The Billionaire’s Hidden Heiress
[Book 2] Chapter 65

Knox POV

The mall is teaming with people which automatically makes me tense. Although I can deal with crowds, I dislike them being so close and feeling so restricted in tight spaces. I make my way further inside, feeling ashamed that my own father had to advise me on how to treat Lorelai. I should have insisted on going with her. My bodyguard is silently behind me, doing a good job of keeping people from accidentally bumping into me, another pet hate of mine. According to Dean, Lorelai is in Victoria's Secret with him and I waste no time towards heading over there, grateful that Lorelai appeared to be in safe and capable hands. Dean rushes out of the store before I can head inside, a look of panic on his face. Immediately my heart seizes. I know that look. I replace myself immediately beginning to grab my cell phone while Dean quickly rushes to my side. "She's gone."

"What do you mean she's gone?" I try to remain calm although on the inside I'm anything but.

Dean looks apologetic "I left her to try things on in the dressing room and she's been taking a while so I went to check. There's no sign of her. It's like she just vanished completely. Nobody appears to know anything. I was just about to call you" he panted. "She can't just disappear" I snarled, my fingers automatically opening up my phone as I began to dial.

Nothing. No answer. It goes to Lorelai's voicemail. My hand shakes as I bring up her GPS Location in order to track her down. We couldn't afford to wait for the authorities. My fury is increasing as I glare at a repentant Dean.

"I told you not to leave her side" I hiss.

"I couldn't very well go into the dressing room with her" he protests but it's a weak argument and all three of us know it. I frown. Lorelai's phone GPS is still. There's no movement. I show it to Dean and Damien. "According to this she's in the service corridor behind the store," I say frowning, moving towards the exit sign that would lead to it.

"Wait, it could be dangerous" Dean warns, moving to the front of our group while Damien gets behind me.

He shoves the door open with a large slam. The corridor is dimly lit, the lights flickering as we step slowly inside. Dean walks up the length of the corridor and opens the door to outside, before shaking his head and returning. "Nothing" he says puzzled "no sign of Lorelai at all. Are you sure you have the right coordinates."

I stare at him willing myself not to lose my temper completely at such a stupid question. "Trust me, I'm correct. According to this, Lorelai's phone is somewhere here. Look" I point at a door which no doubt leads into Victoria's Secret, "this is how they gained entrance. They must have thrown her phone" I muttered, examining the small GPS icon and squinting down the hallway.

A lone rubbish bin stood at the center of the hallway. My heart sank. I pointed and Dean pulled the lid off. Lorelai's phone sat there on top, blinking away. Dean picks it up and silently hands it to me. I let out a frustrated growl.

"I need to hack into the surveillance cameras and replace out where she was taken. Somebody took this entrance into the fitting rooms" I barked as Dean and Damien quickly nodded "Locate security and have them access all their cameras for me and be quick" I snapped.

Damien takes off at a run. I turn to Damien. "I need you to replace the staff members working today and assemble them. Find out if anybody new was working or if somebody not normally working today did. It would have been suspicious if it wasn't a working person." "I can't just leave you here" Damien began to protest and then saw the deadly look on my face, holding his hand up and quickly backing away "Right away boss. I'll get straight onto the mall personnel."

My phone automatically dials lan's number. "Hello"

"She's been taken" my voice is sharp and blunt.

Silence. "What do you need?"

"Where have Thatcher and Lisa Mathews been this entire time? Check into their whereabouts and get back to me. I don't think it was them. I also want a rundown of Karen's movements. Somebody took her and whoever it was had connections. I'm going to hack into the cameras in a minute and bring up the service corridor they took. Be on the lookout for a ransom demand" I added exhaling "it could be a simple kidnapping and money demand but I'm not sure."

"I'll inform Father in case they decide to contact him for the money" lan's voice is low but calm "We'll get her back Knox, don't you worry."

