Walking on Thin Ice

A sharp, encrypted notification chimed loudly on Jace's phone, shattering the quiet hum of his surroundings. He froze. A paralyzing wave of dread washed over him, chilling his blood. He stared intensely at the blinking red pin on the digital map displayed on his screen. That unique alert meant only one terrifying thing: his invincible boss was in danger. She had been kidnapped.

"Oh, poor Boss," Jace muttered under his breath. He aggressively wiped away an invisible tear of sheer frustration. He heavily lamented the fact that she had managed to make such a dangerous, unhinged enemy at a mere high school. He had to act fast. She could only rely on him right now.

He quickly drafted a message, preparing to send her exact coordinates to Dominic Vane. His thumb hovered over the send button. He hesitated. The bitter racing grudge from their past flared in his mind. Reaching out directly to the Vane heir was risky. More importantly, he was terrified of inadvertently exposing Evangeline's true, guarded identity. Pivoting his strategy, Jace utilized an untraceable, anonymous burner account. He punched in the precise GPS coordinates and hit send, directing the tip straight to Finley's phone instead. "Please be safe, Boss," he whispered to the empty room.

Elsewhere on the dark campus, Finley paced in circles, frantically contacting everyone he knew to find Evangeline. His chest tightened with every unanswered call. Suddenly, his screen lit up with the anonymous message. He jolted, his eyes scanning the unknown coordinates. "Dominic," he said, turning to his brother. He held the screen out, displaying the suspicious location. "Someone just sent me this. They say Evangeline is there right now. Should we go?"

Dominic snatched the device from his brother's grip. A strong sliver of logical suspicion told him this sudden tip might be a trap. Yet, he didn't hesitate for a microsecond. "We go. What if she really is there?" he declared firmly.

Right now, he had to go even if it was false information. Dominic threw the car door open and started sprinting with terrifying speed toward the pinned location. Finley chased after him, his breath coming in ragged, desperate gasps. The coordinates led them directly to a secluded, decaying dormitory on the very edge of the school grounds. The building had been abandoned for years. It was the perfect, silent place to lock someone away unnoticed.

Dominic rushed inside the rotting structure. He forced open every single door along the dark corridor in a frantic, desperate search. Finley trailed close behind, his chest heavy with a suffocating, sickening guilt. Despite their constant, daily bickering, the sheer thought of her in actual physical danger was unbearable to the young boy.

Inside the darkest room of the abandoned building, Evangeline tasted the sharp metallic tang of her own blood pooling in her mouth. The bitter sensation stung her throat with every breath. She had vaguely heard the noises of doors being kicked open outside. Stalling for precious time, she forced a deeply bitter, raspy tone through her dry lips. "I can't say you're not amazing, Miss Vance. You actually pulled the kidnapping card again. I really can't logically think of a single reason for you to hate me this much."

Tessa sneered down at her, her face twisted in ugly, unbridled fury. "Evangeline, you stole my rightful position as number one in the competition and even got so close with Finley. Now you're telling me that I hate you for no reason at all?"

"You're the only one who cares about getting number one in that stupid, pointless competition," Evangeline retorted dismissively, her tone dripping with raw condescension. "I couldn't care less."

The casual insult hit its mark perfectly. Tessa let out a furious shriek, leaping to her feet. She wildly raised her hand, preparing to deliver another vicious, open-palmed slap to Evangeline's face.

Before the heavy blow could ever land, a deafening bang echoed through the space. The heavy wooden door crashed open, splintering off its rusted hinges. Tessa spun around in shock. The male accomplice lunged forward to block the entrance. "Who are you guys?"

Finley charged into the room like a wild animal. He tackled the man, brutally slamming him straight to the hard dirt ground. Without a single word, Dominic shoved Tessa hard aside. He went straight for Evangeline.

She cowered in the dusty corner, her eyes still covered by the blindfold, her mouth stuffed with the gag. Seeing her looking incredibly small, like a hurt, terrified little deer, instantly ignited their fierce, blindingly protective instincts.

"Look at what you've done, Tessa!" Finley yelled in horrified astonishment.

Tessa desperately tried to stammer out a pathetic excuse. "Finley, I—"

Finley fiercely and ruthlessly cut her off. "Don't even bother explaining. I don't want to hear any of your lies!"

Dominic knelt down, cradling Evangeline securely and gently in his strong arms. His intense gaze locked onto Tessa, his voice dropping to a terrifying, chilling temperature that froze the room. "I'm not remotely interested in what petty drama happened between you and Finley. But don't you ever think you can get away with just a few words when you've laid a single dirty finger on someone from the Vane Family."

Finley threw a few more aggressive, angry punches into the groaning accomplice, letting off his boiling steam. Satisfied the threat was neutralized, the brothers carefully lifted Evangeline and carried her away into the cold night.

Left flabbergasted and trembling in the ruined room, Tessa realized the gravity of her failure. Panic set in. She nervously pulled out her phone and frantically dialed the hidden number.

"What should we do?" Tessa stammered. "Evangeline was rescued by Dominic Vane…"

"She was rescued?" The woman on the other end sounded genuinely shocked. A beat of silence passed before she coldly regained her iron composure. "Just do exactly as I say. We're walking on incredibly thin ice right now, so I'll help you for sure…"