chapter-28: Apart From Each Other

Zaiden Storm
"Where is my daughter, Zaiden? Did the kidnapper give you a call or sent you any message?" asked a stressed Amora whose tears were dried up now.
She was sitting in front of me. Turned out that when she called me, she was here in California, that too in Aria's apartment. She wanted to surprise Aria today.
"Not yet, but we already got a clue of the kidnapper, so now we are trying to find more clues which would lead us to Aria," I told her.
The kidnapper should be Luke Levi because I was the one who murdered his son. He definitely wanted to take revenge on me.
Amora questioned me, "Will my daughter be okay, Zaiden? You will save her, won't you?"
I was in the cabin of my base. I had to tell Amora the truth. She was shocked after learning it but for now, Aria was more important to her. Moreover, she said her daughter's happiness mattered the most to her.
I was standing, looking outside the window. Closing my eyes, I let out, "I will do whatever it takes to save Aria." I added, "Even it costs my life."
It was because of me that she was in a dire situation. It was my responsibility to bring her back. God forbid, if I lose her, I might end up killing myself. I hope she was okay.
I felt a hand on my shoulder. Knowing it was Amora, I didn't turn back. She said, "Don't worry, son. My daughter is strong. I have fed her healthy food since childhood."
A small smile formed on my lips at the thought of Aria who was a child. When Aria was sick, Amora once sent me Aria's childhood picture, and damn she looked so adorable.
I tried to keep myself strong. If I fall weak, how will I find my Aria? I had to put myself together. She will be alright and I'll make sure of that.
My chain of thoughts broke when my phone chimed all of a sudden. I pulled out the phone from my pocket and checked it to see I received a message. It was from Luke Levi.
If Aria was with him, why would he message me with his number? I could easily track him.
I checked the message. There was a video in which I clicked the 'play' button after much hesitation. Amora was looking at my phone too as she was now standing next to me.
It was a video of Aria shaking her head as Luke had set the time on the time bomb which was over Aria. Panic rushed through me seeing the time on the bomb. Thirty minutes.
"Isn't that a bomb?" Amora asked with her quivering voice.
I stayed silent, unable to answer. I was shocked to see Aria in that way. She was tied with a time bomb. A fucking bomb.
Quickly, I forwarded the video to Ash, telling him to find the location. It seemed like Aria was in a warehouse and knowing Luke, he was definitely not there right now. No wonder why he texted me so that if I traced his location, I wouldn't be able to reach Aria. He had set the time and ran away��that must be the case.
Amora was a crying mess by now as she stepped back, and I tried not to cry. Why should I cry when I know I would save Aria? She will be alright.
I was about to dial Luke's number, but that was when he was video calling me. I picked it up at that instant, only to see his face with a smirk on it.
I clenched my fist, and asked, "Where is Aria?"
Luke raised his brows in amusement. "What is this, Zaiden? No greeting or nothing. Come on, your girlfriend is going to heaven, be happy."
I could feel steam coming out of my ears. I saw that Luke was driving, so as expected he was running away from where he kept Aria to avoid dying in the bomb blast.
I took a deep breath and said, "Look Luke, your feud is with me. Don't bring Aria into it. Please tell me where she is." If needed I would beg to save Aria. The bomb blast was no joke.
"Luke?" I heard Amora's voice. I turned to her. She ran to me and took the phone from my hand. "Luke?" she let out as if she knew him from before.
"Amora?" Luke said, bewildered. "Amora, why are you with Zaiden?"
Amora burst into tears. She placed a hand over her mouth, sitting on the couch in shock. "Luke, Aria�� she's my daughter and you��"
I watched everything quietly, trying to understand what was happening.
"Your daughter?" Luke asked in disbelief. He was thinking something, trying to connect the dots until he said with his quivering voice, "Is Aria my daughter?"
Still a hand over her mouth, Amora nodded her head.
What the fuck was happening? How can Aria be Luke's daughter?
"I placed my daughter on the door of death," Luke mumbled and instantly turned around the car which I could see through the video call.
I took the phone from Amora's hand and asked, "Luke, at least now tell me where Aria is."
"The warehouse no. 24 on the deserted road," Luke mumbled, still getting scared.
I cut the call and stormed off to the door.
"Zaiden, I'll go with you," Amora informed me.
I shook my head. "No, Amora. It's too risky." I gave her an assuring look saying, "I promised Aria that I would protect her, and I intend to keep that promise. Just trust me." With that, I dashed out of the room.
I got into the car after informing Ash and Jace about the location. My mind couldn't think straight. As I was driving, all the time Aria's image was getting into my mind��the way she was tied to the bomb and the tears which were coming out of her eyes while she shook her head.
She must be heck scared.
I wasn't there to give her strength, nor was she there to give me patience. We were apart from each other��my heart stung at that thought.
How would she feel when she would learn that Luke was her father? Her own father put her near to death just to make me cry. It was a punishment for Luke too. If something happened to Aria, Luke would lose his other child as well and I would make sure to send Luke to hell if I couldn't rescue Aria today.
God, please help me save my Aria. If I cannot save her, I'll let everything on fire including myself. But first, I'll burn that Luke Levi in the fire.
No one dares to mess with my family, and Aria was my life.
Soon enough, I reached the warehouse. I opened the first door and there, the sight I saw clenched my heart.
The love of my life was tied to a chair, her face stricken with dried off tears, with no hope on her cheerful face as always.