Chapter Fifty One: Stay The Hell Away

LEONARDS POV:

I could feel my calmness swiftly slipping away, replaced by mounting nervousness. My phone rang, and when I looked at the screen, it was Alex. Without hesitation, I picked up.

He had sent me the plate number of the car they drove.

"Where are you right now?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady but failing to mask my curiosity.

"I tried to follow them, but I lost them," he replied shakily.

I cursed under my breath in frustration. Quickly, I opened the image Alex had sent, studying the plate number. Without wasting time I made a call to someone I trusted, someone who could help trace the car.

Then, I waited—anxiously—for results.

I instructed my personal guard and his three men to stay ready for action at my command. Once that was clear, I left the room, and walked briskly to my garage and drove off to Evelyn's house.

Halfway there, I received a call from the tracker. Disappointment hit me like a brick when he informed me he couldn’t trace the car. Frustrated but determined, I told him to stand by for further instructions.

"Yes, sir," he replied, and I hung up.

When I reached Evelyn's house, her door was locked. I needed to get inside, but only her father had a spare key. Bringing him into this situation too quickly would complicate matters, I felt. I stood for a while adrift in thoughts.

I considered breaking the lock, but it would depict unwanted attention from the workers. I cursed again, My frustration boiled over, and I slammed my fist against the door. To my utter surprise, the door flung open.

Without wasting a second, I went inside and made my way upstairs to her bedroom. I grabbed her phone, hoping to find some clue of her whereabouts.

I checked for messages that could hint at a threat but found nothing. Her call log showed me he recently spoke to Dana just a while ago. Digging further, I picked Dana and Caleb's number, sent them to the tech guy to track immediately.

With that done, I began searching the house for anything out of place. Anything—that could give me a lead. But everything was in order.

Just as I closed the door behind me and prepared to leave, I saw Evelyn's father walking toward me.

“Shit,” I muttered, my heart skipping a beat.

I scrambled for an explanation but found myself blank. As he approached, I forced myself to stay composed.

"Good day, sir," I said, but my voice betrayed me.

He gave me a questioning look, suspicion etched all over his face.

"Good day, Leonard," he replied curtly. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes, sir. I just came to check on Evelyn, but she isn’t home. I was just leaving when I saw you."

His eyes narrowed. "No, Leonard, I don’t buy that."

It was clear I had no more room for pretense. He already knows I'm up to something. I had to tell him the truth, though I didn’t have time for a long explanation.

"I'm not in a position to explain everything now, but Evelyn, Dana, and Caleb aren’t as close as they seem. It feels like Evelyn has been abducted. We can discuss this later, but for now, we need to take a speedy initiative.

His eyes widened, then darkened, unreadable.

"I’ve always wanted Evelyn to confide in you, but she didn’t want to worry you. She hoped to handle everything quietly. I’m sorry you had to find out this way," I added quickly.

He paused, then said corely, "I need to make some calls. Excuse me."

I realized he was about to involve the police.

"Sir, if you trust me, I’ll take care of everything," I said quickly.

He turned to me, his eyes blazing with anger.

"This is my only daughter we’re talking about. You expect me to let an untrained person handle it? Leonard Henderson, what does a billionaire like you, who’s had everything handed to him, know about rescue operations?"

"I understand your fears sir, but you need to trust me. I can bring in my special team," I replied, trying to convince him.

"If I don’t hear from Evelyn in 12 hours, I’ll do what I must," he said coldly.

"Right sir," I responded.

Just then, my phone buzzed. It was a message from the tech guy. I opened it, but my heart sank when I read it. He couldn’t trace the phones—they were highly secured.

Evelyn’s dad took a step closer, sensing something was wrong.

"What’s the problem?" he asked.

I explained the issue and assured him we would crack it soon. I texted the tech guy to keep trying, and he responded with a simple "Okay."

Turning back to Evelyn’s father, I suggested calling Dana and Caleb directly. Perhaps they’d answer. Their phones rang, but neither answered their calls.

Tension thickened in the air. Both of us were on edge, the nervousness palpable. After a while, we decided to give it some time before trying again. We walked back to Mr Wyatt’s opulent.

As we settled in, he finally opened up.

"I’ve been suspicious of Dana and Caleb for a while," he began. "But Evelyn always made excuses for them. They were too close for comfort, even when Caleb was Evelyn’s fiancé. I tried to brush it off, thinking I was just overthinking, 

"But then she broke off the engagement with Caleb. When I pressed her for a reason, she wouldn’t tell me the full story. I decided to give her space, but I knew something was off. What I didn’t know was that it would escalate to this. I should’ve done more."

His voice was thick with regret and despair. And I assured him that we would make things right.

Just then, my phone rang again. It was Dana. I placed the call on speaker.

"Hello," came her firm, confident voice.

"This is Leonard Henderson. Is Evelyn with you?" I asked sharply.

"Who?" she replied, I knew it was a pretense.

"You heard me. Is Evelyn with you?" I repeated, more fiercely this time.

"Yes, but she’s sleeping now," she said and hung up immediately.

I tried calling back, but her phone was unavailable.

The tension eased slightly now that we had confirmation Evelyn was with them, though my anger simmered beneath the coating.

A few minutes later, the tech guy called again. This time, he had successfully tracked both Dana and Caleb’s phones to the same location.

I showed the information to Evelyn’s father, who sat in silence. I called my personal guard, shared the location.

He knew precisely what to do.

While we waited, Dana called again. I placed it on speaker.

"Hey, Leonard," Evelyn’s voice came through, but it sounded low and subdued. "I’m with Dana and Caleb. Everything’s fine. Please don't perturb.”

She hung up before I could reply.

A wave of anger surged through me. I prayed they hadn’t hurt her. Evelyn’s father remained silent, staring blankly ahead, lost in thought.