Divorced and Chased by My Alpha Billionaire Ex-Husband
Chapter 98: Manipulative Father

Chapter 98: Manipulative Father

Minutes dragged on, each one longer than the last.

The officer who had promised a lead on the van returned, his face grim.

Aurora’s heart sank even before he spoke. "We checked the van at the gas station. It’s not the right one. It’s just a delivery service for packages."

For a moment, everything seemed to stop. Her chest tightened painfully, and her breath caught in her throat.

The fleeting hope she had clung to shattered, leaving her feeling more helpless than before.

"No..." Aurora whispered, barely able to speak.

The officer muttered something else, but she could no longer hear him.

Beside her, Lucas’s hand tightened slightly on her arm, trying to offer silent comfort.

But it wasn’t enough.

Nothing would be enough until Leo was back with her, safe.

She pressed a hand to her mouth, trying to steady herself, but it was no use.

A strange buzzing sound broke the silence—the sudden ring of her phone.

Aurora quickly pulled it out, eyes scanning the unfamiliar number flashing on the screen.

Her heart leapt, irrational hope flaring again.

Maybe someone had found Leo, someone who had seen the Amber Alert.

Without thinking, she answered. "Hello?"

"Aurora," came the smooth, cold voice on the other end. "Did you find Leo yet?"

Aurora froze, her blood running cold.

She recognized that voice instantly.

It was Alpha Grey—her manipulative father.

The man who had brought her nothing but pain, and now, more than ever, she knew he was behind this.

Her hand clenched into a fist, and she felt Lucas’s gaze shift to her, sensing the sudden change in her.

"Aurora?" Lucas asked, his voice filled with quiet concern.

He had never looked this worried about anyone before, much less a woman he barely knew.

But there was something about her, something in the way she held herself, even in the midst of this nightmare, that struck a chord in him.

Aurora ignored him for the moment, her focus razor-sharp on the voice in her ear.

"You," she hissed, barely containing the fury building inside her. "You’re behind this, aren’t you? You took my son!"

Alpha Grey’s dark chuckle filled the silence. "Now, now, Aurora, no need for accusations. But let’s just say... I know where he is."

Lucas stiffened beside her, the realization dawning on him.

Leo was her son.

All this time, he hadn’t connected the dots.

The missing boy was hers. And Ava... Ava wasn’t their mother. Ava had lied about their relationship.

He glanced at the woman standing next to Aurora, Ava, feeling the weight of that deceit, though now wasn’t the time to address it.

Aurora’s pulse quickened, every second wasted on this conversation felt like another step further away from finding Leo.

"What do you want, Grey?" Her voice trembled despite her best efforts to remain composed.

Alpha Grey’s voice was cool and calculated. "It’s simple. Tell Lucas to withdraw all those legal challenges. The land he gave me—it was never meant to be returned. That land is mine."

Lucas’s eyes widened, and he exchanged a look with Gabriel, whose brow furrowed.

This was about the land? He kidnapped Leo over land?

Aurora’s stomach churned.

She knew her father was capable of terrible things, but this... this was worse than anything she’d imagined.

"You’re holding a child’s life over a piece of land?" she spat into the phone. "You’re disgusting."

Grey’s voice hardened. "This isn’t a negotiation, Aurora. Lucas gives up the land, and you and Aria meet me at the airport. I’ve arranged everything for you both to leave the country. That’s the deal. Nothing more, nothing less."

And just like that, the call ended.

Aurora stood there, her hand still gripping the phone, her entire body trembling.

Panic began to rise like a tidal wave, her breath coming in short, shallow gasps.

Her father had her son. And now he wanted her to leave the country.

Lucas moved closer, his hand resting on her shoulder, trying to ground her. "Aurora, listen to me. You need to calm down."

"I can’t!" she cried, the desperation breaking through. "He has Leo! He’s going to hurt him. I need to—"

"Aurora," Lucas said firmly, cutting through her panic.

His eyes were steady, and his voice had an authority she couldn’t ignore. "We’re going to figure this out, but we’re not giving him that land. Not after everything."

Aurora shook her head, wild fear in her eyes. "You don’t understand! He’s dangerous. He tried to kill Leo once, right after he was born. He wanted to drown him just to keep his title as Alpha King. If we don’t do what he says, he’ll—"

She couldn’t finish the thought. The idea of what her father might do to Leo twisted her insides.

Lucas’s jaw clenched as the gravity of her words hit him. He hadn’t realized just how ruthless Alpha Grey was.

"We’ll get him back," he said quietly, his voice firm but calm. "But I’m not giving that land up, Aurora."

Aurora’s breath hitched, panic flashing across her face.

She grabbed his arm, her nails digging into his skin as if holding onto him would stop her world from crumbling.

"You have to, Lucas. Please. If you don’t, Leo—" Her voice cracked, the desperation cutting through.

She met his eyes, pleading. "Please. Do what he says."

It took a moment for her to realize she had called him by his first name.

Not Mr. Lucas like she had previously addressed him.

Just Lucas.

In her panic, she had forgotten the formalities. But the slip didn’t seem to faze him.

Instead, his gaze softened slightly.

Gabriel, standing nearby, had already pulled out his phone, discreetly informing the police about the call and what Alpha Grey had demanded.

"The cops are on it," he murmured, stepping closer. "We can’t let Alpha Grey get away with this."

Lucas gave Gabriel a brief nod before turning back to Aurora. "We’re not going to let anything happen to Leo. But I can’t let your father manipulate us like this. There’s more at stake here than just land."

"I don’t care about the land!" Aurora cried. "I care about my son!"

"And I care about keeping you both safe," Lucas said softly. "I’ll figure something out. We’ll get Leo back."

Aurora’s panic surged again, and she pulled away from him, shaking her head. "You don’t understand. You don’t know what he’s capable of."

She could still see the cold look in her father’s eyes when he had tried to drown Leo as a baby, as if her son’s life meant nothing to him.

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