Chapter 320: Two Birds With One Stone!

Inside Luca and Vivienne’s SUV

About three minutes after the convoy left the airport, Captain Rico was still trying to piece together the details of Amelia’s abduction.

"A black van without license plates isn’t much to go on," he remarked, stroking his chin. "Even if there aren’t that many black vans driving around San Fierro, narrowing it down will take some work."

From the way the kidnapping had been carried out, it was clear that the perpetrators had planned it carefully. There had been no reports of anyone witnessing the abduction, which meant Tracy was probably the only person who had seen the van leave. Whoever was behind this had clearly taken precautions to avoid attracting attention.

Luca glanced at Justina Farce, who was seated nearby.

"Justina, can you access the security camera footage across San Fierro?"

"Of course, sir."

Before she could answer further, Rico nodded in agreement.

"That would be the best place to start. We could track the movements of any suspicious black vans and narrow down the possible locations."

"Accessing the cameras is possible," Justina explained as she opened her laptop, "but searching the entire city would take too long."

"What if we limit it to the area within fifty minutes of Amelia’s apartment and focus only on footage from the last fifty minutes?" Luca suggested.

"That would help considerably."

Her fingers flew across the keyboard as she pulled up the relevant systems and began sorting through the available footage.

"How long will it take?" Luca asked.

"At this rate, around ten minutes to identify the van. I might be able to cut that nearly in half if I eliminate destinations that are less likely to be connected to the kidnapping."

"Then do it."

"Yes, sir."

With the search underway, Luca finally leaned back against his seat. Vivienne moved closer, gently rubbing his arm in an attempt to ease some of the tension in his body.

"Luca, have you considered whether one of your rivals could be responsible for this?"

"I have."

His expression remained serious.

"This was too carefully planned to be a random kidnapping. But who would be stupid enough to possibly..."

He stopped abruptly.

Something had just occurred to him, and the possibility was unpleasant enough that he didn’t immediately finish the sentence.

Vivienne studied his face, her hand still resting on his arm.

"Husband? What’s wrong?"

Luca rubbed the bridge of his nose, his mind turning over the thought that had suddenly surfaced.

’It couldn’t possibly be, could it?’

Luca let out a quiet sigh, lowering his hand as he turned his gaze toward Justina.

"Justina, narrow the search a little further."

She glanced up from her laptop. "All right, sir. How far would you like me to narrow it down?"

...

Meanwhile, Amelia had begun to grow drowsy in the empty room.

With no windows to look through and nothing to occupy her mind, the passage of time had become difficult to judge. She had spent so long sitting against the wall that exhaustion was beginning to catch up with her.

Then came the sound of a key turning in the lock.

Amelia jolted awake.

"Hehe! You guys did a good job!" a booming voice called from the other side of the door. "I’ll make sure you get a good share of the ransom."

She scrambled to her feet, brushed the dust from her clothes, and hurried into the corner farthest from the entrance.

The door swung open.

A broad-shouldered man stepped inside, his unkempt beard and beer-stained clothes giving him a disheveled appearance. The moment Amelia saw his face, an unpleasant memory came rushing back.

She knew him.

Broberry McArthur, the very man who had tried to assault her at Eclipse Club.

"Little girl, remember me?" he asked, approaching at an unhurried pace.

Amelia didn’t answer. She pressed herself closer to the wall, desperately hoping to keep as much distance between them as possible.

"Still keeping that mouth shut, huh?" Broberry chuckled, though there was little humor in his voice. "Well, I remember you."

His expression darkened as another face came to mind.

"And I certainly remember that scumbag boyfriend of yours."

He rubbed his chin, recalling how Luca had beaten him senseless at Eclipse Club, sobering him up with a few brutal kicks before knocking him unconscious.

The memory still irritated him. Yet standing here now, with Amelia entirely at his mercy, he couldn’t help feeling that fortune had finally decided to smile on him.

He moved closer until he was practically breathing down her neck.

Amelia let out a small, frightened whimper. Despite her fear, one hand instinctively moved to protect her abdomen.

Broberry noticed the gesture.

He paused, then took a small step back as a new possibility entered his mind.

’Don’t tell me she’s pregnant.’

His eyes widened slightly before a greedy smile spread across his face.

If Amelia really was carrying Luca’s child, then this kidnapping could be worth far more than he had initially imagined.

’Two birds with one stone. This might just be my lucky year.’

Things had been looking up for him lately, despite his divorce and the beating Luca had given him. He had met a younger woman a few months ago, and their relationship had been going well. His logistics and transportation business was also thriving, bringing in better-paying clients than before. Even his other, less respectable venture had been doing well.

And now, he had managed to kidnap the pregnant girlfriend of a multibillionaire.

Broberry could hardly believe his luck.

He had no idea what Luca would be willing to pay to get Amelia back, but he was certain the amount would be substantial.

"Hmph. I’m not interested in you right now," he muttered, turning toward the door.

"For now, you’re nothing more than a hostage."

With that, he strode out of the room.

Amelia remained frozen in the corner, staring after him even after he had disappeared from view.

His words kept replaying in her mind.

Nothing more than a hostage.

Was that really all she was to Luca? Just another problem for him to deal with?

So far, she felt as though she had brought him nothing but trouble. He had already come to her rescue once at Eclipse Club, and now, because of her, he would have to deal with another mess.

Her hand settled protectively over her abdomen.

’I’m sorry, Luca.’

The thought hurt more than she wanted to admit.

And Broberry McArthur...

’That damn Broberry!’

...

Outside the room, Broberry was already moving away from the door.

"Make sure nobody gets in or out," he ordered the two men standing nearby. "Keep the door locked."

"Yes, sir."

One of them stepped forward to secure the entrance, but before he could finish, another man came rushing down the corridor.

He looked visibly panicked, barely managing to catch his breath.

"Sir!" he blurted out. "We’ve got intruders!"