Entangled Strings Of Fate

Chapter 14: Two Curious Souls

"I guess you're right. That means everyone knows about him," Claire stated, her mind racing as she agreed with Jane.

"And if that's the case, let's go downstairs. We might find out something about him and why he abducted my brother," Claire said, determined to maintain her composure despite the rising storm of worry inside her.

Together, they walked downstairs to seek answers they wanted.

Passing through the hallway towards the living area they saw Claire's parents, Andrew and some strangers, sitting on the teal upholstered sofa facing each other, while Granny stood behind Zoey keeping her hand on Zoey's shoulder.

Zoey who had changed her clothes back into her casual attire, a long strip white shirt and coffee brown pants, was looking more anxious than her dad, who sat adjacent to Zoey.

Once they moved closer, they saw Claire's uncle, Ethan, who was going to be late, arrived at the mansion in his impeccably black shirt and light grey checkered pants, abandoning his other work appointments, as soon as he learned about what happened.

Everyone's eyes were centered on the laptop, which was placed at the white rectangular center table, which showed a dash cam footage that had been sent by Harris, who had collected it from Eric's car.

The footage showed unidentified individuals coming out of Amelia's house wearing a black face mask holding unconscious Eric, with Amelia following behind closely. While the two men placed Eric in the car's trunk, one of the men removed his mask grinning and stared directly towards Eric's car before they swiftly drove away.

Upon seeing the man's face, William commented, "It's Pietro, it's him," and exchanged a knowing look with Zoey. The revelation made it difficult for everyone present, as like Ermanno, Pietro was also well-known by almost everyone in the mansion.

While everyone dealt with the revelations one other person in the living room, was busy constantly making calls here and there. This person was Keith Wolcott, William's old mate, who've also been William's eyes and ears, in all Ermanno's matter, since the beginning of their feud.

The two detectives had also grasped the extent of the rivalry between William and the culprit as Keith had disclosed some information about Ermanno's identity, his past crimes, capabilities, and the dangerous individuals associated with him, in order to find Eric fast.

Since Keith and the detectives were working together, they had their ways of operating. The detectives split up, with Connor staying back at the mansion and Harris going out with other officers. Meanwhile, Keith relied on his own team and sources.

Claire and Jane, who were trying to overhear their conversation while standing by the door, were seen by Keith, who walked out, receiving another call from one of his people. But even after noticing them both, he ignored them, focusing on the call.

After that, Jane whispered to Claire, "Let's just go inside now, at least we'll be able to say we were about to go inside when he walked out," nodding, they both entered the room. Claire went to her parents, while Jane stood beside her Granny.

Later, Keith returned with a sly smile on his face and announced, "We found him."

"Where is he," William immediately inquired, followed by Zoey, "Is he Okay."

"Yes, he is safe and sound, but he's unconscious. Right now, he's being taken to the hospital, and my team, along with the police, is guarding him. You can relax now," Keith replied, assuring them. Everyone felt relieved to hear the news, especially Zoey and Jane, who were particularly grateful.

Despite the relief, there were some questions lingering in his mind, and to ask that he wanted the children to go. William looked at Mrs. Smith, signaling her to take Claire and Jane away as they needed to discuss something.

She understood and nodded, leading Claire and Jane out of the room saying, "Could you both help me to organize things for Eric."

As they left, William began his inquiry, "Where did you find him, and what about the people who took him?"

"We found him at an abandoned villa, but when the cops and my people went there, they only found Eric, maybe they got a lead about it," Keith responded.

"But why did they leave him behind? I don't understand," William said, frowning.

Keith reflected on this question as well. "I feel uneasy about it too. Why did they abandon Eric if they kidnapped him in the first place? What's their real intention? Or did their intentions got changed?"

Keith and William started to contemplate, "If it is so, then what changed their intentions?"

"Can we go to the hospital right now? You can question it all later too," Zoey intervened, anxious to see her son. Hearing that, they all looked at Zoey, who was sitting there desperately.

"Of course, darling, we'll head there," William replied, plainly still thinking about the possibilities.

On that his brother, Ethan, chimed in, who was observing the whole thing calmly, backing Zoey's suggestion.

"I believe she has a point; we should head to the hospital immediately. We can ponder their intentions later, as Eric might need us more than this pondering session. Furthermore, the detectives can handle the details if there's more to uncover. Let's prioritize our actions now," Ethan suggested, glancing at the detectives and Keith.

Observing the change in the atmosphere, Connor interjected, trying to calm everyone, "Certainly, Sir. But he's currently unconscious, and what Harris found according to him, he'd been injected with some drug, which won't let him wake up anytime soon."

"It doesn't matter. I just want to be there when he wakes up. If you want to stay here until then, you can, but I'm going right now, Ethan will you come with me," Zoey stated firmly, locking eyes with William and then glancing at Ethan.

"Yeah, let' s go," Ethan replied with a nod.

"Wait, I'll come with you, but let me arrange more security here," William replied.

"But don't we already have people for that," Ethan pointed out, crossing his arms.

"Yes, but it's not enough and don't forget who we're dealing with. You both may overlook it, but I can't," William emphasized.

"Can you ask for more people to come here for security," William requested Connor and Keith.

At this Keith simply just nodded his head, while Connor assured him, saying, "Yes, we've already arranged for that, Sir, and more importantly you can trust them."

"Andrew, I think you can head home, now. I'll call you when I need you," William told Andrew, who first denied going home but then nodded in agreement.

"Okay, can we go now," Zoey inquired.

"Yes," William replied.

As everyone in the room exited, Claire who had reached the staircase with Granny and Jane, watching them leave the mansion, looking a bit down and feeling left behind as everyone departed.