One Night Stand With Alexander Blackwood-Chapter 112: Kidnapped

The day passed by in a flash.

Serena looked at the file on the laptop’s screen and her brows furrowed in deep thoughts.

"Are you still in?" Clara’s voice sounded from the door, and Serena snapped her head up. She gestured for her to come in, and Clara walked into the office, taking a seat.

She smiled softly and nodded. "I need to send out the emails to the shortlisted candidates as soon as possible." She paused, hitting her chin with the pen. "I also need to schedule a meeting with the flour supplier."

In a few seconds, Serena shortlisted the things which she wanted to get done.

Clara smiled at her fondly. "You do know that you should take a rest as well. You had a slight concussion just yesterday. I’m not sure you’re fully healed." Her tone was slightly worried as she looked at her.

Serena’s lips curved upwards as she answered, "Aunty, if I do not get this done, I wouldn’t feel at peace. The bakery should be running now, but had to be stopped due to a lot of circumstances. I do not want to hold its operations anymore."

Clara sighed. She knew Serena wouldn’t back out even if someone tried to convince her. She was stubborn, just like her mother.

"Fine." Clara gave in. "I won’t stop you from working. But I’ll remain in this office till you’re done."

Serena’s eyes sparkled with delight as her eyes flickered to the clock on the wall. "Well, you don’t have to wait long. Alexander should be on his way."

Clara nodded as she watched Serena return to her tasks.

Time passed without Serena realising, but that didn’t mean Clara didn’t. She watched as the clock struck at 6:30pm and her brows furrowed.

"Serena," she called out, and the latter lost focus.

"What is it, Aunt?" She asked, confusion flickering in her eyes.

"Don’t you think Alexander should have arrived? It’s 6:30pm." She muttered..

Serena looked at the clock, and a crease formed between her forehead. She felt a deep knot in her stomach and it felt like something bad was about to happen. She tried to shake it off, but the more she tried, the more the feeling became stronger.

She took a deep breath and commented casually. "He is probably caught up with work or something."

Clara shook her head. "I thought the same. But he would have called or sent a text to you, wouldn’t he?"

Now that Clara mentioned it, Serena nodded. If that was the case, Alexander would have texted her. He was never late and even if he were to be late, he’d always inform her.

The bad feeling from earlier became stronger as she picked up her phone.

She tried dialing his number. Unfortunately, it wasn’t reachable.

"Did he send you a text message?" Clara asked, concern flowing in her eyes.

Serena quickly scrolled through their chat, but there was... nothing. The last text was from her, and he hadn’t even read it.

"Something is wrong." She murmured under her breath, shutting the laptop firmly.

She shot up to her feet and walked out of the office. Clara was taken aback, but she didn’t have time to process the issue before she rushed after her.

She caught Serena by her hand, causing the latter to stop in her tracks.

"Where are you headed to?" She probed.

"To his company." Serena replied with a clipped tone.

"And what do you want to do there?" Clara inquired, tilting her head.

"I want to find out if he is okay." She answered. "Aunt, please let me go. I need to find Alexander."

"You have to be rational in these issues. Don’t just run off." Clara tried to convince her, but Serena wasn’t having any of it.

She struggled and after a while, she was able to free herself from Clara’s grasp and she walked away.

Clara looked at Serena’s stubborn back, and she shook her head. "Wait!" She stopped her, running after her. "I’ll accompany you. I can’t let you go alone. I’m worried about Liam’s threat."

Serena let out a deep breath. "Let’s go, Aunty."

----------------------------

The man who was being worried about was currently seated amongst several old men. He picked up his phone, only to find out that it wasn’t charged.

"Shit." He cursed under his breath.

"President Blackwood, what’s wrong?" One of the directors spoke up. "You’ve been sighing since the beginning of the meeting."

Alexander shook his head, indicating that nothing was wrong. Then he questioned, "when is this meeting ending?"

"Till we have completely solved the issue." Another director answered.

"Can it be adjourned?" He asked.

"Unfortunately, no. This matter should have been deliberated on for a while now. But it kept being postponed. We can’t delay it any further." The man who spoke first answered.

Alexander nodded, sighing inwardly. Hie gaze flickered to his phone which was dead, and he let out an umpteenth sigh.

"Surely, Serena would be worried." He murmured under his breath.

"Did you say something?" The director sitting close to him asked, and he shook his head negatively.

