Gavin stared at his phone and scoffed. She'd acted so confident the last time they spoke, all attitude and silence—yet no follow-up, no calls. Typical. He tossed his phone onto the polished table and glanced across the meeting room at his boss, whose presence alone had turned the air heavy with tension.
Just then, his phone began to ring again. He blinked, his brow furrowing at the unfamiliar number glowing on the screen.
After a long pause, he picked it up.
"Who's this?"
"It's Hanna—Evelyn's friend! Please… she's in danger!" the voice on the other end cried, breathless and trembling. "Please tell Carlos… please save her."
Gavin's heart skipped. He had thought it was a prank at first, but the panic in Hanna's voice—the cracks, the sobs—struck too real, too raw. Without hesitation, he shot up from his seat and stormed toward the boardroom.
Inside, Carlos sat like a storm about to break. Rage clung to him like shadows. He gripped his pen like it might snap between his fingers, his jaw clenched tight.
A deadly silence engulfed the room.
Even the board members barely dared to breathe. The chief accountant looked like he might faint, beads of sweat glistening on his pale forehead.
Carlos was still. Too still. It was the kind of calm that warned of an incoming explosion.
Then Gavin burst through the doors.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but… you need to take this."
Carlos's eyes flicked toward him. Just a look—cold, lethal, laced with a threat that didn't need words
This better worth it
Carlos snatched the phone and pressed it to his ear.
"Carlos?" Hanna's voice was almost a whisper, choked with urgency. "Please… Evelyn is in danger."
Carlos stood at once, his chair screeching behind him.
"What did you just say?" His voice was low, controlled—but deadly.
"We don't have much time," Hanna stammered. "She's outside… and there's a storm. Thunder. She's—she's always been terrified of it since she was a kid. It's… it's traumatic for her, and she didn't check the forecast. If it starts… she'll shut down. Please, she could—"
"Send me her location. Now." Carlos growled, cutting her off. The room trembled with his fury.
He didn't wait for a response. "Prepare the car. Immediately."
"Yes, sir!" Gavin turned and bolted.
Carlos didn't spare a glance at the frozen boardroom—at the trembling accountant, or the stunned shareholders.
He moved like thunder itself—fast, loud in silence, undeniable.
Minutes later, he threw himself into the car beside Gavin.
"Drive faster. Or do you want me to take the wheel and burn the brakes?" Carlos snapped.
The air in the car turned electric. Gavin didn't dare answer—he only slammed the accelerator.
Carlos leaned back, jaw tight, fists clenched. His mind was already with her. Evelyn. Alone. Afraid. And no one—nothing—was going to stop him from reaching her.
Not the storm.
Not the city.
Not fate.