Chapter 222: To Get Him Back
And Maximilian...
Maximilian slowly lifted his gaze toward the helicopter hovering overhead, icy wind whipping against his face as the rotors thundered above them.
His blue eyes darkened.
Because he already knew.
This was not law enforcement.
This was pressure.
The moment they were released, Maximilian immediately retrieved his weapons from the ground. Around him, the Preston brothers were still furious and shaken, voices overlapping as they demanded answers and planned what to do next.
But Maximilian’s mind had already moved ahead.
"This place isn’t safe," he said sharply. "Get in the trucks. Now."
Something in his tone cut through the chaos instantly.
No one argued.
Within minutes, they were driving back toward the Preston compound through the darkening mountain roads.
Only after the convoy started moving did Maximilian pull out his phone and call Sebastian.
"Are the girls safe?" he asked immediately.
"They’re on their way back home," Sebastian answered. "They should reach the compound within the hour."
Maximilian finally exhaled slightly.
"The FBI took Alexander," he said coldly. "Find out whether this came from Hollister... or Rathbourne."
Then he ended the call.
William, who was driving, glanced toward Maximilian with quiet awe.
He had not even realized Maximilian had security layers around the women during their trip.
Then again... this man protected Catherine like breathing itself.
Maximilian was already dialing another number.
"So..." he said calmly when the call connected. "I didn’t know the FBI could be kidnapping a lawyer without any charges filed against them."
His voice was polite.
Too polite.
William immediately understood something terrifying was happening on the other end. As someone who managed corporations worth billions, he recognized that kind of silence.
People were panicking.
William still placed his own calls to senators and legal teams while Maximilian continued speaking.
"I need to know where Alexander Hunter Preston was taken. Now," Maximilian said evenly. "I’ll hold."
The silence that followed was heavy enough to feel through the speakerphone.
Then finally...
"They’ve taken him to the local precinct for interrogation, Mr. Whitmore," the FBI director answered carefully.
William immediately turned the truck hard onto another road leading toward town while simultaneously making calls to verify the information. Bobby who was following them with Jonathan, made a sharp turn behind them. William passed the details to Bobby.
"Interrogation?" Maximilian repeated softly. "About what?"
"There was a kidnapping accusation filed against Mr. Preston by them. Apparently, the daughter of the Hollister family disappeared from the Sentinel Ball and—"
"They?" Maximilian interrupted. "I didn’t know I could use you guys as my personal DoorDash from now on."
Another pause.
"Jared Fletcher," the director admitted. "The woman’s fiancé."
William’s eyes widened.
He had expected Roxana’s family to retaliate.
But fiancé?
Alexander had never once mentioned that.
Maximilian let out a low scoff.
"Is this how the FBI investigates now? You won’t even get my orders right, it appears," he asked coolly. "How exactly does a married woman still have a fiancé?"
Silence.
Uncomfortable silence.
Then Maximilian leaned back slowly against the seat.
"Fletcher, huh?" he murmured.
And then he ended the call.
He immediately called Catherine and explained everything.
"Once you reach home, send Roxana to the precinct," Maximilian said. "You stay at the compound, Catherine. I’ll handle things here and come back to you."
Catherine took in a slow breath.
She should have felt afraid. Or furious. But instead... something inside her quietly settled into place. Something old and familiar; Something she had learned in another lifetime.
War.
She knew this feeling.
The constant tension beneath the skin. The understanding that every move mattered. That enemies did not always attack directly. That the people around you became targets the moment you became important enough.
And somehow, instead of panicking, her mind turned frighteningly calm.
Because Maximilian was there.
And if Maximilian was there... Alexander would come back safely.
"I’ll wait for you," she said softly. "Love you."
Then she ended the call.
For a few moments, she simply sat there quietly inside the jet cabin.
Then she slowly turned toward Roxana.
Roxana was still scrolling through pictures of herself in wedding dresses from earlier that morning, her expression calmer than Catherine expected from someone who had apparently eloped into chaos.
"Roxana," Catherine asked casually, "by any chance, do you have a fiancé named Fletcher?"
"Cathy!" Miranda gasped immediately.
"Fletcher?" Roxana frowned.
"A Jared Fletcher," Catherine clarified.
Roxana blinked once.
Then slowly... she remembered the man from the Sentinel Ball.
The overly polished smile. The entitled confidence. The assumption that she would eventually belong to him simply because their families had arranged it. But she thought she had made it clear with him.
"He had the FBI arrest Alexander on kidnapping charges," Catherine said flatly.
"What the hell?!" Sophia and Miranda shouted in unison.
Catherine merely shrugged. "The men are handling it," she said.
Then her gaze shifted toward Roxana again.
And Catherine paused.
Because Roxana did not look frightened.
She looked furious. Coldly furious. There was no panic in her eyes. No helplessness. No tears.
Only anger. Sharp. Focused. Dangerous.
And unexpectedly... Catherine felt relieved.
Maybe Alexander truly had chosen well.
"My family would be involved too," Roxana said quietly, her eyes hardening into something genuinely menacing.
Then she slowly closed the tablet in her lap.
And in that moment, Catherine understood something clearly.
Roxana already knew exactly what she needed to do next.
-----
Back at the precinct, Bobby had already pulled a few strings.
Half the officers stationed there had either hunted with him, drank with him, or owed him favors.
And because of that, the FBI agents had been firmly blocked from entering the interrogation room where Alexander was being held.
Jonathan had already returned to the Preston compound to tighten security there.
Which left William and Maximilian sitting across from a group of increasingly uncomfortable federal agents who had clearly received the call from higher up.
No one knew what to do anymore, not after realizing exactly whose family they had just dragged into this mess.
The entire precinct sat in tense silence while they waited for Roxana to arrive.
Then—
"What are you people standing around for? Did he tell you where he’s keeping Roxana?"
A man strode into the precinct with the confidence of someone accustomed to authority bending around him.
William and Maximilian both stood.
"So..." William said slowly, studying him. "You’re Fletcher?"
Maximilian said nothing.
He merely stared at the man, coldly.
Jared Fletcher frowned at the two of them, clearly trying to place where the sudden hostility was coming from.
Then the station doors opened again.
And another figure entered in a casual dress, wedge heels, hair slightly tousled from travel, and thin-framed glasses resting against a completely makeup-free face.
Roxana.
The moment Jared saw her, relief visibly flooded his expression. He immediately walked toward her.
"Roxana, I—"
SLAP.
The sound cracked sharply through the entire precinct.
Everyone froze.
Roxana had slapped him hard enough to snap his head sideways. Blood dripped from his cheek as a deep cut had formed on his cheek.
Roxana had hit him with her ring wearing hand... with the diamond rotated to the other side for added impact.
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