Chapter 59
The Imposter Bride
âWho are you?â¦Uh Natalia stepped back, but before she could shout, she was muffled by a cloth from behind by two men and dragged into the nearby bushes Natalia blacked out, and the two men quickly hoisted Natalia into a nearby van. In no time, the van disappeared from where no one was paying attention.
As dusk fell, Linden had already prepared dinner, but Natalia didnât come home. He knew Natalia had been studying hard lately, but she always came home at this hour He promptly dialed Nataliaâs cell phone, but it was turned off He immediately drove to Melfort College, which was already devoid of students. After explaining his identity to the security guard, he asked if there were any students left The guard shook his head âSchool is dismissed every day at six, and no students have been staying for night study latelyâ
Linden remembered Natalia had two close friends, so he immediately contacted the principal and got the numbers of Sabrina and Lexi When he found out Natalia wasnât with them, Linden began to panic. Where on earth could Ms Natalia be?
He was just about to call Magnus when he arrived back at Maplewood Manor when he saw Hectorâs car slowly pulling up to the mansion Not caring about anything else, he rushed over to Hector. âWhat brings you here?
Iâm here to see Natalia Is she home?â Hector got out of the car with his hands in his pockets âNo. Ms. Natalia hasnât come home yet Iâve looked everywhere She hasnât gone to her friends either Linden was frantic. If anything happened to Ms. Natalia, heâd have hell to pay when Magnus returned.
Magnus had left him in Melfort to take care of her.
Hector froze at Lindenâs words âIs she usually home by this time?â
âYes, she usually comes home at this time Linden replied truthfully.
Hector immediately jumped into his car âCome on, letâs go look for her. She canât be lost, right?â
Thatâs impossible, Ms. Natalia always comes home alone,â Linden said confidently.
âWhereâs my cousin? Hector was getting anxious. Where was Magnus? Natalia hadnât come home and he was acting as if nothing was wrong, letting a servant go out and look for her!
âMr. Magnus has been in France for a few days. I havenât had a chance to call him yet. Linden was about to call Magnus, but Hector stopped him âCalling him now wonât do any good! Get in the car and letâs go find Natalia.â
Linden figured he was right, so he got into Hectorâs car. But he couldnât help sending Magnus a message. [Ms. Natalia is missing!
They drove back and forth several times on the road from the school to Maplewood Manor, but there was no sign of Natalia. Hector then drove to the Clarkson family Linden was extremely anxious. Why didnât he think of Natalia going back to her motherâs house?
When they knocked on the door of the Clarkson familyâs mansion, the maid asked, âWho are you looking for?â
âHas Natalia come home?â
âShe hasnât come back since she married into the Andersen family. The maid glanced into the living room after she spoke.
âWho is it?â Addison asked from the living room.
âItâs someone looking for Natalia After the maid finished, Hector saw everyone in the living room look over.
Hector nodded at Addison and Kyler, âNatalia didnât come back to the Andersen family after school. We donât know where she is. Hasnât she come back here?
Kyler shook his head âNatalia hasnât been back since she got married to the Andersen family. Itâs impossible for her to come home Hector looked at the family, feeling a surge of anger Wasnât it them who forced her to marry into the Andersen family, leaving her with no home to return to? He coldly swept his gaze over the people in the living room. Only Kendra avoided his gaze, pretending not to see him Hector laughed mockingly Kendra was actually Magnus wifel And it was this woman who forced Natalia to marry Magnus!
He stared at Kendra for a moment before turning to leave Hector didnât say a word Linden, increasingly anxious wanted to call Magnus again, but Hector stopped him. âEven if you call Magnus now, he canât get back from France right away Letâs not call him âBut where could Ms Natalia have gone?â
Hector didnât say anything He drove straight to the police station Linden was stunned âAre you going to report a missing person?â
âWe canât report a missing person within 24 hours Iâm here to check the surveillance At Hectorâs insistence, the traffic police started checking the surveillance of that section. The surveillance footage showed Natalia being cornered by Kendra first, then being muffled and dragged away by two men at a turn When Hector saw this, he was stunned Natalia had been kidnapped!
Linden also started trembling He had failed to protect Ms Natalia.
Hector immediately filed a report, and the police in Melfort set out overnight to track down the van.
They soon found that the van had headed towards the coast The van that kidnapped Natalia disappeared when it reached the docks Hector immediately launched the Cood familyâs private speedboat with the police, heading in the possible direction of the criminals.
At 10 p.m. Hector was more anxious than ever, staring intently at the sea ahead In the dimly lit cabin of a ship. Natalia slowly stirred from unconsciousness. The darkness was allâ
encompassing, and the sound of crashing waves filled her ears.
Where was she? She fumbled in the darkness, only to discover her hands and feet were bound.
She remembered after school, sheâd run into Kendra, and then two men had overpowered her Had she been kidnapped?
Nothing in her life had prepared her for this. The only kidnappings sheâd ever seen were in movies.
Fear gripped her heart, but she reminded herself that panicking wouldnât help. She was alone here Faint voices sounded from somewhere outside the cabin. She crawled towards the sounds, finding a solid metal door. She pressed her ear against the cold iron, straining to hear the conversation.
âJohnny, whatâre we gonna do with the girl? The boss said to dump her in the sea, but sheâs a looker, and sheâs young Could still be a virgin, one voice suggested What are you thinking? Donât mess with the boss plans. We ainât playing games here, the other voice, presumably Johnny, responded coldly.
âWe could stash her in England, keep her out of sight. As long as she doesnât show up in Melfort, the boss wonât know Sheâs like a frightened bunny, she ainât gonna fight back, the first voice continued.
âIf we get to England, youâre in charge. Iâll go along with your plan this time, but if anything goes south, weâre both screwed Johnny replied sternly.
âNah, Iâll make sure she behaves,â the first voice responded, followed by a repulsive snicker.
Only then did Natalia understand that they didnât intend to kill her, at least not yet. They planned to take her to England. A wave of relief washed over her As long as she was alive, there was a chance to escape. But who was their boss? And why had they taken her?