"E-Elena?"
The voice was distant. A hand was shaking her gently.
Elena's eyelids fluttered open.
Her head throbbed with blinding pain.
Everything around her was blurry — the voices, the faces, the world spinning like a nightmare.
"Elena!"
It was Ethan.
He knelt beside her, panic written all over his face. His hands cupped her cheeks, checking if she was awake.
"Alex…" she whispered, struggling to sit up.
"Where's Alex?" Ethan asked sharply.
Her mind was a mess.
Flashes — Alex screaming, the rough shove, the crash — flooded her brain.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
"They…they took him…" she gasped, clutching Ethan's shirt tightly.
For a moment, Ethan's entire body froze.
Then — rage.
Pure, blinding rage.
"WHO?!" he shouted to no one in particular. "Who took him?!"
The entire café was in chaos now. People crowded around, murmuring in confusion and fear.
Ethan helped Elena to her feet, but she swayed, too dizzy.
"We have to find him!" she cried, her voice cracking.
"I know," Ethan said, wrapping an arm around her. His voice dropped low, dangerous. "I swear to you, Elena. I'll find him. I'll bring him back."
---
Meanwhile...
In a dark van speeding through the outskirts of the city, Alex sat trembling, tears streaming down his cheeks.
The two men sat in front, arguing in hushed tones.
"Are you crazy? Kidnapping the CEO's son? You know who he is?!"
"Shut up. This is bigger than him. We'll get what we want."
The little boy hugged his knees, whispering under his breath.
"Mommy…Daddy…"
---
Back in the Café...
Ethan called his bodyguards immediately, his voice cold and precise.
"I want every exit sealed. Every CCTV checked. I want that van FOUND!"
Elena sat beside him, shivering from the cold and shock.
Suddenly, she gripped her head, moaning in pain.
"Elena?" Ethan turned to her quickly.
"I...I can't..." she whispered. "My head hurts...I can't remember...anything..."
"What?" Ethan's heart dropped.
"I...who are you?" Elena blinked up at him, confusion clouding her gaze.
For a moment, Ethan couldn't breathe.
"Elena...it's me. Ethan," he said softly, desperately.
She just stared at him, terrified and lost.
She didn't know him.
She didn't even know herself.