Restless Curiousity{91}

Adrian stood at the window of his penthouse suite, looking out over the city with a distant gaze. It had been a troublesome few days since his release from the hellish ordeal. The skyline, usually a source of inspiration and pride, seemed bleak and foreboding, mirroring his turbulent thoughts.

It all started when Adrian received an invitation to discuss a partnership contract with a company that had shown significant interest in his family's business. The meeting was supposed to be a straightforward negotiation, but it turned out to be a sinister ploy to lure him into a trap. Adrian and his assistant were kidnapped by men who had no intention of forming a business alliance.

He had originally thought it had been a few months since their kidnap but found that it had only been merely a week and two days and wasn't out of the ordinary for huge negotiations and partnerships to take so long to discuss and come up with a contract that would leave both parties satisfied so when his mother couldn't reach him she had called his office only to be told that he had traveled for an important business matter and his mother not wanting to bother him hadn't called in the past days

Today marked the fourth day since their unexpected release. The memory of their captivity still clung to Adrian like a shadow. The kidnappers had planned to harm Vasili, his omega, and to gain control of Adrian's company—a company that his parents had worked tirelessly to build. Surprisingly, no harm had come to Vasili, and Adrian hadn't received any alarming news. 

The private investigator Adrian had hired to follow Vasili had called in a panic the next evening after Adrian had hired him. The investigator, his voice trembling with fear, had accused Adrian of nearly getting him killed and used all sorts of ill-worded profanities to rain insults on him. He refused to refund the money Adrian had paid, claiming it as compensation for almost losing his life. The man's words had deepened the frown on Adrian's already anxious face. The more he thought about it, the more puzzled he became.

Adrian desperately wanted to confront Vasili. How had he managed to stay unharmed? Who were the highly trained Alphas that followed him, skilled in combat and weaponry? Adrian's mother had been equally tight-lipped, refusing to divulge any information about Vasili's protectors. When Adrian had cornered her, she quickly realized his intentions and fled with a very dramatic squeal, stating she wouldn't betray Vasili's trust.

Adrian's sense of responsibility for his assistant's safety kept him rooted in the penthouse. He had been through the same harrowing experience, and he couldn't leave him alone to deal with the aftermath. Lost in troubled thoughts, he was startled when his phone rang. Glancing at the screen, he saw his mother's name. He realized he hadn't called her since their return.

He answered the call with a sigh. "Hello, Mom."

"Adrian! Your dad and I have been worried sick! Why haven't you called?" Her voice was a mix of relief and frustration.

"I'm sorry, Mom. It's just been... a lot."

"Are you okay? I heard from the company that you've been away on an urgent business matter and I didn't want to disturb you. Are you eating well? How about sleep? Are you taking proper care of yourself?"

"I'm fine Mom, you fuss too much" Adrian didn't want to trouble his mother with the news of what happened to him as he knew she would cut her vacation short and hang over him fussing like an aggrieved mother hen while reprimanding him for not being careful enough for at least half a year. Yeah, he would rather not have any of that.

"Have you heard from Vasili?" she asked sounding unsure of the question herself.

"No, and that's part of the problem. I need to talk to him, but I don't know how to approach it."

"Adrian, be careful. Vasili is a good man, but he's got his own secrets. If he hasn't told you something, there's a reason. And don't forget that he also holds a grudge against you for everything you did to him in the past"

"I know, Mom, but I can't shake this feeling. I need answers."

"Just promise me you'll be cautious."

"I will, Mom. Thanks for calling."

After hanging up, Adrian felt a renewed sense of urgency. He had to see Vasili and get to the bottom of this. Ignoring his mother's advice wasn't an option, but neither was remaining in the dark. He needed to understand the forces at play and ensure his company's safety but most especially, Vasili's safety.

Since there was nothing left for him to do here he booked an early flight back. It would be great if he could confront Vasili himself but he also knew coming into direct contact with him was out of the question. His mother would kill him if she found out which she most certainly would.

Left to his vices for a while he made up his mind to book an early flight back for the next morning. Adrian decided to take a long bath to relax his turbulent mind after letting his assistant know of their planned departure.

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It was late into the evening when they arrived back in Sindagroove and David stuck around to make sure Adrian didn't have any more tasks for him before he bid his distracted boss a good night which was acknowledged by a single nod of his head and a "don't be late to work tomorrow" before he hailed a taxi and left for the night, Adrian's words of not letting a soul know about what had happened on their trip until he gets more information rang like a bell in David's head.

Adrian's car was parked in the private underground spot he'd left it that day so he drove himself home in silence thinking of ways to weave his schedule into something that would inevitably clash with Vasili's but kept coming up blank on ideas to achieve it.

He sighed dejectedly, turning off the engine and handing the keys to his butler. Adrian ascended the stairs while loosening his tie and shrugging off his shoes at the top of the stairs. He took a quick shower but that did nothing to alleviate the headache he could feel brewing at the base of his skull.

He plugged in his phone after making sure his alarm was set, slipped under the warm confines of his duvet, turned on the air conditioning, and swiped his palm across the AI face built into the wall to turn the lights off. He could have spoken to it to get everything done but Adrian had no strength left in him to use his voice.

Just when his mind was beginning to go quiet enough to let sleep seep into his body his ringtone blarred into the stillness of his room making his tiredness swiftly shift to irritation.

He picked up his phone in annoyance without checking to see who was calling assuming it would be David and answered the call.

"David, I swear to everything I hold dear that I'll fire your stupid ass if this call isn't worth waking me up" he almost yelled into his phone, his headache coming back with a vengeance.

"I'm terribly sorry for disturbing your sleep sir but this is an emergency. Several reports were sent to me an hour ago with information about a new disease outbreak that's been killing shifters all over the galaxy. It resulted in a huge panic over the past three days and has killed over two thousand shifters worldwide, especially in Vintale" came David's panicked voice from the other end of the line.

Vintale..Vintale…VINTALE?! Fuck! His parents are currently touring Vintale! Adriana swore and sharply dismissed the rest of David's words with a promise to get back to him as soon as he could.

Adrian quickly dialed his mother's number but it rang for a while and went to voicemail, his heart pounding and his head throbbing. He ignored the feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach and calmed himself enough to clear the slight fog in his mind to search for his father's contact and hit call but it was sent to voicemail again.

Fuck!!