Bound to my Enemy

Chapter 266.

"No," Noah says immediately. "No fucking way."

"It’s him," I say quietly.

Both brothers look toward me instantly and I can physically see the moment it sinks in for them that this is real.

Elaine is actually gone.

Noah runs a hand harshly over his face.

"When?"

"A few hours ago."

"A FEW HOURS!?"

His voice explodes through the room.

I honestly can’t blame him because every passing second feels unbearable right now.

"How the fuck does someone kidnap her from a heavily guarded house?!" Caleb snaps.

I laugh bitterly.

"Because the man in charge of guarding her was the one who took her."

That shuts everybody up immediately.

Noah’s expression darkens slowly, murderously.

"He touched my sister?"

Thr quietness in his voice is somehow more threatening than the shouting.

Lucas descends the stairs again slowly.

"We think he’s been behind everything."

"The attacks?"

"Yes."

"The poisoning?"

"Yes."

"Aaron?"

"Yes."

Every answer seems to make Noah angrier, his hands curl into fists at his sides.

Caleb looks equally furious now.

"No," he mutters almost to himself. "No no no."

Then suddenly he looks at me sharply.

"She’s pregnant."

The words hit the room heavily and I close my eyes briefly.

"Yes."

Caleb swears violently under his breath.

Noah punches the wall so hard beside him the sound echoes loudly through the room.

Nobody even reacts to it.

"Tell me you have a location," Noah says tightly.

"Not yet."

That answer clearly takes the last thread of restraint holding him together as he starts pacing aggressively.

"I’m going to fucking kill him."

"You will need to get in line firs t," I mutter darkly.

The room falls quiet again after that and for the first time since realizing Elaine was gone...

I don’t feel alone in my panic anymore, because now all of us are furious.

And God help Thomas when we find him.

Elaine’s POV

Thomas stands there breathing heavily after shouting. The room feels painfully tense now.

"I don’t care!" he snaps again, eyes burning with years worth of anger. "Someone has to pay!"

I stare at him quietly.

And for the first time since waking up here...i don’t just see a villain.

I see someone broken beyond repair.

"You’re hurting innocent people," I say softly.

Something flickers across his face then.

Guilt maybe, regret or Pain but it disappears almost immediately.

"You don’t understand," he mutters roughly.

"Then explain it to me."

"I can’t."

His voice cracks slightly there, just enough to hear it.

Then suddenly he laughs bitterly and drags both hands through his hair.

"Fuck."

The word comes out broken and exhausted, like even he’s tired of himself now.

For a second he just stands there breathing hard before turning sharply toward the door.

"Thomas..."

But he’s already walking away... a second later the metal door slams loudly behind him hard enough to rattle the walls.

Heavy Silence fills the room afterward.

Then I exhale shakily and lean back against the chair.

"Fuck."

Aria glances toward me cautiously.

I look at her completely serious.

"Why do I always get kidnapped?"

That catches her off guard.

"What?"

"Seriously," I continue tiredly. "Do I look like kidnapping material?"

To my surprise, a tiny laugh escapes her. Honestly the sound almost feels strange in this room.

Then suddenly dizziness crashes into me out of nowhere.

"Oh shit."

I squeeze my eyes shut immediately as nausea rolls through me violently.

The baby.

Oh God.

I bend forward abruptly.

"I’m gonna throw up."

Aria immediately moves.

"What do you need?"

"Something," I choke out desperately. "Please hold up something I don’t wanna throw up on myself."

She scrambles around the room quickly before grabbing an old plastic container from near the mattress. Then she rushes back toward me holding it carefully beneath me just in time.

I throw up almost immediately, the nausea hitting hard and fast. Tears sting my eyes from how forcefully it happens.

"Oh my God," I groan weakly afterward.

Aria still kneels beside me holding the container awkwardly, concern filling her face.

"You okay?"

"No," I whisper honestly. "Pregnancy is a scam."

That earns another startled laugh from her.

I breathe slowly trying to settle the nausea while she carefully sets the container aside.

"Thank you," I mutter weakly.

She nods softly.

Then for a second we just sit there quietly.

And suddenly...something shifts. The nervous timid energy she had earlier slowly disappears. Her posture straightens slightly.

I notice it immediately.

Wait.

"You’re not scared of him," I say slowly.

Aria looks at me for a long second.

Then finally sighs.

"I am."

Her voice sounds calmer now and smarter somehow.

"But not as much as I pretend to be."

