C366 She Is Safe

Alicia's recovery had become the center of everyone's attention. Angus the Hammer had already left to check on her phone, leaving Alicia standing with Victor and the others. She still looked weak. Her shoulder was bandaged, and every movement reminded her of the pain she had endured at the warehouse. Yet there was one thing occupying her mind more than anything else. Her family. Her husband. Her friends. She needed to let them know she was alive.

Alicia slowly turned toward Victor. "Grandpa," she said weakly, "can I use your phone?" Victor immediately reached into his pocket. Then he stopped. "My phone..." He frowned as he searched his other pocket. "I left it in my room." He looked toward one of the people standing nearby. "Please go and bring it for me." The person immediately nodded and hurried away. A few moments later, Victor's phone was brought to him. He handed it to Alicia. "Here, my child." Alicia took the phone carefully. Her fingers moved across the screen, and the first thing she noticed was the number of missed calls.

There were several. Her expression changed. She immediately recognized her father's number. Without wasting another second, she dialed it. The atmosphere inside the Mooney residence remained heavy. Everyone was still gathered in the living room. Mary and Georgia had been crying for some time. Peter sat quietly, his hands clasped together, while Mark stood nearby with a troubled expression. I was upstairs, unable to settle my thoughts. Every few minutes, someone would look toward the door as if expecting Alicia to walk through it.

Mark finally became irritated by the constant crying. "Why are you two crying?" he asked, his voice strained. "Will tears help us find her?" Peter immediately looked at him. "Let them cry, Mark." Mark sighed. "I know, Father. I know." He rubbed his forehead. "I just can't think properly when everyone is crying." Peter asked. "Why don't you involve your colleagues?" Mark shook his head. "No Mayor once told me..." Then suddenly.. Mark's phone began ringing. Everyone froze. Mark immediately looked at the screen. His eyes widened. "Everyone, quiet."

He raised the phone slightly. "It's Victor." Then he looked toward the stairs. "Mike! Come down. Victor is calling." The moment I heard him, I rushed downstairs. I didn't even bother asking what had happened. The word Victor was enough to make my heart race. I quickly walked toward Mark. "Is it about Alicia?" Mark nodded. "I'm putting it on speaker." He answered the call. "Hello?" For a moment, there was nothing. Then a weak voice came through. "Father..." Everyone froze. My heart nearly stopped. I recognized that voice immediately. It was Alicia. "Father... I'm fine."

Mark's eyes widened. "Alicia?" His voice trembled. "My child, is that you?" "Yes, Father." The room fell completely silent. Mary stopped crying. Georgia covered her mouth. Peter leaned forward. I stood beside Mark, unable to breathe properly. Mark's voice became emotional. "Alicia, where are you? Are you hurt?" There was a short pause. Then Alicia answered softly. "Father, you don't have to worry. Angus and his team found me." Mary couldn't hold herself back. "Alicia!" She stepped closer to the phone. "My child, are you safe?" Then her voice trembled. "What about the baby?"

That question changed everything. Everyone stopped breathing. Even I couldn't move. Alicia remained silent for several seconds. The silence felt endless. Finally, she spoke. "Tomorrow morning..." She took a breath. "Everyone must come here." Mark immediately frowned. "Come where?" "I'll send you the location." Her voice sounded exhausted. "I'm very tired, Dad. I just want to rest." Mary quickly asked again. "But the baby..." Alicia interrupted gently. "Tomorrow, Mom." There was another pause. "Please. I just need to sleep." Before anyone could ask another question, the call ended.

The room remained silent. Nobody moved. Then Peter suddenly laughed. It wasn't because anything was funny. It was relief. "She's safe." He wiped his eyes. "My granddaughter is safe." Georgia's tears returned, but this time they were mixed with relief. "But what about the child?" Quinton slowly shook his head. "If something bad happened, she would have told us." Nobody answered him. Everyone knew he was trying to convince himself as much as everyone else. I didn't stay there. The moment I heard Alicia was alive, I turned around and rushed upstairs. I needed to breathe. I needed to think. Most importantly, I needed to tell everyone.

