Chapter 68: They Took Her

The marble floor cracked under Evren’s boots as his intense aura swept through the grand foyer.

Amber looked at the empty space by the velvet-curtained pillar, her voice trembling in shock. "Evren... what do we do? Did Varek’s men take her?"

Evren took a slow, deep breath, reigning in his mana before it triggered the building’s emergency alarms. "There was no sound of a struggle," he said calmly. "In a room full of high-ranking hunters and reporters, nobody gets dragged out without making a scene."

Evren raised his head, his sharp eyes scanning the high, vaulted ceiling.

Four high-definition security cameras were tucked neatly beneath the gilded crown molding, aiming directly at the foyer and the exit doors.

"Amber, follow me," Evren ordered, turning on his heel.

He marched straight toward the main security reception desk on the left side of the grand foyer. Two armed security guards in dark uniforms stiffened as Evren approached.

"Sir, please step back," the senior guard said politely. "The exit line is currently..."

"I need immediate access to your live surveillance monitors," Evren interrupted whatever warning the guard was about to give. "A member of my party just vanished in your foyer."

The two guards exchanged uneasy glances. The senior guard shook his head.

"I’m sorry, sir, but surveillance records are strictly confidential under municipal protocol," the guard replied firmly. "Only a High Council tribunal warrant or an official Bureau emergency order can authorize..."

"Call your Chief of Security," Evren cut in. "Right now. Before I tear this desk in half."

The pressure in Evren’s voice alone made the guard’s throat tighten. The guard nervously reached for his radio, murmuring a few hurried words into the receiver.

Less than sixty seconds later, the side security doors swung open.

A stout, balding man in an expensive navy suit rushed into the lobby, wiping sweat from his forehead with a silk handkerchief. Behind him were four heavily armed security enforcers with energy batons.

"I am Chief Marsten, Head of Security for the Exchange," the man said with a slight frown. "Sir, I must inform you that our client confidentiality rules are absolute..."

Evren didn’t waste a single second with words.

He reached into his jacket, pulled out the embossed leather folder he had received in the vault, and slapped it firmly onto the marble counter.

SLAP.

It was the official VIP Platinum Ownership & Settlement Certificate for Lot Number Seven.

At the bottom of the parchment, in bold red ink, was the certified transaction receipt: $100,000,000.00 USD — PAID IN FULL BY APEX SOVEREIGN CONGLOMERATE.

Chief Marsten looked down at the paper. His eyes widened in sheer horror. His face instantly drained of all color, and his knees wobbled beneath him.

"You’re... you’re Chairman Crawford," Marsten stammered.

Evren leaned down slightly, fixing the security chief with an intense stare.

"My companion vanished on your premises less than three minutes after I paid one hundred million dollars to your house. If you don’t show me those monitors right now, I will hold this Exchange personally responsible for aiding a kidnapping."

Chief Marsten swallowed hard. "R-Right this way, Chairman! Follow me immediately!"

Marsten led Evren and Amber through two biometric security doors into the Central Surveillance Control Room.

The room was filled with dozens of glowing holographic monitors displaying real-time feeds from every corner of the palace.

"Pull up the grand foyer feed," Evren commanded, pointing at the center screen. "Rewind three minutes."

The technician frantically tapped his holographic keyboard. The screen flickered, showing the grand foyer three minutes prior.

On the screen, Evren and Amber were standing near the revolving doors, while Evren pulled out his phone to message the chauffeur.

Behind them, near the velvet-curtained pillar, Zephyra stopped walking.

She looked at Evren’s broad back with a heartbroken expression. Her lower lip trembled as her fingers gently unfastened her silver hair ribbon, letting it drop silently onto the plush red carpet.

Without a single sound, Zephyra pulled the dark hood of her shadow-silk coat over her head, turned to the right, and pushed through the side pedestrian emergency exit into the pouring rain outside.

Amber covered her mouth with both hands, tears welling in her eyes. "She... she walked out on her own. Whyy... why would she do that?"

Evren’s jaw tightened as the pieces came together in his mind. "Remember how panicked she was during the bidding? She was begging me not to spend that money on her... and then Varek threatened her in the corridor."

Amber’s eyes widened in realization. "She thinks she’s putting us in danger... she’s trying to lure them away!"

"Switch to the exterior camera outside that side alley," Evren ordered. "Show me the live feed first."

The screen shifted to the exterior camera overlooking the rain-soaked side alley.

The alley was dark and completely empty. Rainwater was rushing down the gutters into the storm drains.

"She’s not there anymore," Amber said.

"Rewind the feed by two minutes," Evren commanded. "From when she left the foyer."

The technician tapped his keyboard, rolling back the timestamp. The screen flickered, and Zephyra appeared on the recording, walking swiftly through the downpour down the wet sidewalk.

Suddenly, an unmarked black surveillance van with tinted windows swerved into the mouth of the alley, cutting off her exit. The bulk of the van completely blocked the camera’s line of sight into the narrow alleyway.

Four heavily built men in dark raincoats jumped out of the side doors, disappearing behind the vehicle into the blind spot.

For over a minute, nothing could be seen behind the idling van except the pouring rain and exhaust fumes.

Then, the men reappeared on camera, carrying Zephyra’s limp, unconscious body and shoving her into the back of the vehicle.

"They took her!" Amber cried out, her face draining of all color in pure rage and panic.

The side doors slammed shut, and the van reversed out of the alley, speeding onto the main boulevard.

"Pause the recording!" Evren barked. "Rewind five seconds to when the van was turning under the streetlight, and enhance the rear bumper."

The technician froze the video and maximized the resolution.

Under the harsh glare of the streetlamp, the license plate became clear, along with a small, coiled viper emblem etched into the corner of the metal plate.

Evren’s aura flared, rattling the holographic terminals. "Can your system link to the traffic network to track that plate?" he asked.

"Yes! Under our Imperial commercial charter, we have emergency clearance to the district traffic junction feeds!" Chief Marsten stammered, wiping sweat from his forehead. "Patch into the highway camera grid right now!"

The technician frantically typed the plate number into the registry scanner.

A digital map of the Capital’s expressway system blinked on the central monitor.

"Got a hit!" the technician called after a few seconds. "The van just passed the automated toll cameras on the eastern arterial flyover! They’re speeding straight into the industrial sector of District Nine!"

"It’s an unpatrolled railyard zone," Chief Marsten said in a trembling voice. "It’s where the syndicates operate!"

Evren didn’t wait to hear another word. He turned on his heel and stormed toward the exit. "Amber, let’s go."

—

Thirty seconds later, the front revolving doors of the Exchange burst open. Evren and Amber ran out into the pouring rain under the grand canopy where their vehicle was idling.

Evren opened the driver’s door, motioning for the chauffeur to step aside. "I’m driving."

The chauffeur scrambled into the lobby as Evren slammed the door and Amber jumped into the passenger seat.

"Hold on, Amber," Evren said in a calm, lethal voice. "Tonight, the Drossian syndicate burns."