Tom gets home at the end of the day and meets his wife Jane, who is busy with her tablet. She has always been a full housewife and has always been at home, she only steps out when it is of urgency.
"How was the bidding proposal meeting today?" She asked, her eyes still fixated on what she was doing on the tablet and her left hand holding onto a glass of wine as she swirled it a couple of times.
"It went well," he said and pulled off his suit and placed it on the couch.
"He took on the challenge?" Her eyes suddenly shifted to Tom who was trying to pull off his tie and have a seat.
"Not like he had a choice anyway, it was either that or lose his seat as the CEO" he smirked.
"That stubborn brat just won't give up" she huffed and took a sip of her wine.
"We are finally getting close to our goal" A smile engulfed his lips.
"Are you that confident that you will win this bidding? Because if you are not, then I would suggest you give it all up now" her words devoid of support.
"I have things and plans set in motion and I think I might just have a card he would not expect" he grinned.
"And what card is that?" she suddenly got interested.
"What do you think of this Sophia's sister? Why do you think she is actually here?" He asked, his eyes widened with curiosity.
"Why would I care about what she is here for, I am pretty sure it would be in the course of getting their company back from Bran" she assumed, devoid of interest.
"That was what I thought at first, but then I saw her leaving Bran's office today," he said with so much enthusiasm.
"What are you implying Tom?" she stopped what she was doing on the tablet now.
"I just feel there might be something fishy that we don't know about, I mean, there was once a scandal between them"
"I wouldn't advise you to further this, it is best you leave things the way they were Tom," she said this, stood and left the living room.
"Really? You don't think there might be a loophole we might use?" Tom yelled out after Jane as she went upstairs into their room.
Jane got inside the room and shut the door as soon she reached for her phone. She immediately dialled a number and the person picked up.
"We need to talk," she said with a stern look and then hung up the call.
She then proceeded to text the same person, and she called an address for them to meet up.
*SOPHIA'S POV*
I was by the road now after storming out of my Dad's house. It was clear to me where I belonged in the family and I was done being pushed around and manipulated as they pleased.
I was still struggling with my sprained ankle as I needed to get back home and give my ankle a rest.
I did not want to call Bran to pick me up, my pride would not let me, so I tried to book a designated driver.
After I booked a ride, I received a phone call from the driver stating that he was at the intersection and would be at my location in a couple of minutes.
A couple of minutes and more passed and he had not shown up but I still waited, tired and frustrated. After a while, a car drove up to where I stood and rolled down the window.
"Are you Sophia?" he asked, his head bent low to the level of the window and his eyes darting all over the place.
"Yes, are you my rider with the last three digits plate number 625?" I asked with a hint of nervousness.
"Yes, that is me," he said quickly.
I limped to the front of the car to confirm the plate numbers and it matched, so my nervousness disappeared.
I got into the car and I told him my address as he drove off.
I relaxed on the back seat, my head facing towards the window as I stared yet in oblivion at my surroundings. My phone then suddenly beeped and this called back my attention to reality, it was a message from Tessa checking up on me.
After I was done responding to Tessa's message I realized that we had passed the turn that leads to the Garner's Residence, my instincts heightened.
"Uhh excuse me, sir, I think you have missed the turn to where I am going," I said and looked at the driver and he looked back at me from the front mirror, this suddenly spooked me off as I gasped.
"Please I would like to get down at the next turn," I said, all agitated and anxious now but he said nothing and just kept driving.
I suddenly remembered that I had my phone on me so I immediately reached out to turn it on and make a call to Bran, he was the one that came to my mind immediately.
The driver noticed that I was about to make use of my phone and swerved the car immediately, causing my phone to drop to the floor of the car and hit my head against the window.
I began to feel dizzy and my vision started blurring until I became unconscious.
*BRAN'S POV*
I returned home to total silence except for Henna being on a call with her Dad in her room, which I didn't care about.
"Did Sophia mention anything about being late today?" I slightly turned my head and asked Pierre, my face eager to get an answer.
"No sir, not that I am aware of," Pierre said, poised.
I walked up the stairs and to Henna's room and knocked.
It took a while but she eventually opened the door and was surprised to see me standing in front of her door, hands in pockets.
"Bran...what brings you to my room?" she said, her excited eyes all over me.
"Have you seen or spoken with Sophia?" I asked sternly.
"Sophia?" She huffed.
"Is that why you are here?" she asked.
"Can you please just answer what I asked?" I asked with my eyes slightly closed.
"Well, how would I know her whereabouts? She is a full grown woman...you might as well ask her secret lover, oops, he is no longer a secret" she said jokingly as she covered her mouth from letting the short laugh escape.
I knew asking further would be a waste of time so I walked out on Henna and went back downstairs.
"She might just be having the time of her life with him, you never can tell" she yelled out after me.
I finally got downstairs, back to Pierre.
"She mentioned she was going to see her Dad when she was on a call, she must have gone there with the designated driver" I muttered to myself.
It then dawned on me that I secretly installed a tracking device on Sophia's phone when I noticed Liam was getting in the picture too often, I did it out of suspicion.
I quickly turned on my phone and had Sophia's phone tracked immediately.
I said no word and dashed out of the house while Pierre hurriedly followed me with the car keys. I gave Pierre my phone that displayed the location where Sophia was and he drove all the way there.
*SOPHIA'S POV*
I became conscious now as I tried to open my eyes but my vision was a bit still blurry. I lifted my head up gently and a sharp pain struck me on the side of my forehead, it was then I realized that I had injured my head and the little blood that dripped clouded my vision.
I gently raised my shoulder cleaned off the almost dry blood on my head and realized that my hands were tied to the back of a chair.
I gasped out of fear, my breathing pace increased and my palms became sweaty when I saw the surroundings of where I was held.
I was in a confused state as I tried to understand why I would be kidnapped who kidnapped me and brought me to an abandoned clothes warehouse.
My state of thinking got cut short when I heard footsteps coming from behind and I froze out of fear, short breaths escaping out of my mouth and my breathing increased.
The figure who owned the footsteps slowly walked by and stood in front of me. I shakily and slowly raised my head and my eyes locked with a man in his late twenties, dressed in a pair of black jeans and black top, his nose and mouth covered with a bandana tied around his head.
He stood there, his eyes and hair quite similar to that of the designated driver who brought me here, I then noticed his composure was quite shaky and unstable, just the same way he was while he was in the car with me.