Page 47 of Kidnapped By the Bratva

I grip the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turn white. The road stretches out before me, dark and endless, and my mind races with a mix of rage and frustration. How the fuck did I let this happen?

Sophia’s gone. Kidnapped. From under my nose.

My phone buzzes beside me, but I ignore it, too focused on the road. Artem is back at the office, scouring CCTV footage, trying to piece together where she was taken, how this all happened. I’ve got men spread out across the city, combing through every possible lead, but so far, nothing. Not a single clue as to who took her or where they’re keeping her.

It’s a sick twist of fate, really. I took her once—kidnapped her for my own revenge. And now, she’s been taken from me. The irony isn’t lost on me, but the rage bubbling beneath my skin is too intense to care about the irony. All I care about is getting her back.

Her phone’s off. They can’t track it. Whoever’s taken her knows exactly what they’re doing.

I press harder on the gas, the car speeding down the empty road as I search for anything that might give me a lead. The last thing I heard from Artem was that her car had been found, hidden off the side of a road just outside the city. It’s where I’m headed now, hoping like hell there’s something—anything—that can give us a clue.

I arrive at the scene, pulling off the road and parking beside Sophia’s car. My men are already here, a few of them standing around, scanning the area. The car’s been pushed off the road, out of sight, like someone wanted to make sure it wouldn’t be easily found.

I step out of my car, my jaw clenched tight as I approach the vehicle. My heart pounds in my chest, a rare feeling of dread creeping up my spine. I can’t remember the last time I felt this helpless.

“Boss,” one of my men says as I approach. “We found her car, but no sign of her or anyone else.”

I nod, barely listening. My mind is already working through a dozen different scenarios, none of them good.

I take a deep breath, trying to steady myself. “Have Artem scan the CCTV footage from the nearest cameras. Anything in the area, I want to know if a car was following her, or if she was forced off the road.”

The man nods, pulling out his phone to relay the orders. I crouch down next to Sophia’s car, my fingers brushing over the door handle. The door’s unlocked, slightly ajar. I open it, peering inside. There’s nothing out of place—no sign of a struggle, no blood, no obvious clues.

Something doesn’t sit right.

“Artem,” I say into my phone, dialing him directly. “I need those CCTV scans. Any traffic cameras nearby. I want every angle, every possible lead.”

“Already on it,” Artem’s voice crackles through the line. “There’s a camera about a mile down the road, one that catches the intersection she would’ve passed through. I’m pulling it now.”

I stand up, pacing around the car, my mind working overtime. Sophia wouldn’t have just driven off like this, not without telling someone, not without leaving a clue. Something’s wrong. She’s been taken, and whoever did it covered their tracks well.

Minutes pass like hours as I wait for Artem’s update. My men are combing the nearby area, searching for any sign of where she could’ve been taken. My heart is pounding hard, frustration boiling over.

Finally, Artem’s voice comes through again. “Got something.”

I stop pacing, my heart leaping. “What is it?”

“There’s footage from the intersection a mile down. A car pulled over. Dark-colored, no plates visible. Sophia pulled up beside it to help the driver. Looks like a woman.”

I frown. A woman? That wasn’t what I expected.

“I’m sending the footage over to your phone now,” Artem continues. “It’s grainy, but you can make out the general details.”

My phone buzzes in my hand, and I open the video Artem sent. Sure enough, there’s Sophia’s car, pulled over on the side of the road. Another car is beside it, and a woman gets out. Sophia walks toward the woman’s car, and they appear to talk for a moment.

Then, once the woman’s tire is fixed, the two of them disappear from view Behind the vehicle.

The car pulls away, with Sophia inside it.

“Any idea who this woman is?” I ask, my voice tight.

“Working on it,” Artem replies. “She could’ve been a decoy, maybe someone who Sophia thought was just offering help. From the way they’re acting, it looks like Sophia went willingly.”

I curse under my breath, watching the footage over and over. Something about the woman seems familiar, but I can’t place it.

“I’ll keep digging,” Artem says. “See if I can find any more footage from other cameras along the route.”

I hang up, frustration boiling over. This wasn’t a random kidnapping. It was planned, carefully executed. They knew how to take her without drawing attention.

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