I quickly opened our group chat. My fingers trembled as I typed. Lions, My wife is safe. Within seconds, Laura replied. "I've been waiting for the video call. Why is nobody calling? What happened? Why are you saying Alicia is safe?" Before I could answer, another message appeared. Chris. "YES!" He was at the hospital beside Sarah. He immediately called. "Wife!" he said excitedly. "Alicia is safe. They saved her." Sarah looked exhausted but immediately became alert. "Who saved her?" Chris smiled. "That doesn't matter right now. She's alive." Sarah wasn't satisfied. She reached for Chris's phone. "Give me that." Chris laughed. "Wait. Yours was brought back by Mike."

He handed her her own phone. Sarah immediately began typing. "Who saved her?" I looked at the message. I answered. "Laura, there won't be a video call tonight." Then I added, "Sarah, how are you feeling? Did you give birth?" Laura immediately reacted. "WHAT? Sarah was in labour?" Another message followed. "What is really happening?" Before anyone could explain, Laura started the group video call. Samantha was still outside the hospital. Her thoughts were scattered. She was worried about Alicia. She was worried about Sarah. And she was terrified about everything that had happened during the day.

Then her phone began ringing. She looked down. It was the group video call. Samantha immediately answered. "Guys, what is it?" Her eyes moved across the screen. "Did you find Alicia?" Laura's face appeared. She looked completely confused. Then she frowned. "So even Samantha knew?" Samantha's expression changed. "Guys, please. Tell me." Her voice trembled. "Is Alicia safe?" I finally smiled. "Yes." Samantha's eyes widened. "She's fine." I continued. "The Gupta family rescued her." Samantha closed her eyes in relief.

For a moment, she looked as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Chris suddenly laughed. "Wait." He looked at me. "You said Jack was killed by a sniper." I nodded. Chris's expression changed. "Then... was it Lewis?" Everyone became quiet. Nobody had an answer. Then suddenly.. A voice appeared on the call. Not one of ours. A man's voice. "Hello?" Everyone froze. I stared at the screen. "Who is that?" The image moved. The person holding the phone looked confused. Then his face became visible. It wasn't Alicia. It wasn't anyone we knew. It was a stranger. Using Alicia's phone

I immediately frowned. "Hello, sir. Who are you?" The man rubbed his eyes. He looked exhausted. "I..." He glanced around. "A young girl took my taxi." Everyone became silent. The man's eyes moved toward the phone. "She left me with her car." I stared at the screen. "What?" The driver continued. "She told me that the police were coming." He scratched his head. "But nobody came." He yawned. "So I waited." His expression became embarrassed. "I eventually fell asleep." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "Sir, where are you?" The driver looked around. "I don't know exactly." "Please look around." I leaned closer to the screen. "Are you still with the car?" "Yes."

My heart began racing. "Can you drive to the Mooney residence?" The driver shook his head. "I don't think so." "Why?" "There are no keys here." He pointed toward the car. "And honestly, it's late. I think I'll just sleep here and leave in the morning." I swallowed. "Fine." I forced myself to remain calm. "Thank you for answering." The driver nodded. "You're welcome." He left the call. For a few seconds, nobody spoke. Then Laura broke the silence. "Wait." She looked toward Sarah. "Sarah..." Sarah looked at her. Laura's eyes widened. "You gave birth?" Sarah sighed weakly."Yes."

Laura looked around the screen. "Alicia was kidnapped, Jack was killed, the Gupta family rescued Alicia, Sarah gave birth..." She shook her head. "And nobody has explained anything to me." Chris laughed. "Welcome to our day." Laura stared at him. "Chris, I'm serious." Everyone laughed softly. But beneath the laughter, the fear remained. We had received good news. Alicia was alive. Sarah was safe. Sarah had given birth. Yet there were still too many unanswered questions. Who had really rescued Alicia? How was Jack killed?

How did Gupta family arrive so fast and left without leaving any signs? And most importantly... What had happened to Alicia and her pregnancy before Gupta family found her? Laura asked again "Can Anyone explain?"