New beginning: Billionaire love story novel Chapter 449

The warehouse was pitch dark, and Claire’s heartbeat thundered in her ears. She tensed as the cold grip tightened around her wrist. On instinct, she swung her free hand hard, and the satisfying crack of her palm meeting someone’s face echoed through the room.

SMACK!

“Ah, Claire, it’s me!” a familiar voice hissed, followed by a sharp beam of light aimed at his own face. Adrian squinted under the flashlight’s glare, rubbing his cheek.

A flashlight clicked on, illuminating the face of none other than Adrian. His expression was a mix of surprise and mild annoyance, his free hand rubbing his cheek where her slap had landed.

Claire’s eyes widened in shock. “Adrian?! What are you doing here?” she whispered harshly.

Adrian gave her a lopsided grin despite the sting on his face. “What does it look like? I’m here to save you.”

“Save me?” Claire frowned, half incredulous and half touched. She hadn’t expected Adrian to come charging in himself, not when this kind of situation wasn’t exactly his comfort zone.

Adrian nodded, turning off the flashlight and tugging her gently by the wrist. “Yeah, yeah. You can ask tons of questions later, but right now we need to leave before they come back and end up catching us both.”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the warehouse, chaos was brewing. Eligos stood in the darkness, his frustration barely contained as he barked orders into his radio.

“What the hell is going on?! Get the power back on! And secure every exit—now! I don’t want her slipping through our fingers,” he snapped, his voice sharp enough to make even his most seasoned men jump.

One of his subordinates hesitated. “Sir, we’re not sure—”

“Just do it! Then secure the place. Peterson must not escape! Spread out, now.” Eligos cut him off, storming toward the warehouse’s main floor. Sitting idle in the dark wasn’t his style, and if Claire Peterson thought she could just waltz out of his trap, she had another thing coming.

The men scrambled to obey, their footsteps echoing as they hurried into action. Eligos grabbed a flashlight himself and followed, his usually calm demeanor replaced with visible frustration.

Outside the warehouse, Adrian and Claire emerged into the cool night air. Claire’s eyes darted around, and she spotted a car not far from the building.

“There!” Adrian whispered, pointing to the vehicle. “Get in!”

Claire didn’t need to be told twice. She sprinted toward the car, threw open the passenger door, and slid in. To her surprise, Matthew was behind the wheel, his hands already gripping the steering wheel tightly.

“Finally, you guys came. We need to hurry before they realize Claire is missing!”

“Matthew?!” Claire asked, her voice tinged with disbelief. “How did you find me?”

Matthew glanced at her briefly, his expression tense. “Explanations later. Right now, we need to get the hell out of here.”

Before Claire could press further, the roar of engines filled the air. She turned her head and spotted two motorcycles speeding toward them from the warehouse’s direction.

“Go, go, go!” Adrian shouted, slamming the door shut just as Matthew floored the gas pedal. The car lurched forward, throwing Adrian back against his seat, his seatbelt still undone.

“For the love of—seatbelt!” Adrian shouted, fumbling to click it into place as the car picked up speed.

Claire twisted in her seat to watch the motorcycles gaining on them. “They’re coming. And they don’t look like they just want to wave us off. This Eligos guy is out of his mind!”

Adrian has a look of confusion on his face. “Wait, who’s Eligos?” but none of them answer his question as they are too focus on the current situation.

“No kidding,” Matthew muttered, his focus laser-sharp on the road ahead. “Just hang on tightly.”

“Wait, I have a question,” Claire said, her voice rising above the noise. “How did you even know I was kidnapped?”

“Your driver,” Matthew answered without missing a beat. “He called me after you disappeared. Said some guys forced him to stop and took you.”