Beneath Her Bastard Boss

Room Mate 164 Chapter 164 Chapter 164 Sutton burst into the house not long after the call from Prince Alexei's people. Luca was right behind her but nothing was going to slow Sutton down. They'd never grown up with the worry of kidnapping hanging over their heads, but with their combined wealth with their husbands, the threat had becterrifyingly real. The fear in Sutton's eyes told Blair everything she needed to know, this was a nightmare they'd never prepared for.

was Blair could see they had dressed in a hurry. Her sister's face w they both draw strength from each other.

pale, eyes wide with barely controlled panic. She hugged her sister tight as "Where's Miles?" The first words out of Blair mouth, her voice tight wi worry.

"The nanny is earning her pay today." Sutton had a nanny but she hated leaving Miles with her for any reason. Blair could see the guilt warring with the need to be here for Keira.

"Showeverything," Her sister demanded, her voice cracking slightly.

Blair handed over her phone, her own fingers trembling. Sutton studied the photo and text message, her expression hardening from worry to something harder, more focused. "The phone number isn't encrypted. That tellsit's most likely a burner which isn't traceable." Luca grunted because Sutton had used a burner while she had modeled as Audrey when Luca had first met her. When she disappeared, it had made it impossible for him to track her down. Only fate had stepped in the way for them both, bringing them back together.

"They think they're dealing with amateurs,” she muttered, a dangerous edge to her voice. "Big mistake. I'm going to see what I can find out about the photo they sent. I'm just hoping they don't have anyone tech savvy on their team. I need my equipment." "I'll get it," Luca said before heading out to their car to get Sutton's computer. Luca was the business mind but Sutton was the brains when it cto computers and tech. Luca was back in less than a few minutes.

"The Wystovian security team is on their way," Roman informed them, his jaw tight with tension. "And my team is already mobilizing." Luca asked Roman, "Have you contacted all airports and ports to make sure they can't get them out of the country?" Roman looked shocked that was even a possibility. Blair felt her stomach drop at the thought, Keira taken overseas would mean their chances of finding her would plummet. "I was worried about how much we could do without tipping off the police." Luca pulled out his phone, his voice hard with purpose. "I can get the ports covered due to my father's business connections. Can you arrange having people at any small airstrips in the state? It's doubtful they will move them through a large airport but the smaller ones." Roman nodded, getting his phone out. "Peters, I have a job for you..." He moved off into another room while Luca arranged to have the ports covered, his voice low and urgent.

Sutton looked at Blair, holding up the laptop computer Luca had handed her. Her eyes reflected fear that was mirrored in Blair's eyes. Roman's office okay forto set up?" "IS "God yes. While the men do their part and you do yours, what do you wantto do?" They moved quickly into Roman's office and Sutton set her computer up in the middle of Roman's desk, her fingers already twitching to get started.

"Passyour phone." Blair handed it over, feeling utterly helpless as Sutton quickly connected it to the laptop.

Within an hour, Roman's office wasn't big enough to be transformed into an operations center. So everyone moved into the living room using the long dining table, the space now humming with controlled urgency.

1/3 Chapter 164 Roman's the security team Peters had arranged four men and two women had arrived and set up communications equipment in the dining room, their faces grim and professional. They asked a hundred questions.

When the Wystovian team arrived, led by a man named Mitchell, he briefed everyone on what had happened the night before, his clipped tones betraying no emotion.

"We did look into Keira to make sure she wasn't involved." "Involved?" Sutton questioned, her voice rising sharply. "What do you mean involved? If you are suggesting for one minute our sister had anything to do with your prince getting kidnapped, I swear to God you can get out and we will find them on our own." The fury in her voice made everyone in the room tense.

"Prince Alexei and Miss Warner argued last night and against policy, the prince sent his personal guard away, leaving him unprotected. We needed to make sure Miss Warner wasn't involved with the kidnappers." Sutton stood so abruptly her chair nearly toppled, and Luca grabbed her arm, stopping her from advancing on Mitchell. Sutton glared at her husband, her eyes blazing. "You can letgo. I'm not going to kill him... yet." Luca didn't look so sure but let her go, staying close enough to intervene if needed.

"You have to understand money is a strong motivator," Mitchell continued, seemingly oblivious to the danger he was in.

"So what-you went diving into our sister's financials? Was that the real reason we weren't contacted?" Blair demanded, her own anger boiling over. The thought of them investigating Keira while she was in danger made her sick.

Mitchell had the decency to look uncomfortable. "We had to rule out all possibilities. Your sister was observed having a heated argument with the prince shortly before they both disappeared. Protocol dictated we investigate all angles." "And what did your investigation reveal?" Roman asked, his voice dangerously calm, though Blair could see the white-knuckled grip he had on the back of a chair.

"That Ms. Warner is clearly a victim, not an accomplice," Mitchell admitted. "Her financial records show no suspicious activity, and her background check cback clean.” "I could have told you that," Blair snapped, protectively cradling her baby bump. "Instead of wasting valuable tthat could have been spent looking for them." Sutton was already back at her computer, fingers flying across the keyboard, channeling her rage into action. "While we waited for you jokers to turn up, I ran the photo they sent us though ssoftware. The image embedded metadata that wasn't properly scrubbed. Amateurs." She glanced up, a fierce gleam in her eye. "The image wa taken with an iPhone 13, and..she zoomed in on a portion of the background, "there. Now what is that?" Luca leaned over her shoulder, his face inches from the screen. "What are you seeing?" "A window behind Keira. And through that window..." Sutton enhanced the image further with her software, her breath catching, "...It looks like a crane of sorts..."

"That's a gantry crane. That narrows it down," Luca said, moving to a map one of Roman's security team had spread ac across the table. "Gantry cranes are used to load shipping containers. They are only found at ports. There isn't enough detail to figure out the company the crane belongs to." "The eastern harbor has the highest concentration of abandoned warehouses," Mitchell added, seemingly eager to be helpful after the tension. "If they wanted isolation, that's where they'd go." "Have any more messages cthrough?" Blair asked, looking at both Sutton and Mitchell, her heart pounding with dread and hope.

"The King is working to negotiate payment if needed," Mitchell said, not quite meeting her eyes.

2/3 15.10 Tue, 12 Aug ora Chapter 164 They didn't tell them if it included Keira or not. The omission hung in the air like a threat.

Sutton picked up Blair's phone and checked, her shoulders sagging slightly. "Nothing. Why are they taking so long? They said they would be in contact with instructions." Roman answered, his voice grim. "They could be waiting on payment for Prince Alexei first or waiting to contact us to increase our panic" "Well, it's working," Blair grumbled, her hand instinctively moving to her stomach again.

The doorbell went. Everyone looked around, tension instantly crackling in the air. "Are we waiting on anyone else?" Sutton asked, reaching for Luca's hand as he moved to her side.

Blair and Roman shook their heads and moved toward their front door, Roman positioning himself slightly in front of his pregnant wife. Upon opening the door, there was a huge bunch of red roses. Blair was guessing around three dozen. The delivery person was completely hidden behind the huge bouquet.

"Where do you want them?" ca muffled voice.

She didn't want them, they may be lovely but right now her only concern was her sister's life. Blair and Roman stepped back, letting the delivery guy in the door. The man instantly shut the door and dropped the flowers. Standing in front of them was FBI Agent Rogers who they had met when Blair had faked her funeral.

"I would like to know why I wasn't invited to the party," were the first words out of his mouth as they stood there, shocked and dismayed that he should turn up now.

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