Day 1

"She has been gone since yesterday," I said, trying to remain cool but in reality, I'm freaking the hell out.

"Yes, your highness."

I sucked in a breath, "And what have you got?"

"Nothing so far, your highness." Efren took a huge gulp of water.

"What have you done so far?"

"We looked at the security footage from the hotel and traffic cameras, located the van which was used to transport her. Someone is trying to hack into the GPS signal from the satellites in hopes that the van has travelled to the location which she is held at. Other men have been going to all the abandoned places since yesterday as well."

My anger subsided a little as that's exactly what I would have done. The anger turned into worried and added on to the huge worry which I already have.

"Where is the hacker guy?"

"In the library."

I nodded and walked away from where I'm standing near the stairs, towards the library. I walked in and saw a guy with black hair and dark blue glasses sitting in front of two laptops with other tech stuff plugged into them. There was a sound from one of the laptops and a bright red dot was shown on the screen. "Yes!" He immediately stood up from the chair and jumped when he saw me standing behind.

"Your highness, I, um found a location which the van has been to three times in the past week."

"Where?" I asked.

"The amino science lab that was shut down."

"Thank you." I quickly left the room.

Forty minutes later, we arrived at the science lab and the three of us pulled out the guns and flashlights before heading inside.

"I have a bad feeling," Peter said as we walked in.

"There would be something very wrong if you didn't have a bad feeling." I snapped.

That might have come off a little harsh, but I'm not in the mood for chit-chat. I just want her back.

"Do we split up?" Efren asked as we walked past the used to be security card scanner for employees.

I looked to my left at the sign near the lift where they wrote where are all the different labs located. As I walked closer, I saw that there's a marker circled around the third floor. That can't be coincident, Alveanea's kidnapper left it for us to find.

"They knew we would be here." Efren quietly.

Peter looked around, "And no one is here to kill us."

"Let's go to the third floor and see what they left behind for us to find."

I pressed the lift button but there was silence. Right, the building hasn't been in operation for a few years now.

"The stairs are over there." Efren pointed to it.

Once we reached the third floor, very distinctive chemical smells filled up my nose and I grimaced in response.

"The floor." Peter shone his torchlight on the floor and there's a big arrow painted.

After a minute, we walked into an empty room and thankfully the chemical smell not as strong in here. There was a table in the middle on the room with a box placed on it.

Efren stopped me when I started walking towards it, "We have to make sure it isn't a bomb first."

I nodded and took a few steps back with Peter. The worry was really clouding my brain. Efren threw his torchlight at the box, causing it to move a little. We waited a few seconds and there was no bomb.

"No bomb." Efren walked towards the box and picked up his torchlight from the ground.

Please don't be her ear or eye or finger or toe. I prayed silently in my head as I opened the box and sighed in relief when there is only a burner phone inside.

Peter frowned, "What do we now?"

"They left us the phone here for a reason," Efren added in.

I turned on the phone and went to the contacts to discover there is only one contact there, "There's one number here, it has to be whoever took Alveanea."

Efren took the phone from my hands, "We should wait until we go back and ask the tech guy to track where the call is coming from while you call."

"You ready?" I asked the tech guy.

"Yes, your highness, try to keep them talking for more than twenty seconds so I can narrow down to a more specific location."

I nodded and pressed the call.

"I'm impressed, I thought you would take longer to find this." A male voice said at the end of the line.

I wanted to ask him to just skip to the main point but I then remembered that I have to keep him talking, "So now what, did I mess up your plan?"

I saw the tech guy working on the tracing, "We can negotiate the amount."

I know exactly what he meant, "I don't think felon negotiates."

"He's willing to give a little discount, the code is teenage love."

"And what is the amount after the discount?" I looked at the tech guy and saw him frantically typing on the laptop, Efren looked at me and gave me a 'they know' face. They're felon's men, of course, they have better hackers.

"Half a million."

"Done, I will need proof that she is alive," I said without hesitation.

"Of course, as soon as she wakes up." My heart skipped a beat when I heard the line.