"I gotta go" I hang up and then make my way outside and venture into the security office, where a station has been cleared for me already, courtesy of Dean's quick thinking. I guess when you're a Grant nobody argues with you when you ask for something. The security personnel simply watch as I dive onto their computer and bring up their system, immediately zoning in on the cameras I need. I watch in silence as two women, dressed in cleaner's uniforms push a trolley through the doors to Victoria's Secret. Five minutes later, they push the same trolley through it again, but this time they appear to be struggling to push it. One of the women stops at the rubbish bin, and although I can't see what she places in there, my instincts are screaming that it's Lorelai's phone. But no Lorelai. My eyes narrow. The only place they could have put Lorelai in, that would have been able to fit her and keep her hidden from seeing eyes was the....trolley.

"They put her in the trolley and wheeled it outside without anyone being the wiser," I said quietly as the security guards looked at each other "Who are these women?" I point at the screen, my voice cold and frosty.

The guards blink. "We....we don't know" one stammers "We're not familiar with the other staff who work here."

I glare at them. "I'll get the management" the other security guard volunteers and is about to disappear when Damien comes walking in with a man in a suit who looks apprehensively at me.

"This is Terrence, the Head of Mall management," Damien says sardonically as the man cringes.

"Who are these two women" I don't have time to introduce myself, nor do I care how the man is feeling right now. My priority is Lorelai.

The manager glances at the screen, his body trembling. I don't know what Damien told him but he looks frightened as he glances at me. "That's Sara and Joanna Davies," he says very quietly "sisters. It was their first day today," he said and I nodded tightly, unsurprised.

"Were they given orders to go to this store?"

He shakes his head "They shouldn't have been using that service corridor at all. Nobody in Victoria's Secret requested a cleaner."

It's as I suspected. "Where are these women now."

The man looks nervous, licking his lips. "They finished their shift five minutes ago and have already clocked out. I'm not certain they are still in the building. I think they might have left."

I bring up the cameras. I can't locate them. I can feel my anger turning to pure rage, even as I force myself to remain composed. I'm no good to Lorelai if I lose control. She needs me to replace her. She needs me. I take deep breaths.

"Where is the information you have on them?" my voice is icy.

The manager hastily hands over a folder. I grab the information on the two women and skim through them. "The address is a fake" my voice is flat.

The manager blinks "How can you tell so quickly?"

"Because this address is to a warehouse downtown" I snap, recognizing it "Didn't you at least do a thorough background check?" I demand.

"We um, well we did a basic one but when it comes to service staff we aren't required to do much more than that" the manager continues to stammer while I glower at him.

"Give me their Identification documents."

He passes them with shaking hands. I glance at them. "They are counterfeit. The small watermark is backward on the paper and the color on it is wrong."

The manager deflates. "But when we searched their background came up clean," he says whispering.

"Which meant somebody was able to organize it so you wouldn't get suspicious. But this is amateurish at best. You should have been able to easily discern the fake identity and false address."

He flushes bright red. I give him a scathing look "What kind of manager are you?"

Silence. I slam my hand on the desk. "Do you have any idea what you're ineptitude has done?" I ask as he quivers. "Somebody has kidnapped my fiancee under your watch, using employees you hired. I have no names because they are false, no address, and no way to identify them. Every minute Lorelai is out there, she could be getting hurt or worse" I shout, as Dean's facial expression turns into one of alarm "I should have you shot for your stupidity."

I clench my hands into fists. "The equipment in here is not up to standard. I need my own if I'm going to replace Lorelai" I inform the bodyguards who nod understandingly and then I glance at the Manager who looks terrified now "If I don't replace her alive and in one piece, say goodbye to your loved ones, because I swear to god I won't hesitate to send you somewhere where you'll never see them again. Do you understand me?" my voice is quiet but dangerous.

There is no hesitation in my voice and the expression on my face is hard. Even my bodyguards gulp as they look at me. The manager nods, sweat pouring off his face. I turn around and begin to head out the door, the nails of my fingers digging into the palms of my hands.

I would replace her, no matter what it took. Nobody laid a hand on what was mine and got away with it. My only fear was that I wouldn't get to her on time or that it would be too late. Lorelai, I thought as my eyes narrowed and my jaw clenched, I'm coming, just hold on a little longer. If this is a ransom I'll pay whatever it takes to keep you safe, but if it's not, I will make sure you get your revenge.