The Bond Between Us (Anastasia and Herman)

Herman tried calling Anastasia again. This time, her phone was off.

She never turned off her phone. Ever since she became a mom, unless her

battery died, her phone always stayed on. Even if she was furious with him, she'd

ignore his calls, but she wouldn't just switch the thing off.

He remembered seeing her phone at full charge before she left. It'd barely been

two hours. No way the battery was dead.

A cold dread settled in his gut.

Three unanswered calls later, Herman's worry turned into certainty: something

was wrong.

He called Monica, hoping maybe Anastasia had gone to her. No luck-Monica

hadn't seen her either.

Nelson jogged over, a little out of breath. "Mr. Salstrom, I asked the security at the

gate. They said Mrs. Salstrom left in a taxi, headed north."

"Find out that taxi's license plate. Now," Herman ordered, his voice sharp. "And

get Dailey over here."

But the car had left right from the banquet entrance, just outside the cameras'

reach. None of the guards got the plate number. Tracking her by the taxi was

probably pointless.

Herman quickly tried to locate Anastasia's phone.

Half an hour later, following the last signal, Herman drove out toward the northernnoveldrama

outskirts. There, in the weeds, he found her phone-smashed to pieces.

Anastasia was gone. Just like that.

Dailey showed up soon after. "Boss, I checked-nothing from Asher tonight. No

movement at all."

Herman had suspected Asher might come after Anastasia for the chip. He'd had

people watching Asher for weeks.

So if it wasn't Asher, then who?

He felt lost. Anastasia had been missing for nearly an hour. A bad feeling gnawed

at him, his nerves raw.

"Start pulling traffic cam footage from this road. There's gotta be a camera at

some intersection," Herman said, gripping the shattered phone so hard his

knuckles turned white. His eyes were cold and dangerous.

Her disappearance was suffocating-like someone had a hand wrapped tight

around his throat.

Meanwhile, somewhere far away-

Anastasia sat in darkness, blindfolded, wrists and ankles tied. She couldn't see,

couldn't hear anything except her own pounding heartbeat.

Panic crept in, cold and sharp.

Her memory flickered: an hour ago,

leaving the charity dinner, texting

Herman, planning to meet Monica.

She'd gotten into a cab. Not long

after, a strange drowsiness washed

over her.

Now she realized: something had been wrong with that cab driver.

Was this Asher's doing? Was he after the chip? Or was it Sandy, out for revenge?

She didn't know who had taken her. She just knew she needed to get out.

Blindfolded, she tried to feel her

surroundings. There was a stone at

her back, and if she held her breath,

she could hear water trickling

somewhere. A cave? Where had

they taken her?

Suddenly, footsteps echoed nearby. Anastasia shrank into herself, straining to

listen.

Four people, by the sound of it.

Rough hands yanked her up. Someone tore the tape from her mouth before she

could speak, and then forced something between her lips.

"Swallow it," a man barked.

Terror jolted through her. She tried to spit it out, but someone clamped a hand

over her jaw and poured a bottle of water down her throat.

Her body reacted on instinct-she swallowed. The drug was inside her now.

She couldn't see her captors. They didn't say much, just tossed her back onto the

ground after forcing down the pills.

"What do you want?" Anastasia's voice trembled. Panic was starting to take over.

Moments later, the drugs hit-fast and hard.

A wild, consuming heat swept

through her body. Her mind spun,

her skin burned, and she started to

hallucinate, her limbs jerking,

thoughts dissolving into chaos.

"Who are you? What do you want?" she cried, biting her tongue, desperate to stay

conscious. "Is this about the chip?"

No answer.

The four men stood in front of her, faces bare. With her blindfold in place, they

didn't bother hiding themselves.

When the drugs had her fully in their grip, the leader nodded to the others.

"Alright. Get the camera. Record everything."