying the cameras had caught something, anything. But as I arrived, my worst fears were confirmed. The footage was gone. Deleted. Wiped clean. That woman had found a way in and erased everything. 

Sweat broke out over my skin as I pulled out my phone and called Carter. "She's missing," I hissed, voice tight with panic and rage. "We can't lose her. Not now, not after everything." My hands trembled violently, gripping the steering wheel as I sped through the city streets. 

"No, no, no," I muttered through clenched teeth, fists pounding the steering wheel in frustration. "No. No way."

The worst part? We couldn't track her. Her phone was with me. It wasn't like she could just vanish without a trace if her device wasn't in her hands. Unless, my heart skipped a beat—I suddenly remembered something. The email. I dug into my pocket and pullet it out. I clicked on to the secured file. And then I froze.

There it was. The full data file on that woman, the mystery woman who had haunted our lives. I sat back, stunned, unable to believe what I was seeing.

The data was of Annie.

ANNIE.

I couldn't believe it. My mind went blank as I sat frozen in the car, shock weighing down my chest. The pieces suddenly fit together in a terrifying way I hadn't dared to imagine before. I sat there, staring at the screen, numb for several minutes, trying to process it all.

Suddenly, my phone rang sharply, breaking the heavy silence. It was Carter. I answered quickly, and in the background, I heard another voice, Matt's. It was clear Carter had already informed him. The urgency in their voices matched my own racing heartbeat. "I want my Levi back," I growled into the phone, raw desperation bleeding through my words. Matt's reply came sharp and tense, warning me to keep calm, to think clearly, but I was beyond reasoning. All I could focus on was rescuing Levi, getting her out of whatever nightmare Annie had dragged her into. I sent the proof to Matt, the photos, the details from the hacker's message, and waited, but there was no response.

 We tracked Annie's location, and as we arrived, a heavy tension hung in the air. We parked a little way off. "Annie wouldn't do something like that," Matt said over the phone, trying to calm my rising panic, but I stayed silent. There was no room for hope, not yet. All I wanted was for Levi to come back safe and unharmed. And for Annie to regret ever crossing us. 

Moving cautiously toward the building, adrenaline coursed through my veins. Only one guard stood watch outside. Without hesitation, Carter took him down, quick and precise. Inside, we moved quietly, following the voices, Annie's cold, venomous rage mingled with Levi's desperate pleas. Then came the scream, raw and shattering: "No!" It broke me. I couldn't stay still anymore. I ran toward the sound, every instinct screaming at me to save her.

Matt appeared behind me, shoving Annie aside just as a gunshot echoed sharply. The bullet struck the wooden chair Levi was tied to, splintering the floor mere inches from her shaking body. "Leviii!" I yelled, my voice cracking with emotion as I rushed to her side. Relief and fear twisted inside me as her eyes fluttered open, recognition flooding her tear-streaked face. "Aaaaron," she whispered, gripping me tightly while I gently worked to free her bound hands, murmuring reassurances to calm the tremors she couldn't control.

Behind us, chaos exploded; Matt tried to calm Annie, but she was consumed by fury and desperation. Her voice rose, wild and venomous. "She ruined my life! I won't let her live!" With a sudden, violent motion, she yanked the gun and aimed it directly at Levi's head, her eyes blazing with a terrifying mix of rage and pain.

"Noooo, Annie! Drop the gun!" I yelled, my voice raw with panic and pleading. But she was beyond reason, her hands trembling as she pulled at her hair, screaming in frustration and agony. I could feel Levi shaking against me, her fear cutting through me like a knife. Annie tried to load the gun again, but suddenly froze, caught in a moment of hesitation. I stood in front of Levi, and Matt stood in front of me, like a barrier protecting her. "Matt, move!" Annie shouted, but he didn't move. "If you want to hurt my sister, you'll have to go through me first," he said firmly.

Annie's rage finally broke her. She collapsed to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. In a final act of despair, she smashed a glass bowl beside her, shards scattering like broken dreams across the floor. I pulled Levi close, holding her as her quiet sobs shook her whole body. My hands trembled as I checked her over, heart pounding with relief when I found no physical harm.

Annie screamed, her anger driving her wild. "You made me the villain now, you bitch!" she yelled, trying to push past Matt to grab Levi. But Matt stood firm like a wall. Annie pushed hard, but Matt's sharp slap stopped her, breaking through her fury. I heard a gasp behind me. "Annie..." Levi whispered softly, and then I felt something wet on my shirt.