Chapter 150

Adrian Blackwood's knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel, the storm inside him mirroring the gathering clouds overhead. His jaw clenched so tight it could have cracked walnuts. When he slammed the car door at the Harbor Grand Hotel, the sound echoed through the parking lot like a gunshot.

The moment he entered his suite, the scent of jasmine assaulted his senses - a cruel reminder of Vivian Hartley sitting on his bed just hours earlier, her words still stinging like salt in an open wound. He ripped off his tie with a frustrated growl.

Within minutes, he was back at the front desk, rapping his signet ring against the marble counter with enough force to make the receptionist jump. "I need another room. Now."

The young woman behind the desk - clearly new - nearly dropped her clipboard. She recognized him instantly from the staff memos: Adrian Blackwood, VIP guest, treat like visiting royalty. Her cheeks flushed as she took in his chiseled features. Even scowling, he looked like he'd stepped off a magazine cover.

"Right away, Mr. Blackwood," she stammered, fingers flying across her keyboard. "We have our Sapphire Suite available on the top floor." She grabbed a keycard, smoothing her skirt as she came around the desk. "If you'll follow me..."

As they walked down the hallway, the skies opened with a thunderous crack. Rain lashed against the windows like angry fingers.

The receptionist giggled nervously. "Perfect timing, sir. Another minute and you'd have been drenched."

Adrian didn't respond. His gaze fixed on the downpour, but his mind was miles away - with Vivian. She'd been wearing just that thin blouse when he'd last seen her. If she got caught in this storm... His stomach twisted at the thought of her falling ill again.

"Here we are, Mr. Blackwood," the receptionist announced, stopping before an ornate door. She swiped the keycard with a flourish. "The Sapphire Suite. If there's anything else you - "

But Adrian's attention had snagged on the door across the hall. "Has the guest in that room returned?" he interrupted, voice carefully neutral.

The receptionist checked her tablet. "I've been on duty since six, and no one's come through except you." She started to ask about room preferences, but Adrian was already striding back down the hallway toward the elevators.

"Damn it all!"

Outside the dilapidated bar in Emberglow County, one of the thugs cursed as the rain came down in sheets. His grip tightened on Vivian's arm, fingers digging into her flesh like steel traps.

Emberglow might as well have been another century compared to Crestwood. The bar's flickering neon sign barely illuminated the potholed parking lot, let alone provided any semblance of security. No cameras. No witnesses. Just half-demolished buildings and skeletal construction sites that changed hands more often than poker chips.

Vivian knew reporting this would be pointless. The local police had bigger problems than a celebrity getting roughed up in some backwater dive.

Her struggles grew more desperate as the men dragged her toward an unmarked van, its windshield wipers fighting a losing battle against the storm. The cold rain mixed with hot tears on her cheeks as realization dawned - no one was coming to save her this time.