"You're telling me that she's unconscious?"

"Sorry about that, she's a tough one to get ahold of."

I took in a sharp breath, "No hurting her or else the terms are broken."

There was a few seconds of silence, "I'll have to check with Felon on that. Anyway, we'll be in touch and your tech guy good job for trying his best." With that, he hung up.

Day 2

I'm honestly surprised that I even had three hours of sleep, considering that every time I try to fall asleep the thoughts of Alveanea getting tortured in any way. I had to cancel the meeting with Miguel and Azul yesterday as they could have easily sensed that something was wrong and I couldn't tell them about Alveanea's past. Instead, I spent the rest of yesterday boxing, trying to get my mind of coming up ways to hurt felon badly. I also gave Efren the burner phone or else I would be checking it every minute for any new updates.

"Any updates?" I asked Efren as I sat down for breakfast.

"None." He replied.

Leya put my usual drink, white chocolate mocha on the table but I have a feeling I'm going to need something much stronger to get through the day.

"I'll have black coffee with sugar instead."

"Right away, your highness." She took the white chocolate mocha from the table and walk out of the room.

"I can't just not do anything," I said quietly.

"You cannot act rashly either." Efren took a sip of his coffee.

"I think I'm going to lose my mind soon."

"Then write down your thoughts."

"What?"

I couldn't believe that he actually gave the idea. How the heck am I supposed to form sentences in my brain when I can't even think straight?

Efren narrowed his eyes at me. "I'm serious. Write a diary entry or a letter to her, put your thoughts down."

I nodded, "I'll give it a try."

"Good, I'll inform you of any updates but I have to go spend time with my nephew now."

"Okay, enjoy yourself." Efren left the room as Leya entered.

"Here's your black coffee, your highness."

"Thank you, Leya." She did a small curtsy and left the room.

It took me a while to write down all my thoughts I was feeling. I didn't realise that I was feeling this much emotions until everything started pouring out.

After I was done, I folded the letter and put it into the drawer. I checked my phone to see many notifications flooding in.

*3 missed calls from Miguel the weirdest

*18 missed calls from Dante

*2 missed call from Perez

Miguel the weirdest: Hey man u ok?

(2) U didn't tell us the reason you couldn't make it yest but I can sense something impt came up

(3) I'm getting worried now

(4) Call me back

(5) NOW

Me: Sorry, just need some alone time. Will talk to you soon.

I really want to tell him what's bothering me, but I can't do so without telling him the truth about Alveanea and I can't disclose her secret without her permission.

Mum: You want to come over for lunch?

Me: I can't today, sorry.

Perez: See u at 10.30 for the fitting

(2) Where r u?

(3) ??

Shit, I completely forgot about my fitting. That must explain the 18 missed calls from Dante.

Me: Sorry, caught up with something important

He replied back instantly.

Perez: Is my cousin finally having girl problems? ;)

Me: Don't push it, I'll be there in 15

I arrived at the shop fifteen minutes later and saw that Perez was already trying on a dark blue suit. He was looking at himself in the mirror as he took the champagne glass from a woman who served it to him.

"Don't you think it's a little early for that?" I questioned.

His eyes darted to me as he took a sip of his champagne. "Don't lecture me when you're the one that's late."

"I already apologised. And it looks like you were doing fine without me here anyway." The woman walked towards me and offered me a champagne glass but I turned it down. "Why did you even want me here anyways? It's not like we're friends."

"We're not friends, we're cousins." He turned his body towards me and put the champagne glass on the table.

"Cut the crap, Perez. What do you want?" Alveanea is captured and god knows what is happening to her right now. I don't have the mood to deal with his stupid ego.

He sighed and put his hand in his pockets.

"I don't even get to ask about the first girl that you're seeing? Or even interested in?"

Of course, that's what he wanted to talk about. He still hasn't gotten over what happened last year and flirting with Alveanea is going to settle the score.

The tailor walks into the room and noticed the tension in the room. He looked onto the ground and slowly retreat his steps back.

