EuropeNovelChapter 1 The abandoned factory was choked with weeds, its crumbling walls looming over a battered red sedan parked just outside the entrance.
Inside, Isadora Vaughan's hands were bound tightly behind her back, and her lips -painted a deep rose-were sealed with a strip of yellow duct tape. All she could manage were muffled, desperate whimpers.
Her white dress was streaked with dirt from the grimy floor, exposing a pair of pale, slender legs.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtA kidnapper, face obscured by a grotesque mask, crouched in front of her. His voice was gravelly and distorted.
"Miss Vaughan, you're Magnus Wainwright's fiancée. Three million dollars should be pocket change to him. All right-call him yourself." He tossed an old cell phone at her feet. Then, with a harsh rip, he tore the tape from her mouth and untied her wrists.
A sharp knife pressed coldly against her neck.
Ringing. The line connected after what felt like an eternity.
A man's deep, crisp voice rang out, "Hello?" Isadora trembled so hard she could barely keep hold of the phone.
"Magnus, I—I've been kidnapped. They want three million in ransom. Please... can you csave me?" There was a pause, as if Magnus was caught off guard. But when he spoke again, his voice was even colder. "Isadora, I told you-Elise is sick. Her dying wish was to have this wedding. Stop causing trouble!" Only then did Isadora remember-the wedding was today.
Elise Harrison. Magnus's one true love.
But Elise was terminally ill, and her last wish was to walk down the aisle with the man she adored.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmIsadora had protested when she learned Magnus had agreed to the wedding.
Frantic, she shook her head, even though he couldn't see her. "No, this time-I'm not making a scene. Please, you have to believe me!" His reply was emotionless, every word like a blade of ice.
"Isadora, you're still Mrs. Wainwright in name. Why can't you just be understanding for once? My patience is running out, and you've crossed the line!" "Magnus, don't you even care if I live or die?" Her voice broke as she bit back tears. "If you don't cfor me, then we're done. For good." Magnus frowned, impatience flaring.
The breakup threat. Again? Isadora, why can't you just let things be? He was fed up.
The kidnapper snatched the phone away.
"Mr. Wainwright, seems like you don't care much for this woman. Three million is nothing to you-are you paying or not?" At that moment, in the chapel, Magnus stood tall in an immaculate white suit, phone in hand. Across from him, Elise stood in a wedding gown, pale but smiling.
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