Chapter 159: Chapter 161: The Warehouse
One moment, Victoria was leaving the Plaza Hotel after a delightful afternoon tea with friends. The next, two large men in dark suits were flanking her, one on each side, their hands firm on her arms.
"What....let go of me! Do you know who I am?"
"Miss Ashford," the one on her left said calmly. "We need you to come with us. Mr. Blackwood wants to see you."
"Damien? He wants to see me?" Hope flared in her chest. Maybe he’d finally come to his senses. Maybe he’d realized that Aria wasn’t worth.....
"Get in the car, Miss Ashford."
It wasn’t a request.
The car was a black SUV with tinted windows. They put her in the back seat, and Victoria’s initial hope started to morph into concern when she realized they weren’t heading toward Blackwood Enterprises or Damien’s estate.
"Where are we going? This isn’t the way to Damien’s office."
The men didn’t answer.
"I demand you tell me where you’re taking me! My father is Harold Ashford. He’ll have you both arrested for kidnapping if you don’t....."
"Miss Ashford," the driver said, his voice flat and emotionless. "I’d suggest you stop talking. It’ll be easier for everyone."
The concern became fear.
They drove for what felt like hours but was probably only forty-five minutes, taking her further and further from Manhattan into areas of Brooklyn Victoria had never seen. Industrial areas. Abandoned buildings. Streets that looked like something from a crime thriller.
Finally, they pulled up to a warehouse....massive, isolated, surrounded by chain-link fencing.
"No. No, I’m not going in there. Take me back to Manhattan right now, or I’ll....."
But they were already pulling her out of the car, dragging her toward the warehouse entrance despite her screaming and struggling.
Inside, the warehouse was exactly what she’d feared.....concrete floors, exposed beams, the smell of oil and rust. Empty except for a single chair in the center of the space and a few industrial lights that cast harsh shadows.
And there, leaning against a support beam with his arms crossed, was Marcus Chen.....Damien’s head of security and the man who’d been investigating her for weeks.
"Welcome, Miss Ashford," he said, his voice cold. "I hope you’re comfortable. You’re going to be here for a while."
"Where’s Damien? I demand to see Damien right now!"
"The boss will see you when he’s ready. Right now, you’re going to sit in that chair and think about what you’ve done."
"What I’ve done? What I’ve done? How dare you....do you know who I am? Do you know who my father is?"
Marcus’s expression didn’t change. "I know exactly who you are, Miss Ashford. You’re the woman who tried to frame Miss Chen.....
"That bitch deserves everything she...."
Marcus moved faster than Victoria expected. Suddenly he was in front of her, looming, his expression absolutely terrifying.
"You will not speak about Miss Chen. You will not even think her name. Do you understand?"
Victoria stumbled backward, genuinely afraid for the first time in her life.
"The boss has given me very specific instructions," Marcus continued, his voice deadly calm. "You’re to be held here for twenty-four hours. No food. No water. No phone calls. You’re going to sit in this warehouse and think very carefully about your choices."
"Twenty-four hours? You can’t.....that’s kidnapping! That’s illegal! When my father finds out...."
"Your father already knows. Mr. Blackwood made sure of that. He also made sure your father understands that any attempt to retrieve you will result in immediate legal action against Ashford Capital. Federal investigations. Frozen assets. Complete destruction of everything Harold Ashford has built."
Victoria felt her knees go weak. "He wouldn’t dare."
"Wouldn’t he?" Marcus pulled out his phone and showed her a document. Even from a distance, Victoria could see the official letterhead: Federal Trade Commission.
"This is a draft complaint about Ashford Capital’s financial irregularities. Market manipulation. Insider trading. Tax evasion. It’s ready to be filed. The only thing stopping it is your behavior over the next twenty-four hours."
"This is insane. Damien is insane. He can’t do this over some woman...."
"That ’some woman’ is the person he loves. The person he’s chosen. The person who will one day be Mrs Blackwood. And you....." Marcus’s voice was filled with contempt. "You’re just an obstacle he’s removing."
He walked toward the warehouse entrance, and Victoria’s fear spiked to panic.
"Wait! Where are you going? You can’t leave me here!"
"I can and I will. Twenty-four hours, Miss Ashford. Use the time wisely. Think about your actions. Think about the consequences. And most importantly, think about whether continuing this vendetta against Aria Chen is worth losing everything."
"Marcus, please! I’m sorry! I’ll apologize to her, I’ll....."
But he was already gone, the warehouse door slamming shut behind him with a finality that echoed through the empty space.
Victoria stood alone in the center of the warehouse, the harsh lights making her shadow stretch across the concrete floor.
She waited for someone to come back. Waited for this to be some kind of scare tactic, a warning that would end with her release and a stern lecture.
But hours passed. The lights stayed on. No one came.
Her designer heels became torture devices on the hard concrete. Her throat grew dry. Her stomach cramped with hunger.
She screamed. Demanded to be released. Threatened lawsuits and federal investigations and her father’s wrath.
No one answered.
She cried, her carefully applied makeup running down her face in black streaks, her perfect hair becoming a tangled mess.
She tried the door....locked. She tried her phone...no signal, and the battery was dying anyway. She looked for windows....too high, covered with bars.
She was trapped. Completely, utterly trapped.
And for the first time in her privileged life, Victoria Ashford understood what it meant to be powerless.
Eight hours in, she stopped screaming.
Twelve hours in, she stopped crying.
Sixteen hours in, she just sat on the cold concrete floor, her back against the wall, staring at nothing.
And she thought about Damien. About the cold fury in Marcus’s voice when he’d defended Aria. About the federal complaint that could destroy her father’s company. About the fact that Damien Blackwood had the power to make her disappear and no one....not her father, not the police.....could stop him.
She thought about Aria Chen. About the woman who’d somehow captured Damien’s heart so completely that he’d do this. That he’d risk his reputation, his company, everything, just to protect her.
And Victoria realized, with a clarity that came from hours of isolation and fear, that she’d never had a chance.
Damien had never wanted her. Had never seen her as anything more than an annoying obligation from their families’ social connections. All her scheming, all her attempts to separate him from Aria, all her vindictive attacks....they’d never been about winning his love.
They’d been about her ego. Her pride. Her inability to accept that someone else had what she wanted.
And now she was paying the price.
Twenty hours in, when her throat was raw from thirst and her body ached from sitting on concrete, Victoria Ashford finally, truly understood.
She’d lost.
