"Our boss clawed his way up from the depths of the underworld. Whether your mission is noble or nefarious, when push comes to shove, it's a toss-up as to who emerges victorious!"

As the man delivered his ominous ultimatum, Ariana decided to engage with him no more. At this juncture, maintaining an imposing presence was crucial, but conserving energy was equally vital.

Time dragged on in the suffocating silence, with the man keeping them confined, neither assaulting them nor offering food or a drink.

In this eerie hush, seconds turned into minutes, and Tom's restlessness grew, hanging over him like a storm cloud, threatening to burst at any moment.

He cast a glance at Ariana, who had maintained an unflinching composure throughout, and voiced his guilt in a hushed tone, "This whole mess is on me. It's obvious they came after me, but I've dragged you into this, Ariana. Are you holding up okay?"

"I'm fine."

Kidnapping was something she'd been into before, and given their current captors, their attitude was relatively calm.

She turned to reassure Tom, "Don't blame yourself for this ordeal.

It's a trap set for us. Carl anticipated we'd return to inspect the surveillance, and they deliberately left the back door open. Trust me; others will take notice of our absence and come looking for us."

Meanwhile, Sonia had been frantically searching for Ariana. They had made plans to take young Melon to the children's park that day.

However, upon inquiring Ariana's assistant, Sonia learned that Ariana hadn't returned home since the previous night, and her calls had gone unanswered.

Initially, she presumed Ariana was preoccupied at the police station, dealing with Tom's predicament, making it inconvenient to respond to calls. Yet, after conferring with her assistant and other colleagues, it happened that no one had seen Ariana for a while!

Sonia sensed immediately that something was awry, vivid memories of the harrowing discovery of Ariana's condition after the car accident five years ago rushing back. Even now, the mere recollection of that incident sent shivers down her spine.

Swiftly, Sonia hastened to inspect the surveillance footage near the police station, and she confirmed that Ariana had left with Tom.

She promptly dialed Tom's number, but it went unanswered as well.

A sense of foreboding gripped Sonia, a sentiment she couldn't afford to ignore. Upon her visit to the police station to report the situation, she was met with the disheartening news that they couldn't initiate a case until twenty-four hours had elapsed.

Sonia couldn't endure such a delay, and she promptly rallied her friends for assistance while also apprising Mitchel of the unfolding crisis. She divulged the particulars to him and implored him to stay with Melon.

Receiving the distressing news, Mitchel wasted no time leveraging his connections to acquire information discreetly. However, from dawn to dusk, there was nothing.

Melon remained indoors, complying obediently. Although both Sonia and Mitchel strove to wear brave countenances in his presence, the child intuited that something was amiss.

He suppressed his emotions, refraining from uttering a word until the following morning when, as was his custom, he went to find Ariana and didn't find her. Unable to restrain his emotions any longer, he burst into tears.