Page 72 of Viral Affair

"I'm so sorry, Veronica, I hate this, I truly do. I want my son happy…"

My phone lit up and there was a text message from a number I didn’t recognise.

Dropped my phone in the toilet. This is my temporary number. There is a car waiting for you downstairs. I have a surprise for you.

Rupert

It seemed like the universe was giving me a signal to act and keep my promise to Sue. My heart ached, and I wanted to cry. My eyes stung as sadness enveloped me. Rupert had mentioned yesterday that he was going to be busy today, but maybe things had changed.

"I love him enough to let him go," I said, choking the words out. "I have to go now, Mrs. Banks. I will keep my promise…"

I rushed out of the coffee shop, heading home before she could say anything more. A black Mercedes was parked right outside mine and Laura's flat.. Must be another of Rupert’s cars. I got inside the vehicle, expecting to see Chris as he was used to driving me around. Except this time it wasn’t Chris.

“Oh, hello. Sorry, did I get into the wrong car?” I asked in confusion when I saw the dark-haired, dark-skinned guy who didn’t seem very approachable.

He turned around, leaned over, and stuck a needle right into my bare thigh.

“Sleep, little one, because we’re going for a ride,” he said.

Then everything started melting all around me. Several moments later, I passed out.

I was slowly coming back to reality, my head pounding with a dull pain. My vision was blurry, and my body felt numb. Something was going on, and I couldn’t move my hands. Were they tied up? Everything was hazy.

I opened my eyes as memories from the past few hours started slowly coming back to me. Then a person came into focus, and my breath hitched when Vincent stood right in front of me. I had no idea where we were, but he must have been planning to bring me here for a while now. It looked like some sort of factory or warehouse—God knew where. So the text message hadn’t been from Rupert, and I’d fallen right into Vincent’s trap.

“Finally, the bitch is awake,” he said coldly. He was wearing a nice suit—all for show.

I couldn’t freaking believe I’d been involved with the guy. He was lousy in bed, but that was the least of his problems. He was the jerk who threatened me and now, deceived and kidnapped me.

“What the hell do you want, Vincent? Rupert has given the recordings to his brother, so I couldn’t get them,” I lied. He didn’t need to know that I had the recordings but hadn’t even had a chance to see what was on them. I was waiting for James to get back to me so I could set up a plan of action.

Vincent ran his hand over his chin and sneered.

“It’s all right, I’ve already called your boyfriend, told him that I kidnapped you,” he revealed while my stomach dropped. “He’s transferring five million pounds into an offshore account as we speak.”

“Son of a bitch,” I muttered.

I stared at that bastard, trying to figure out if he was fucking with me. Then, before I could respond, he grabbed my chin and squeezed it until I grunted in pain. I realised he’d indeed tied me to the chair.

“He should be here shortly to rescue you while I will be away somewhere sipping my cocktail and enjoying the tropical sun,” he growled, finally letting go of my chin.

I couldn’t fucking feel my jaw.

“You’re delusional if you think you’re getting away with this.” I laughed, trying to free my hands, but the knot was tight. My body went into shock, and I panicked. I should have seen this coming. I’d known Vincent was going to strike sooner rather than later, and that time had come.

“You had one job, sweetheart. You were meant to get me those recordings and you failed. I have all the pictures from Greece of the two of you in love. I had to keep an eye on you, after all,” he said, grinning like he’d just won the lottery.

Rupert wasn’t stupid, so I hoped he’d refuse to give him any money.

“This gave me enough time to come up with an alternative plan because I knew you weren’t going to come through with your promise. Trust me, love, I’m not going to sit and wait until the police have me in handcuffs.”

“Rupert is never going to hand over that kind of cash, Vincent. You’re out of your mind. He doesn’t love me. Yes, we had a great sex, but this whole thing was always about sex anyway.”

Vincent wasn’t buying my story, so I had to be more convincing. I kept trying to untangle my hands from behind, but the bastard had used zip ties. My arms hurt from being in this position for so long.

“He’s on his way, love, and I have this whole place guarded so he won’t surprise me.” Vincent laughed. “Your boyfriend knows about us and trust me, he’s coming. He assured me he’s going to show up personally to hand me the money.”

This was a complete disaster. My heart raced as I tried to think of something. I had no idea how much time had gone by since I’d gotten inside that car. I must have been out unconscious for several hours, and I had no idea when he’d called Rupert. I felt like a complete idiot for being caught up in this mess in the first place. I should have run once I’d seen the driver wasn’t Chris.

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