I blink.

"What?"

She leans back against the wall quietly.

"I act naive because it keeps him calm."

My brows pull together instantly.

"What do you mean?"

Her eyes lower briefly.

"I tried escaping twice."

"Twice?"

She nods once.

"The consequences weren’t very pretty."

Something cold settles in my chest.

"What did he do?"

She hesitates.

Then quietly says:

"He stopped.....I don’t wanna talk about it. But after that he watched me constantly afterward," she continues softly. "Wouldn’t let me out of his sight for weeks."

Jesus Christ.

"So now," she says carefully, "I act obedient, quiet and grateful."

Understanding slowly dawns on me.

"You’re waiting."

Her eyes meet mine.

"Yes."

Holy shit. This girl is far smarter than I initially thought.

Then suddenly she kneels carefully in front of me.

Her movements are cautious and gentle.

before I can react, she slowly places her hand against my stomach.

Her eyes widen slightly.

"Is this really my brother’s child?"

The softness in her voice catches me off guard.

I nod slowly.

"Yes."

Something emotional flashes across her face instantly.

Wonder maybe, greif too.

Then quietly she asks:

"Why didn’t he ever look for me?"

The question breaks my heart immediately.

"He just abandoned me."

"No," I say instantly.

Firmly.

"Your brother would never abandon you."

Aria looks uncertain.

"He carried the guilt of your death for years," I continue softly. "If he knew you were alive, he would’ve searched the ends of the earth for you."

My throat tightens slightly.

"Both of them would’ve."

"Both?"

"Zane and Lucas."

At Lucas’s name something flickers across her expression immediately.

"Lucas..." she whispers softly.

Then after a pause:

"Did he move on?"

I tilt my head slightly.

"Your brother," she clarifies quietly. "Is he married too?"

A small smile pulls at my lips despite everything.

"No."

Her eyes widen slightly.

"He didn’t marry," I continue softly. "Honestly? I don’t even think he dated."

That clearly surprises her.

"I’ve never seen him with anybody," I admit. "Almost like..."

I smile gently.

"He was waiting for you."

Aria looks shattered by that information, her eyes immediately gloss over.

Then suddenly she grabs my tied hands tightly.

"We need to get out of here."

The urgency in her voice startles me.

"We have to."

"For my niece."

I snort softly despite myself.

"Oh don’t look at me like that."

She raises a brow.

"I’m pretty sure it’s a girl."

That actually makes me laugh.

A real laugh this time and surprisingly...Aria laughs too.

For one brief second, trapped inside this horrible place, everything almost feels normal.

ZANE’S POV

The house feels like a war room now with phones ringing constantly, security footage playing across multiple screens and people moving everywhere.

Lucas’s men, Mine, even Noah and Caleb are involved now.

Noah sits aggressively hunched over one laptop tracking routes while Caleb argues with one of the security analysts nearby.

Everybody looks tense, focused and angry.

And me? I feel like I’m slowly losing my fucking mind. Every passing minute without Elaine feels unbearable. I pace near the massive window gripping my phone so tightly my hand aches.

Then suddenly it rings and every person in the room immediately looks up.

I answer instantly.

"What?"

"We tracked one of the vehicles Thomas used earlier today."

My entire body stills.

"Where?"

There’s brief rustling. Then the man gives me the location and immediately confusion crashes through me because I know that place too well.

I slowly lower the phone afterward.

Lucas notices instantly.

"What?"

I look toward him.

"I don’t understand why he’d go there."

"Where?"

I swallow once.

"There was an accident there years ago."

The room quiets immediately.

And softly I add:

"Thomas’s mother died there."

Silence.

Noah looks up sharply.

"What?"

I rub a hand over my face tiredly.

"The site caught fire.....his mom burned to death there."

Lucas’s expression darkens slowly as realization starts settling in.

"He went back there," he mutters.

"Looks like it."

Noah rises instantly.

"Then what the fuck are we waiting for?"

"It might be a Trap," I say immediately.

Everybody looks toward me as I shake my head slowly.

"Thomas is smart."

Too smart, he planned this for years, manipulated all of us for years. Which means he absolutely expects us to come for Elaine.

"He’ll be prepared," I continue carefully.

Lucas nods slowly beside me.

"So we go smarter."

I glance toward him.

Something dangerous settles across his expression then.

Lucas grabs a gun from the table nearby and checks it calmly before looking at me.

"He won’t even know what hit him."