A MARRIAGE OF HATE: Chapter 11 – The End
Chapter 22
Killian?
“She’s not in the room,” I said, swallowing past the lump in my throat. My mind raced.
“I want every single staff looking for her. Right now!”
Thirty minutes later, the search party was unsuccessful. Julianna was nowhere to be found and apparently no one had seen her.
I scrubbed a shaky hand over my face.
“Samuel, I need you to check all the security footage,” I ordered, trying to remain calm, except I felt anything but.
My insides churned and it felt like acid was flowing through my veins. I followed Samuel into the basement, where our security room was.
He ran through all the video footage that surrounded the premises of Spencer Manor and my stomach dropped when he rewound through one specific piece of footage.
The balcony outside my room – three hours ago.
Terror gripped me when I saw a masked man carrying Julianna over his shoulders.
He climbed down from my balcony, almost expertly, as if he had done such a thing many times.
Bile rose in my throat when I saw Julianna’s precarious position.
She was limp, hanging dangerously over her captor’s shoulders. She was absolutely helpless to prevent herself from a deadly fall.
My fists clenched at my sides. Samuel rewound through different footage, this one showing the masked man dumping an unconscious Julianna into a black car, with tinted windows.
“Fk,” Samuel swore. “How did he get through our security?”
“It doesn’t matter how,” I growled, fury burning through my veins.
“Too bad for him, I’m one step ahead.”
I fished out my phone and opened the tracking app.
It was her ring. The one I put back on her finger last night. Once I found out that someone was hunting Julianna, I knew I had to take drastic steps.
Which included putting a tracking device on her.
And what better way to hide a tracking device than in a diamond ring?
But it was sheer luck that I replaced her rings last night and she was kidnapped today. What were the odds?
If I were one day later…
I shook my head, refusing to think of the outcome.
Right now, my priority was saving Julianna and my unborn baby. From now on, they were my sole focus.
Two hours later, the car slowed in front of a two-story house, in quite an old neighborhood. I lunged out of the car before it even came to a complete stop and took a quick peek at the tracking app.
We were right over the red mark. Julianna had to be here.
“That’s the car,” Samuel barked. “The one from the video footage. I recognize it.”
I was already stalking to the front door, my men following closely behind me. Not bothering to knock, Samuel and I used our combined strength to kick the door open.
A man, with spiky hair and a scarred face, came running at the sound of his door crashing open.
His eyes widened at the sight of me and ten more bulky men standing behind me.
“What–”
I lunged forward, not even giving him a chance to finish his thoughts.
My fingers wrapped around his throat and I slammed him into the wall.
“Where is Julianna?” I snarled.
“What. Did. You. Do. To. Her?”
His face turned purple as he struggled to breathe.
My thumbs pressed deeper into his throat, feeling the fragile pulsing veins under my fingertips.
I brought my face closer, staring him down. He watched me with dark, frightened eyes.
“If anything happened to my wife, if she and my baby were harmed in any way possible, I’ll make sure you regret the day you were born,” I hissed into his purple chocking face.
“I’ll make your life a living hell. And that’s a Spencer’s vow.”
I released him and he stumbled back, gasping for breath. “I don’t… know what… you’re talking about.”
Samuel rushed back down the stairs.
“She’s not here. We looked everywhere. But we checked all the footage carefully. That’s the same car that she was taken away in and the tracking device…”
“Boss,” George called, cutting off Samuel. My head snapped toward him and he was holding…Julianna’s ring between his fingers.
My blood ran cold.
“I found it in the car, under the seat.”
“My car?” the man choked, his face white as a ghost. He slumped against the wall, falling onto his arse.
“That doesn’t make any sense. I don’t know what you’re taking about.”
His face paled and then he stuttered, looking both panicked and fearful.
“W-wait. My brother used… my car today.”
“Who is your brother?” I barked, glaring down at him.
“Simon Jones? He used to work for Bishop Romano, as a bodyguard.”
Simon…
The name was familiar and when realization dawned on me, my heart rate sped up.
Gracelynn’s lover?
He did have a motive for wanting to harm Julianna – an act of vengeance.
But was he also behind the accident that night?
