chapter 34: You Are The Music In Me

Ian
When glass breaks, we can never feel the pain of the broken pieces until it's our own heart.
I could hear her calling for me in her heart. I could feel her asking, "Where are you, Ian?"
Autumn was under the clutches of that bastard, Lennox. She didn't know that he escaped from us. It was my first mistake. My second mistake was not going along with her at that time when that random strange woman called her. It has been a week since she got kidnapped and I was unable to do anything. This was my third mistake.
Stupid Lennox planned everything so well that I couldn't trace them. Moreover, I could feel my nerve cells getting destroyed with each passing second. I was unable to think with a calm mind. After all, I saw her getting kidnapped in the elevator with my own damn eyes. Before I could do anything, the elevator door got closed.
I even used the stairs, but that elevator never reached downstairs. He took Autumn out of the elevator before it reached the ground floor.
I extended our stay in Paris and called a few Silver members. She had to be here.
What if Lennox didn't even keep her alive?
My body felt goosebumps even by thinking of it. It was all my fault.
"This is the last time, I am asking you, bitch. Tell me where Autumn is," said Aubree. She was torturing the woman who called Autumn on that day at the Summit. She wanted to get out some information.
I watched them.
"I... I was just given money to��to call her. Nothing else," she repeated the same thing as if it was recorded in her mind. Aubree looked at me.
I nodded and got out of the room. We were in the basement of one of the casinos of Steven��s. It was a forbidden place for everyone.
I punched the wall and grumbled, "I want to stab every fucking person I see now!"
"Woah," Steven was in front of me, but soon he stood behind me. "Don't see me. I will just talk from behind."
I punched the wall again.
"Lennox owns two gangs now. He is stronger than before. He already planned everything beforehand." He continued, "We couldn't find Autumn because you decided to stop thinking, Ian. You have dark circles on your face, and you look miserable. If you thought calmly, you could��"
My head snapped in his direction. "My wife is missing, and you want me to think calmly? Do you even understand what that motherfucker is doing to her? I don't even know if she's fucking alive! How can I think calmly?"
"I know you're in pain. Thus, I called someone who can think without losing his patience. He's already on his way."
"Who?"
"Your father-in-law, Cruz Emerson."
My heart was about to pop out of my chest. "You called Cruz?" Steven nodded. "Why would you do that? Do you even know what he will do when he reaches here?"
He looked confused. I was about to scold him, but I instantly received a punch on my face.
"For you, my only daughter is kidnapped. I warned you, Ian!" Cruz started throwing punches at me, but I didn't do anything to stop him. Unfortunately, he was right, and his anger was justified. "That stupid Lennox took her away. I might lose my daughter. If she gets killed, I will hand you over to Lennox!"
"Cruz, stop!" Steven tried to pull him off me but failed miserably.
"Cruz." Hearing Rosalie's voice, he stopped midway. "Stop beating my son. If you continue doing that, we will never find Autumn."
Cruz got up as I fixed my collar. Rosalie smiled at me. "How are you holding up, honey?"
I didn't respond to her. I was afraid if I would, I might break in front of her. Autumn was kidnapped because of me. I couldn't keep her safe. I was irresponsible.
"I am your mother too, Ian. This must be hard for you. But don't worry. We will find her soon. She is okay. My baby is strong." She further said, "Even though it's hard for you to express your emotions to me, I am always there."
"It's entirely his fault!" Cruz hissed.
Rosalie glared at him. "It's not his fault. Who could have guessed that plan?"
"Well, his only responsibility was to take care of my daughter!"
Immediate guilt flashed in me. He was right. This was my only responsibility here and I couldn't fulfill that.
"If we continue arguing on this matter, it will be too late to find her, Cruz. Let's think calmly about everything and try to find her. If you lose your patience too, we will be on a dead end. I don't want to see my daughter's funeral when I am totally healthy."
"Let's go inside." Steven showed them the way. I sighed and followed them.
We were sitting on the chairs right now. Cruz was glaring at me repeatedly. "Okay. First, you need to tell us everything," Rosalie said to me.
"Everything. If you hi��"
"Cruz," she said sternly, and he sighed.
I took a deep breath. It was time for them to know the entire truth about Lennox. They needed to know Autumn's trauma. If I didn't tell everything clearly, they might not understand Autumn's condition thoroughly. They needed to know how Autumn was feeling.
I told them everything from the beginning. After I ended, Rosalie was already crying and Cruz held a blank look on his face.
"I cannot believe my daughter was suffering from this. It's all your fault, Cruz! I told you not to force her into the training. You always pressurized her," she cried.
"It was Ian's responsibility to keep Autumn safe. This was one of the main reasons for marrying her off to him." He glared at me and said, "Today, because of you, my daughter is getting tortured. This is the second time and the last one."
I clenched my jaw at the thought of Autumn getting tortured. It was all my fault. If I told Autumn that Lennox escaped, she would have been cautious. I ruined her life. This time, it was not Lennox's fault. It was due to my carelessness.
I was over-confident about keeping her safe. It destroyed everything. I didn't bring any guards with me because I thought I could protect her from all the dangers. But she was in the dilemma because of me. I saw her getting kidnapped with my own damn eyes, yet I couldn't do anything.
I was remembering the happy moments when I was with her.
When we were having dinner at the restaurant, she suddenly blurted out, "You know, I really like you a lot."
I asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"
"I just wanted to say that I like you."
I smiled at that memory. Her random confessions always made me happy. She was bold and spoke whatever was going in her mind.
"I just want to spend some time with you. Anywhere you will take me, I will be fine."
She cared for me a lot.
"I have nothing to worry about as long as you are here."
She trusted me so much. How could I let this happen? How couldn't I protect the precious woman in my life? How couldn't I save the love of my life?
What kind of husband was I?
I couldn't protect my wife. I lost Autumn.
My fear of losing her came true. She was not beside me. She was not in my arms. Rather, she was alone in a dark room. She was so scared of darkness. I hope she didn't faint because of her nyctophobia.
She must be starving. Did Lennox even give her something to eat?
I stormed off to the small office of the basement and closed the door. A tear slid through my eyes. "Please, be okay Autumn. I will save you. Just be strong. I will buy all the chocolates for you and even eat those with you. I will never tease you, I promise. I will also punish myself for my carelessness after I find you."
God, please keep her safe.
"There is no guarantee of her being alive, Cruz! My daughter could already be dead!" I heard Rosalie yell.
I mumbled, "Just be alive, Autumn. I will kill myself if you don't stay alive. I don't want to live if you aren't beside me."