Chapter 58 — The Message
The hotel suite in London had never felt this heavy before.
The large glass windows overlooked the glowing skyline of the city, but inside the room the air felt suffocating. No one was relaxed anymore. No one was speaking casually. Every movement felt sharp, tense, controlled.
Only a few hours earlier they had discovered Kevin's abandoned car near the cliff.
Ash's phone.
The drug vial.
The realization that something far worse than a financial betrayal was unfolding.
Now everyone was gathered in the large living hall of the hotel floor reserved for them.
Care sat on the edge of the sofa, elbows on her knees, fingers intertwined tightly. Her breathing had stabilized after the asthma attack earlier, but the tension inside her chest had not disappeared.
Cole stood beside the table, phone in his hand, pacing slowly like a caged animal.
Keifer leaned against the marble counter, his eyes moving from one person to another, analyzing every detail.
JJ sat calmly on the armrest of the chair, watching everything carefully, her sharp mind already processing possibilities.
Percy stood beside Honey, one hand resting protectively on her shoulder.
Aries paced slowly near the windows.
Endrix sat with three laptops open in front of him, fingers already flying across the keyboard.
Nova and Ben were standing near the table, whispering about medical logistics if Ash needed urgent help.
Rakhi and Freya stood together, silent but visibly worried.
Cin had just arrived back from the hospital shift he had rushed to earlier.
The entire room felt like a war council.
Then suddenly—
Care's phone vibrated.
The sound sliced through the room like a blade.
Every single head turned toward her.
Care slowly picked up the phone and looked at the screen.
Her expression changed instantly.
Cole stepped closer.
"What is it?"
Care didn't answer immediately.
Instead she turned the phone toward the table.
A single encrypted message.
"Do not look for me." — Kevin
The silence lasted exactly two seconds.
Then chaos exploded.
Cole slammed his fist against the table so hard the glasses rattled.
"DO NOT LOOK FOR HIM?" he shouted. "He kidnaps Ash, destroys the company, and now he tells us not to look for him?"
His voice was shaking with fury.
Percy stepped forward immediately, his normally calm face now dark with anger.
"That bastard," Percy muttered. "He thinks we're going to sit here quietly while he plays games with us?"
Honey grabbed his arm softly, grounding him.
Aries ran a hand through his hair, clearly furious.
"He planned this," Aries said slowly. "No one pulls something like this overnight. This was months of preparation."
Endrix didn't even look up from his screens.
"Correction," he muttered.
Everyone turned to him.
Endrix's fingers moved rapidly.
"This was years of preparation."
The room went silent again.
JJ stood up slowly.
Her voice was calm but sharp.
"Kevin is intelligent. Ambitious. Strategic. But this…" she paused, crossing her arms.
"This is not desperation. This is a takeover."
Care's phone vibrated again.
Another message.
She opened it.
Her eyes darkened.
Cole stepped closer.
"What now?"
Care read it aloud slowly.
"Ash is safe for now."
The room exploded again.
Cole grabbed the phone from the table.
"FOR NOW?"
His voice was shaking with rage.
Percy swore under his breath.
Honey looked pale.
Aries slammed his hand against the wall.
"That is not reassurance," Aries said coldly. "That is a threat."
Endrix leaned back in his chair slightly.
"And a calculated one."
Care's phone vibrated again.
One more message.
Three words.
Care read them slowly.
"Or maybe safe."
That was it.
Cole nearly crushed the phone in his hand.
"HE THINKS THIS IS A GAME!"
His voice echoed across the entire suite.
Keifer finally stepped forward.
His voice cut through the chaos like a blade.
"Enough."
Everyone fell silent instantly.
Keifer looked around the room.
Then he spoke calmly.
"First, we control the panic. Kevin wants chaos. We will not give it to him."
Then he turned toward the large screen on the wall.
Alex's voice suddenly came through the secure call line.
The Sydney team had been listening.
"Keifer, the situation here is still unstable," Alex said. "Employees are panicking. The board is asking questions."
Joong's voice followed.
"But we stopped the second wave of share transfers."
Lyra appeared on the screen beside them.
"We secured the financial servers."
Daisy added,
"The employees trust us right now. If we leave too early the company might collapse completely."
Keifer nodded slowly.
"You stabilize Lucas Company first," he said firmly.
"No more share transfers. No internal panic. Secure the board and the financial systems."
Alex nodded immediately.
"And after that?"
Keifer's voice was calm.
"Then you four return to London."
Everyone in the room understood the meaning behind that order.
The real battle was here.
Joong exhaled slowly.
"Understood."
The call ended.
The room went silent again.
JJ walked closer to Care.
Her voice was gentle but serious.
"You think he planned this for months."
Care nodded slowly.
"Yes."
She stood up.
Her eyes were cold now.
"Kevin didn't just steal shares."
She looked around the room.
"He removed himself from our lives. Carefully. Quietly."
Aries frowned.
"You think he cut ties intentionally?"
Care nodded.
"He distanced himself gradually. Business meetings. Trips. Projects."
JJ's eyes widened slightly.
"So no one would notice when he disappeared."
Endrix suddenly spoke again.
"I'm scanning private financial networks right now."
He looked up at them.
"Kevin moved the shares through five shell corporations."
Percy cursed under his breath.
"Five?"
Endrix nodded.
"And every one of them disappeared immediately after the transfer."
Aries shook his head.
"This guy planned everything."
Nova spoke quietly from the side.
"Which means Ash is not just a hostage."
Ben nodded.
"She's leverage."
Cole stopped pacing.
His voice was low.
"And bait."
Keifer looked toward him.
Cole continued.
"He knows we'll chase him."
JJ folded her arms.
"Which means he wants us to."
Care turned toward the window.
Her reflection stared back at her in the glass.
Ash.
Drugged.
Kidnapped.
Alone with Kevin.
Her chest tightened slightly again, but she forced herself to breathe slowly.
Keifer watched her carefully.
Then he spoke quietly.
"We will find him."
Care didn't answer immediately.
Her eyes were still fixed on the reflection.
Then she spoke softly.
"Yes."
Her voice was calm.
But inside it burned something dangerous.
"We will."
Across the room Endrix's laptop suddenly beeped.
Everyone turned instantly.
Endrix leaned forward.
His eyes narrowed.
"Well."
Cole stepped closer.
"What?"
Endrix looked up slowly.
"I think Kevin just made his first mistake."
The entire room froze.
"What did you find?" Percy asked.
Endrix turned the screen toward them.
"A signal."
Everyone stepped closer.
Keifer's eyes sharpened.
"Where?"
Endrix tapped the screen.
"A temporary network relay."
JJ leaned forward.
"Meaning?"
Endrix smiled slightly.
"Meaning Kevin just contacted someone."
Care stepped closer to the screen.
Her eyes burned with focus now.
"Track it."
Endrix nodded.
"Oh, I already am."
And somewhere in London—
The hunt had just begun.