That didn’t make any fvcking sense.
“Where’s your brother right now?” I asked, my voice cold and low with warning.
“I don’t know,” he cried.
I slammed my foot over his knee, hearing the bone crack.
He howled, his face twisting in agony. “That’s not the right answer. Try again. Where’s your brother right now?”
“I don’t… know…” he chattered. “We used to live… together, up until last week. It was unlike him, but he suddenly said that he was moving out. He’s been renting… this place. It’s up north, an hour from here.”
That was all the information I needed. After he gave us the address, I silently motioned for George to stay behind.
To keep an eye on Simon’s brother so there would be no communication between the two.
We broke all traffic laws, cutting the driving time from one hour to thirty-five minutes.
Please be okay, Princess. I’m coming for you.
As soon as I pulled into the driveaway of the address that was given to me, my gut churned with a sick sense of dread.
The house was in the middle of nowhere, lonely and looking practically deserted. The closest neighbor was probably twenty miles away from here.
As much as I hated it, this was the perfect place to hold someone captive.
Instead of going through the front door, we entered the house through the side door, which was real fvcking easy to crash open.
The house was eerily quiet. My men rushed inside, checking every corner of every room.
I made my way upstairs, gun in one hand. After checking the bedrooms and finding them all empty, I went to the last door at the end of the hallway. It was closed and locked from the outside.
My chest squeezed as I opened the latch. Julianna had to be in here.
Please be in here. Please let this be the room.
I pushed the door open, eyes darting around the room – only to find it empty. I walked inside, fist clenching and my heart dropping to my stomach in dread.
She wasn’t in here…
SLAM!
Pain exploded inside my head.
I turned around, my head pounding. I blinked several times.
It fvcking hurt and I staggered on my feet. The world spun and my vision blurred. I was bleeding. I had to be.
My gaze caught Julianna’s wild hair and feral grey eyes, before drifting down to the metal rod she was holding in her hands.
Blood dripped down my temple.
“Jules…” my lips parted to say her name before my knees buckled and my world went dark.
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A MARRIAGE OF HATE: Chapter 11 – The End
Julianna?
The moment my gaze met Killian’s dark one, I was too late to realize that I had attacked the wrong person.
His eyes rolled back into his head and my husband slumped to the ground with a hard thud.
I didn’t hit my captor.
I ended up unknowingly attacking my savior.
God, how much of a fool I was!
I fell to my knees next to Killian’s body, shaking his shoulders.
“Killian?” I said, heart in my throat.
“Open your eyes.”
Frantically, I looked around the room and then peeked outside.
The hall was empty. How long did we have before Simon came back?
Did Killian come to rescue me alone? My throat went dry at the thought.
I would hope not, because we were going to need back-up.
A bump was forming over the spot where I had hit him and he was bleeding. Not heavily though.
It was a small wound, thank God.
Killian groaned and after much cajoling from me, he finally blinked his eyes open.
Dazed and pained. But when his dark gaze met mine, I saw fear and wonderment.
“I found you,” he grunted.
“You found me,” I whispered, sniffling. “I was so scared, but I knew you’d come.”
Killian sat up, wincing, but I saw the unmasked rage in his eyes.
“I’m going to kill him. Simon is a dead fvcking man,” my husband growled.
I shook my head. “It’s not Simon who wants me dead. He has been used as an alibi. A cover up. Like the maid.”
His chest rattled with a sound and his fists clenched.
“Who would want you dead then? Who is trying to kill you?” he asked, his voice deceptively calm.
“I know who it is,” I confessed softly.
His eyes flared and his jaw tightened.
“Who?”
It pained me to say it, but sometimes the truth was more bitter than lies and deception.
“My father.”
Two hours ago.
I woke up with a pounding headache, drowsy at first, but then my memories came crashing back to me.
My heart stammered in my chest. With a gasp, I sat up. My eyes searched my surroundings, only to realize that I was in a windowless room.
The room was bare of any furniture except the bed that I was sitting on and the wooden chair across the room.
I had been captured, taken. By the person who had been hunting me. My hands shook and I tried to remain calm, but I couldn’t.
