Chapter 619: Docile

Ian had gotten a call from Director Porter and his heart sank when the man told him that Mina had been taken from their film sight. He cursed, wondering why he listened to the woman who had insisted that she would be fine. He had given her the space she claimed to need, and yet again, something bad happened to her. When they reviewed the security footage, Ian was outraged when he saw Paul talking to Mina and whatever the man had said made her follow him out to his car.

As soon as she was within a few feet of the vehicle, the rear doors flew open, and two men reached out to grab her. Mina tried to fight back, but Paul was helping the men, and with three on one, she really did not stand a chance. Ian could see her trying to make herself heavy, but the men lifted her with ease, and he told himself that he should have invested in a stun gun for the woman.

Without being told, Zane was already doing his part while Drax was doing his, and when they tracked where the car had gone, Ian felt as if his entire world would end. Mina had been taken to a private airport, and according to the flight logs, she was long gone before he had gotten to her. Mills was interrogating Paul, who was found bleeding out on the side of the road, but all he claimed to know was that the men told him they were related to his fiancé. Ian just sat and held his throbbing head. He had failed Mina, again, and even if he got her back, the chances of her being in one piece were beyond slim.

Ian did not even care how she returned, all he wanted was to get her back and take care of her. Whether she was scarred, injured, mentally unstable; it did not mean anything to him. It was his fault she was always in danger, and even when he had no reason to keep her by his side, he insisted because he was selfish. Now she was genuinely missing, and likely no longer in Pan.

----

A headset blaring music was put over Mina's ears before a sack was put over her head. She had begun to hyperventilate, but she willed herself not to pass out. She understood what the men around were talking about, and even when they moved her from place to place there was more contact than she felt was necessary. She thought of all the people who would be out looking for her; President Lee, Mills, Drax, Zane and Cylus, and she told herself that they would find her. She just had to stall whoever had 'bought' her to give them enough time.

After what felt like forever, the bag and headset were removed from Mina's head, and she came face to face with Antonio Sylvan. The man raised a mocking eyebrow at her, and she shivered.

"Very pretty, but very stupid," the man said, and Mina replied to him in his language, making him smile. "Not that kind of stupid."

"What do you want? Why did you arrange to kidnap me?" The man wagged a finger at Mina before gesturing for her bindings to be cut and handing her a phone.

"I saved you. I have a man within his group. I knew he was going after you, so I expressed my interest in buying you. Unharmed," the man added, making sure Mina understood that it was his precise words that kept her safe. "Quickly call President Lee, my people in Pan tell me that he is about to raze Leading."

Mina fumbled with the phone, and when it connected, she was relieved to hear President Lee's voice. She started to sob into the line, terrified of what could have happened, and feeling like a fool for telling President Lee that she no longer needed someone to watch the restaurant. She had naively believed that whatever danger she had been in came from Mr. Walsh, who was keeping a low profile in another country. She also did not want to give Brayden the wrong impression. He had been asking about her relationship to President Lee, and while she said it was a work commitment, because of Paul, the man was unconvinced.

"Mina?" Ian whispered into the phone, beyond scared of what she was going to say to him.

"Please come and get me," she pleaded with the man, who almost whispered his response.

"Where are you?" Mina was quiet, but Ian could hear her sniffling before a male voice took over the call.

"President Lee, Miss Mina is a truly fortunate woman. I was able to intercept her, but the favor I have done for you did not come cheap."

"How much do you want?" Ian asked, not at all caring if his account was flagged and his family got involved. He had already spoken to Cam, who was also working hard to find the woman.

"I don't want money. I want to secure my daughter a good future."

"I won't marry her," Ian said, making the man chuckle.

"It's quite obvious who you plan to marry, but I don't want that either. I want her wiped off the face of the earth and reborn as someone new. She doesn't deserve all the terrible things I will leave to her when I die."

"And your wife?" The man was silent for a while, and when he spoke Ian knew he was telling the truth.

"She has already left, which is why I need this one promise from you."

In less than twenty-four hours, Ian had made good on his promise to Antonio Sylvan and he was promptly sent the location of where Mina's flight would land. The woman shakily exited the private jet, and as soon as her eyes met his, she fainted, hitting the ground hard as he was too far away to catch her and no one else was around. Ian knew that the woman was likely holding on by a thread. He was aware that she panicked in less extreme circumstances and being set up by someone she trusted could not have been good for her.

