Chapter 21: Against All Odds

BLISSFUL EUPHORIA

Aria's father answered the phone with a cold, husky voice, leaving Jay unsure of how to begin. "Hello, this is Jay," he said. "I'm a friend of Aria's. Someone has kidnapped Aria, please, I need your help to find her."

Jay heard "Myself Tim Maverick" in response. Puzzled, Jay said okay. Tim asked, "Where are you guys right now?" Jay answered, "We are in Bedok, Singapore." Tim then asked, "When did you guys arrive there, and when was the kidnapping?" Jay replied, "We came to the beach this afternoon, and a gang of kidnappers abducted Aria 20 minutes ago."

Tim asked Jay to stay on the line and put him on hold. Jay felt annoyed by the way Tim talked, as he didn't even seem to panic that his daughter was abducted. Jay became increasingly impatient and worried about Aria's situation. After a minute, Tim came back to the line and said, "I have tracked her down, and my men will reach there in 2 minutes. I will send you the location, go pick her up."

Jay was shocked and asked, "Is that true? How did you find her?" Tim sighed and said, "Tell her that I will talk to her tomorrow afternoon. As of now, I am flying to another country, so my phone will not be reachable," and then disconnected the call.

a person is driving a car with a gps device

Tim shared the location, which was 10 minutes away from where he was. He immediately started his car and drove to that location. His mind was frozen, and he was feeling anxious as he wanted to see Aria safe. When he arrived, he saw Aria standing and talking to two other men. Jay got out of the car, his palms were sweaty, and his legs felt weak. Aria turned around and smiled at him, and then hugged him. Jay hugged her tightly and said, "I thought I was going to lose you forever."

Aria told Jay that she was safe. One of the men approached her and said, "Ma'am, you can go home. We will take care of these guys."

Jay asked, "Do you know these guys?"

The man replied, "No, they are kidnappers who abducted the ma'am for ransom, I guess. They are not our enemies, so don't worry. They won't come back to you."

Aria noticed that Jay was not in a state to drive, so she offered to drive instead. They reached the hotel and had dinner, during which Aria tried to distract Jay by reminiscing about their sweet memories. Jay smiled and nodded as Aria spoke. After dinner, Aria thanked Jay for calling her dad immediately, Jay conveyed Tim's message. Aria suggested Jay not to think too much about what happened and get some rest. Jay fell asleep with his eyes closed, but his mind was filled with negative thoughts. All he could think about was how helpless he was when Aria was kidnapped in front of him and how her dad had found her within minutes. He was unable to trust his own instincts, questioning whether he was hallucinating or dreaming. He kept questioning himself repeatedly if he was the right person for Aria.