"Let's get on with it," I said before he could leave the room. I knew that the conversation with Perez will lead to a huge argument and I'm trying my best to keep my emotions in check. Alveanea being captured right now is really taking a toll on me.

"So now you're going to ignore me?" He scoffed.

"I'm definitely not in a mood to get into an argument with you." The tailor took out a measuring tape and was measuring my back now.

"You started it first." He raised his voice a little.

I sighed. I've told him what happened over a hundred times and he still won't believe me. "That's not what happened."

"You're a lying piece of shit!" He kicked over the table and the champagne glass broke into pieces.

The tailor stumbled backwards a few steps and the woman who was serving the champagne let out a scream. I gave them the 'leave us alone' face and they quickly scrambled out of the room. Perez was breathing heavily, his cheeks are much redder now and his eyes sending lasers at me.

"You're so blinded by love that you won't believe me," I spoke a little louder.

"What the hell do you expect me to do? Huh? Believe the cousin who is standing in my way from taking the throne over the girl who I was in love with? You tell me!"

He took one of the paintings on the wall and smashed it on the ground. I didn't flinch by his action.

"She was the one that kissed me," I said calmly.

"Bullshit." He kicked at the broken painting that was on the floor.

"Deep down you know the only reason she dated you was so that she could get to me. Make me fall in love with her and be the future queen of Spain."

Janelle Arcila. The first girl Perez ever cared about and the first one to break his heart. They met at her brother's art gallery display as Perez was forced to be there as per our grandfather's request. They were the definition of a power couple. I honestly was a little jealous that Perez managed to find someone who deeply loves him for who he is and I didn't. But all of that changed when she kissed me at his birthday party last year.

"Shut up." He closed his eyes and turned away from me.

"Don't you get sick of your hatred towards me? You've been keeping up with it for your entire life. And the reason for it is that my father was born before your mother. You just using this as an excuse to hate on me again because I think we sort became alright since the trip to Norway a few years back."

"She got engaged." He sighed and took a sit on the couch. "To some billionaire in Switzerland."

I can't say I'm surprised. Though now I kind of feel bad when I raised my voice at him.

"See you at the ball." And he walked towards the door.

Day 3

How I managed to function with only seven hours of sleep in the past forty-eight has astounded me. I took another sip of the coffee as I was sitting around the dining table with Efren and eleven other of my trusted bodyguards as we discussed the plan.

All eyes were on Efren as he went over the plan one last time, "So Ray and Tim will park about a hundred meters away from the exchange, in case things go South, we'll need backup. The rest of us will take 3 vans, the money is all in the suitcase and I'll be the one making the exchange. All clear?"

Everyone replied with a soft 'noted' and left the room to get themselves ready.

"It's for the best, your highness," he said before he left the room as well, which leave only Leya and I as she was clearing the plates on the table.

Of course I'm pissed. Having to get benched to the sideline in the mission to saving the girl you like isn't a great feeling. I sighed and made my way to the car waiting for me outside to take me to the hotel before I could change my mind.

Being in the hotel she was staying at made it worse. Having to see the book that she was reading on the coffee table made me want to rush over to the exchange site now. I would say I'm a patient person, but not when it comes to this. The stress my heart had dealt with the past three days was the most unbearable thing I had to dealt with ever. That sting in your heart every time your mind wanders off to her and unable to sleep because once you do, it'll all be about the nightmares of her getting hurt.

Finally, I heard a sound from the communication device which I can listen in on everything the men have said which I've been staring at for the past ten minutes.

"I see three vans approaching."

I put the device closer to me as if that'll bring me closer to the exchange point.

"Roger that, overwatch."

I can feel my heart going to pump out of my chest as sweat rolled down from my forehead.

Then there was no sound at all for an entire minute.

I stood up from the couch, walked around in circles around the coffee table for I've lost count how many times now and pulled my hair numerous times.

They could've been shot dead, blood flowing out from Alveanea's leg as she lost colour on her-

"She's here, your highness."

I let out a huge sign of relief as I laid back on the couch, a bubbly feeling in my chest as I waited for her to come.