----

When Mina next opened her eyes, she was exactly where she expected to be. Mills was asleep next to her, and Drax was speaking to President Lee in hushed tones at the opposite end of the room. She closed her eyes for a while, happy that she had been returned in one piece, and grateful that President Lee had granted Antonio Sylvan's request. He could have left her with the man, and while Mr. Sylvan claimed to hold no ill will against her, Mina was certain that the man would have discovered a reason to make her pay if President Lee had refused to relocate his daughter.

"Are you awake?" Mina heard, and she opened her eyes to look at Mills. "You scared us all."

"I'm fine," Mina mumbled. "Just exhausted. How long do I have to stay here?" she asked, tired of waking up in hospital rooms.

"You can leave whenever you are ready," President Lee responded, making Mina look at him instead of Mills. He approached her side of the medium sized hospital bed and pulled a chair closer to it. "What you did was reckless. You are the one who told me that you were afraid of Paul. Why did you follow him out?" Mina frowned at the man who was one hundred percent correct. What she had done was stupid, but she had spent years believing that Paul was her friend, and while he had changed for the worst, she had believed him when he said that he was confused.

"I know," Mina replied, closing her eyes again. She was glad that the man did not raise any more questions which allowed her to ask about Oric.

"They released the information about the man who took you to me without a fuss or fight." President Lee shifted in his seat, moving closer to her, and she could see that his eyes were a bright red as if he had not slept. "Mina, why didn't you tell me that Oric's family had ties to Sclevania?" Mina shrugged, she had not found the information relevant because Ash had tied the attack to Vanya, which was somewhat true.

Mina relayed to President Lee what she knew of the man who had taken her, and who was with him when they met. She told President Lee that she had always believed it was Vanya who had set her up to be shot, but she had only just realized that the woman was not working with her father. She told him Paul's account about the men being Maggie's relatives, and although she wondered if he had survived being shot, she was not concerned enough about him to ask.

"Mina, where was everyone else when Paul came?" Ian asked. He had yet to question the filming staff because he wanted to see if anyone involved would make a mistake and give themself away.

"Brayden and Paul are familiar with one another. When Paul came, Brayden asked everyone to give us privacy. He also knows about what Paul had been sending to me." Ian nodded, and out of the corner of his eye he could see Drax texting orders.

----

After Dr. Juan, who meaningfully told her he did not want to see her again, deemed her fit to leave, Mina and President Lee started on their journey back to the man's home. She was quiet most of the ride, as was he. There were many things he could have said, many ways he could have yelled at her, but he had become more docile, probably tired of repeating the same warnings to her, Mina thought. The awkwardness of the silence began to get to her, but when the man waited for her to enter his home first, she could take no more.

"President Lee, can you just say what's on your mind? Waiting for you to blow up is putting me on edge."

"I'm not going to blow up. It is beyond a miracle you are back. I think you have learned your lesson." Ian was prepared to leave the woman where she stood in the doorway, but Ellie literally dragged Maggie Arden into the home just as he was beginning to take the stairs.

"Why is she here?" Ian growled, making Ellie flinch. She had seen the way her brother was when Mina was gone, and she figured she would be doing him a favor by bringing the spying woman directly to him.

Mina took in the sight of Miss Maggie who looked like she had been roughed up by Ellie. Her hands had been cuffed, and some sort of cloth had been shoved into her mouth, but the sounds of her whimpers were still very audible. Mina reached forward to pull the material away, but President Lee stopped her.

"Let Ellie do it," he said, and his sister completed the task with a nod.

"Tell my brother why you were spying on his home."

"I told you that I wasn't spying. I was waiting for him to come back and then you attacked me." Ellie raised her hand to smack the woman, but the amount of flinching Mina did before turning away let her know that it was not a good idea.

"What do you want?"

"I just want Paul back. He was an idiot, but it's my fault that he did what he did. I was jealous of Mina, and I told him things about her. I thought he would let her go, but he just became more obsessed. I do not know how those men convinced him that they were my relatives, but Paul has been drinking a lot. Please President Lee, our wedding is soon. At least let him marry me."

"You're pregnant, aren't you?"