Tears welled up in my eyes, but I blinked them away. No, this was not the time to cry. I had to figure out how to get out of this place.
For too long, I had been weak. Depending on my father and husband to protect me.
Not anymore.
I spent the next twenty minutes trying to break free from the room, only to realize that there was no escape.
The door was locked from the outside.
I had to wait for whoever had kidnapped me.
I had to know who it was and then I could decide the probability of me successfully escaping this place.
Dread filled me because I knew how hard it was going to be. To escape when I had no idea where I was.
Where are you, Killian?
I sat on the bed, fidgeting for the next few minutes until I heard the rattling of the lock. My eyes widened as the door slid open.
Thud.
A shadow loomed at the doorway, big and imposing. It was a man.
Thud. Thud.
My hands shook, my palms clammy.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
I blinked when the man finally walked inside, revealing his face.
“Father?” I gasped before letting out a choked sob.
“Oh my God! You found me!” I lunged off the bed, as if to hug him, but came to a halt when I saw his twisted expression.
The air felt tight, heavy with tension.
He didn’t look happy to see me.
In fact, he looked disgusted at the sight of me. The door closed behind him, locking us back inside.
My stomach churned and I took a shaky step back.
“W-what is going on?” I asked, fear slithering through me.
His lips curled, an evil smile spreading across his face.
My whole body shook and I took several steps back, until I bumped into the bed. He wasn’t here to rescue me.
No…
This can’t be happening.
When he finally spoke, my world came crashing down on me.
“You’re the product of adultery.”
I blinked, confused. “What?”
“Allow me to tell you a little story,” he said, smoothly. As if he was talking about the weather.
I slumped on the bed, numb. My father brought the chair closer to me and took a seat, looking so at ease while I was panicking.
“Your mother had an affair with her bodyguard,” he said and my brain stuttered.
“The man I paid to keep her safe. She cheated on me throughout our marriage and I was too late to realize that.”
“No,” I breathed, shaking my head. “I don’t believe you.”
He didn’t even bother to acknowledge my words. His expression twisted with disgust.
“I wasn’t about to be cuckhold by that bch anymore. So, I made an easy decision for both of us.”
He clucked his tongue. “Except, I didn’t realize you weren’t mine until way after she passed.”
My head reeled from all the things my father was saying. If I understood him correctly… did he just confess to the murder of my mother?
He leaned forward, bringing his face closer to me, his lips curled up in distaste.
“I raised you, knowing you were the child of another man. The product of my wife’s adultery,” he hissed, spitting in my face.
“I raised you with one purpose. Your mother got an easy death, but you would pay. I wanted to hurt you, so I could hurt him.”
My mouth was dry, my tongue heavy, as I choked on my own breath.
“You should have died that night. Not Gracelynn.”
His cruel words finally snapped something in me and I found my voice.
“You put her in danger,” I whispered.
“Just so you could kill me?”
“I needed your death to look like an accident. It was a sacrifice I was willing to make.”
My chest ached; the burning sensation was fierce. It hurt.
“The one behind the accident was… you.”
He let out a dark chuckle and my blood ran cold.
“Oh, you poor thing. Look at how heartbroken you are. To realize that father dearest has nothing but hate for you.”
I always knew that I wasn’t my father’s priority. I would just classify his lack of care under him not being father material.
It was to appease my own self, my own lonely heart that craved my father’s attention. But I never thought that Bishop hated me.
But I could see the utter distaste and loathing for me in his dangerously gleaming eyes.
This man hated me so much that he wanted me dead.
He tried to kill me. Twice. And now, this was his third attempt.
The last time Killian took the bullet that was meant for me, but he wasn’t here now.
Once again, I found myself unprotected and vulnerable.
My stomach rolled and fear slithered through me once I realized the grave danger I was in.
Oh God, my baby.
My body rattled with a cold shudder. I never even got a chance to check if that pregnancy test was positive, but I knew it as much as I knew my love for Killian was true. I felt it.
I was carrying Killian’s baby.
My chin trembled, but I refused to cry, to allow this man to see me as weak. How long was I out for?
Killian was probably aware that I was missing by now.
.
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A MARRIAGE OF HATE: Chapter 11 – The End
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