Page 24 of Entwined with My Best Friend's Brother

After Ryan's voice comes through, I realize I can't breathe well and am about to have another panic attack. I can't help holding onto Ryan, "Ryan, hurry, please."

He stays on the call with me until they find me.

Ryan has an anxious look on his face as he rushes towards me. A look he seldom has. How pitiful did I look in his eyes? I went out so proudly and confident this morning, yet now I sit here alone, the most useless person ever.

I can feel him wrap something warm around me, but I don't deserve it. My son is out there somewhere. Maybe cold. Maybe hungry. Thirsty. Suffering. Tortured?

Ryan rubs my back, "Jen, calm down. Jen! Jen!"

I hear Ryan shout in the distance as my world turns black.

Chapter Twelve - Ryan

IregretleavingJenalone. Her hoarse cries and begging make me anxious to get to her. I can't help ignoring several road signals to get to her.

Seeing her small frightened figure as she huddles against the wall in the hallway right next to her own vomit makes my chest sore. I don't like her looking so miserable. Rushing to her, I wrap my coat around her, but she pushes me away, "Jen, calm down. Jen! Jen!"

Jen seems to have fainted. Damn it. I check her pulse, and it feels abnormal, "Gwen, call for an ambulance."

Gwen seems to be acting weird since we entered the hallway, as she stands back as if staring at something, so I can't help snapping at her, "Gwen!"

Gwen flinches, her gaze still on the same place, "Are you sure we should call for an ambulance?"

Following her gaze, I find Charles' hanging body. I advise Gwen that the scene is too grotesque, "Don't look at it anymore. Go call Gray and ask him to bring the forensics team."

Slipping an arm under her knees, I pick up Jen, letting her head lean on me. Gwen follows, "Is she going to be okay?"

Looking at my sister's haggard face, I realize this is the first time I have seen her look so worried. Back in the car, even her expression of inability to believe that Cale had been kidnapped made her look so vulnerable. Never in my life would I ever take my sister for being weak.

Jen and Cale are as important to her as they had become important to me.

"She just fainted. She is going to be fine. Just go call Gray."

Laying Jen down in the back seat of my car, I can't help kissing her still-scrunched forehead. Digging out her cells and Gwen's car keys, I cover her with my jacket, ensuring she isn't cold. Locking the car, I ask Gwen, "What did he say?"

Gwen doesn't seem well, "He is on his way."

I hold out my car keys, "Go take care of Jen in the car. Lock the door."

Gwen takes the keys, "What about you?"

"I have something I got to do."

Gwen nods, leaving me alone to unlock Jen's cells. She has two. I never noticed. I realize one has a password lock, but the other doesn't. Going through her calls and messages, I noticed the message and the attached picture were sent from an unknown number. I can't help tensing up, seeing the little guy blindfolded and tied in such a way.

Whoever did this had it perfectly planned out. If Jen had called the Chicago PD, she may have been the biggest suspect and probably would have been ruled out as a culprit.

Whoever they were, they convinced or forced Charles to call Jen – brought her out of her safety zone. Whether she brought Cale along or not didn't matter. She would have been stuck either way. The perpetrator seemed to be ready to take any action.

Looking around, I note some cameras around the bungalow and some blood. It is fresh and probably belongs to the culprit. Using a cotton swap and Ziploc bag, I store it to pass it on to the forensics department.

I will investigate the corpse more deeply when Gray and the team arrive.

"Half of you will stay here to close off the house. The forensics department will stay here and have the autopsy report ready soon. At the same time, the other half of you will go along with me to Chicago Kindergarten and investigate the recent kidnapping of Cale Hart. Do it as discreetly as possible. The kidnapper is smart and may be hiding amidst the masses." Sending half of my people over to Charles' house and half to Cale's kindergarten, I dismiss them and pull Gray aside.

"What have you got for me?" Previously, when Charles had revealed the secret charity event the Armanis held, I had called Gray to investigate.

Gray hands me a folder and says, "You were right. We were asked to operate their disguised event while they held their secret charity somewhere near but obscure. I got the blueprints for the Armani mansion and discovered a large underground space in the garden."

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