Chapter 73: Rescued II

Chapter 73: Rescued II "How is she doing?" Aiden asked as he watched Ewan approach him, carrying Athena in his hands. He balled his fist, his eyes stinging with tears, as he saw her miserable state with every step Ewan took toward him. "Bad. Very bad. She just passed out." Ewan answered, gritting his teeth as he remembered what he had walked into a few minutes ago, as he imagined what would have happened if he had followed Sandro and Zane home. He pushed the image out of his head. It was giving him the creeps and a slicing headache. "You saw something there?" Aiden queried, having noticed the look of sorrow mixed with anger on Ewan’s face. Ewan paused and looked at the man, with a heated gaze. "Let’s just say it would have been a different story if I had left with Zane and Sandro." Aiden sighed, and stretched his hands so that he could carry Athena himself. "I’m sorry. I was just doing everything to keep you three safe too. You are from prominent families, with important companies too." Ewan scoffed, refusing to hand over Athena. "I don’t have a family, Aiden, just people I have to take care of. Most times, I just do what I have to do. And some of those times, I make bad decisions, but it’s for the betterment of those people." Aiden furrowed his eyebrows, seeing Ewan in a new light he wasn’t expecting. He suspected that Ewan knew how close he was to Athena, but felt no need to comment on that. "You aren’t handing her over to me?" Ewan swallowed, thinking of an excuse to hold onto Athena. Then he saw the security details watching them, and an idea came to his mind. "You have to manage the security detail, and see if you will find any clues. When I stood by the door and waited, the kidnappers talked about a secret spot of escape: you should check for that. Also, there is a guy that is lying in his own pool of blood." He paused, his hands tightening around Athena’s weary body. "I stopped him midway through an atrocious act, but I don’t think he is actually dead; maybe a brain hemorrhage. You can pick him up for questioning." Aiden debated on the matter. Ewan was right. He had to scurry around with the security detail for any clues at all that would be helpful to the team that would be arriving in the country soon. "Okay then. Have it your way. Take care of her." Ewan nodded his thanks. "I will need a driver." Aiden immediately beckoned on one of the men. "Drive Mr. Giacometti to the nearest hospital." While Ewan was in the car, he looked at Athena, slowly appraising the injuries on her body. With each injury noted, his palms fisted and flared, as he imagined the pain and torture she had gone through while waiting for help. His eyes shut for a full minute, after he beheld the marks the hot nails had left, and the knife scars. He suddenly wished he had killed the abuser. How could they be so wicked? He wondered, vowing to catch every one of them that had been behind the matter even if it would lead to his death. He touched her hair gently, surprised at himself when a tear fell from his right eye. But he didn’t bother wiping it off. He let it flow, it and the others, weeping for the pain his wife had endured in his absence. Wife, because he never signed the divorce papers, even though he had issued it to her. For a reason he couldn’t decipher, the papers were in his private cabinet, cooling their heels, unsigned. His mind had never given him the go ahead to sign, just as he had never stopped looking out for her return. His eyes trailed to her frail body which he had covered with a thin material he had seen in the hideout. It’s good I came. He mused, rubbing dirt off her cheeks, the tear streaks on them hurting him all over again. She had mentioned Fiona as the perpetrator of this issue. But how could that be? Fiona was in the hospital. She had attempted suicide. So, how could she be behind it? Did Athena think wrong? Or had she just called on the first person that came to her mind? That would be it. He thought as the driver stopped him in front of a small hospital he hoped would be able to treat Athena’s wounds properly. It was the best option. The Whitman hospitals were still far; he couldn’t risk her life. Secondly, he didn’t think Athena would be interested in getting this publicized, because doing so would make the kidnappers more attuned to her movements. Ewan doubted Aiden would want to make the gamble, not with Athena like this. Gently, he stepped out of the vehicle, and walked into the hospital. The nurses seeing him, recognizing him, hurried to attend to him. He ordered for their best room, and for their best doctor, promising to pay whatever it took. They needed to keep her stable. He thought worriedly, feeling Athena’s temperature rising. They needed to, before she could be transferred to a bigger hospital. Meanwhile, the nurses hurried to do Ewan’s bidding—telephones kept ringing because of this. Few minutes later, Athena was settled in a ward. Thereafter, Ewan brought out his phone, after speaking with the doctor-in-charge, and called Gianna; in case Aiden had forgotten to call Athena’s best friend, who would be sick with worry, with the children. "Hello... Gianna..." "Ewan, where are ..." Gianna couldn’t complete her statement. Ewan didn’t know why, but when he heard the faux baritone in his phone again, he had a clue. "Where are you? Is my mother safe?" "Yes, Nathaniel. Your mother is safe. She is with me. We are in a hospital. Give your aunt Gianna the phone, so that I can give her directions... I’m sure you would want to visit." "That won’t be necessary... Is she wearing her watch?" Ewan furrowed his eyebrows, wondering the meaning of the question, but he answered all the same. "Yes, she’s wearing her watch." "Then we’ll be there soon. Thank you, for keeping her safe. See you soon, Mr Ewan." Ewan didn’t appreciate the ’Mr.’ title, but he muttered "You are welcome" before the call ended. Watch? The realization came suddenly. This was how they had traced his wife. He thought, looking at the watch which looked like something gotten from a children’s toy shop. Did she buy it herself or had Aiden given it to her? Or maybe, the children had given it to her? He shook his head at the incredulous thought of children gifting their mother a trackable watch. When he scrolled through his phone thereafter, he saw a message. "Fiona is finally awake. Come and pick her up." It had been sent an hour ago. Ewan sighed, texted his driver to do the needful, and hurried into the ward Athena had been kept in.