------------------

Serena and Clara boarded a cab. The drive to Alexander’s company was silent. Serena looked out the window, watching the blurry city lights.

The car suddenly made a turn, and Serena noticed it immediately. Her features pulled into a tight frown as she spoke up, "this isn’t the road to Blackwood Industries."

"You are right." The driver agreed, then added. "The major road is blocked and we won’t be able to arrive on time."

Serena’s eyes narrowed with suspicion as her eyes remained on the driver.

Clara held her hands, and Serena turned to her.

"Is something wrong?" Serena asked quietly.

"I have a weird feeling. I don’t know why but I feel something is about to happen. Serena, we shouldn’t ignore my gut feeling." Clara whispered.

Serena lowered her head as she contemplated her words, the space between her brows drew together and just when she raised her head, her eyes met with the driver’s, and something strange—malicious maybe—glinted in his eyes.

Serena looked out the window subtly, and her breath caught in her throat.

The road was deserted, with little to no people walking alongside the road.

She bit her lips, wanting to speak, but she held back. She didn’t know if the driver was a friend or a foe, although she firmly believed that it was the latter.

Her mind raced as she thought about several ways to reach out to people in case the driver turned out to be a foe.

Serena forced her breathing to steady.

’Don’t panic. Panic would only make things worse.’ She said to herself internally.

She subtly unlocked her phone, lowering the brightness to the minimum. Her fingers trembled slightly as she pretended to scroll through her contacts.

Clara squeezed her hand again. "Serena..."

"I know," Serena whispered without moving her lips.

The driver’s eyes flicked to the rearview mirror.

He was watching them. And he didn’t hide that he was watching them.

Serena leaned closer to Clara as though whispering something affectionate, but instead she muttered, "Act normal."

Clara nodded faintly.

Serena quickly typed a message beneath the chat pinned at the top of her screen — Alexander.

[We’re in a cab. Something feels off and the driver seems suspicious.]

She hit send.

The message icon spun and failed to deliver. There was no signal.

Her stomach dropped.

The car continued deeper into the deserted stretch of road. The city lights were now far behind them, replaced with dim streetlamps and abandoned warehouses.

"This doesn’t look like a normal road," Serena said evenly, lifting her gaze to the driver.

"It’s a shortcut," he replied smoothly.

Clara leaned closer to Serena. "Ask him to stop."

Serena nodded.

"Please stop the car," she said firmly. "We’ll get down here."

The driver didn’t listen.

"I said stop the car," Serena repeated, her voice sharper this time.

Instead of stopping, the driver pressed the accelerator.

Clara gasped softly as the car sped forward.

Serena’s pulse thundered in her ears. She tried the door handle.

It was locked. As expected

The driver let out a low chuckle.

"You should save your strength," he said casually. "We’re almost there."

"There?" Serena’s voice was cold now. "Where exactly is there?"

He didn’t respond.

The car finally turned into a large gated compound surrounded by tall, rusted fencing. The gate opened automatically as if someone had been expecting them.

Serena’s heart sank as the unfamiliar building came into sight. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

The car rolled to a stop in front of an abandoned-looking warehouse.

For two seconds, no one moved.

Then the driver stepped out and two large men emerged from the shadows.

Clara’s grip on Serena tightened painfully.

"Serena..." she whispered.

The back door was yanked open.

"Out," one of the men ordered.

Serena lifted her chin, refusing to show fear even though it coiled tightly in her chest.

"If you touch my aunt roughly," she said calmly, "you’ll regret it."

One of the men snorted, but he lessened his grip on Clara.

They were escorted out of the car and led toward the warehouse.

The large metal door creaked open.

Inside, dim yellow lights flickered overhead.

And standing in the center of the warehouse, hands tucked casually into his pockets—was Liam.

He smiled slowly as they were brought forward.

"Serena," he greeted lightly. "You came to see me after all."

Clara inhaled sharply. Serena’s eyes hardened.

"So this is your ’shortcut’?" she asked coldly, her eyes flickering to the driver who scoffed.

Liam chuckled.

"I did warn you," he said, stepping closer. "You’ll be mine soon."

Serena met his gaze without flinching.

"You really think kidnapping me is the way to win me over?"

His smile faltered, however, just slightly.

"I’m not trying to win you over anymore," he said quietly. "I’m trying to remove the obstacles."

Her mind flashed to Alexander.

And for the first time since getting into the car, real fear crept in.

Because if Liam was bold enough to do this... then he was no longer playing harmless games.