Chapter 16: Bella Disappears
That night, I couldn't sleep in bed. Something didn't feel right.
Morning came, and as usual, I got Bella ready for school. "Bye, Mom!" she called, waving as she ran toward the school gates.
I smiled and watched until she disappeared inside.
Hours later, I was in a meeting when my phone rang. It was Bella's school.
"Mrs. Carter, Bella never made it to class today."
My heart stopped. "What?!"
I jumped up from my chair. "I dropped her off this morning!"
"We checked security footage," the principal said. "She entered the school… but never made it to class."
My phone nearly slipped from my hands. "Call the police. I'm coming now!"
My worst nightmare had begun.
The police were already at the school when I arrived. Lights from their cars flashing and Teachers were pacing. I felt like my heart was going to burst through my chest.
I ran through the school gates, pushing past the crowd of worried faces.
"Mrs. Carter?" A woman in uniform stopped me gently.
"Where's my daughter? Where is Bella?" I could barely breathe.
She gave me a soft look. "I'm Detective Harper. We're doing everything we can. Let me put you through what we know."
We stepped into the principal's office. A big screen showed footage from the morning. I watched as Bella waved goodbye to me, just like always. Then she walked into the school. But after a few minutes, she turned around and walked right back out.
My hands covered my mouth. "Why did she leave?"
Detective Harper sighed. "That's what we're trying to figure out."
Another officer stepped in. "No sign of force. She wasn't grabbed. She left willingly."
I felt dizzy. "But she wouldn't do that. Bella knows better."
The principal looked worried. "She was seen talking to someone just outside the school walls. We're pulling footage from nearby cameras."
"Who?" I asked. "Who was she talking to?"
Detective Harper didn't answer. She just nodded to the screen. A new video played.
This one showed Bella walking up to the school gate. And right at the gate, was a man in a hoodie holding her water bottle that fell to the ground without her noticing. While she stretched her hand to get it, they other cartel gang members open fire on one of the security men they had tied up. A single shot to the head, clean and silent.
Bella stood just inside the school, her body stiff with fear. The dead guard's blood pooled near the gate.
The man in the hoodie tilted his head. "One… Two…"
At "Three," he pulled the trigger.
The second guard's body dropped.
Tears streamed down Bella's face. She had no choice. Step by step, she walked forward.
The guy in the hoodie talked for a moment.
Then Bella looked back at the building. She hesitated… and then walked away with him.
A black SUV speed away from the school.
I almost collapsed.
"Do you recognize him?" she asked.
I shook my head. "No. I don't know who that is."
Gabriel stormed into the room looking frantic.
"Emily, what happened? Where is she?"
I couldn't say a word. I just pointed to the screen.
He watched the footage. I could see the anger growing. He held his fists and paced.
"She left with someone," I whispered. "Just like that."
Gabriel turned to the detective. "You're going to find her. I don't care what it takes. I want my daughter back."
"We're doing everything we can," Harper said. "We've already sent out an alert."
Hours passed very quickly. I couldn't sit. I couldn't eat. My baby was out there with some stranger.
Gabriel was on the phone nonstop calling everyone he knew. He had connections and he wasn't afraid to use them.
The pedestrians had all fleed for their lives and the policed had traced the SUV only to meet an abandoned car. Empty. Engine still running, placed there as a distraction.
While the police attention was on the SUV, Vicente Julian's cartel men had entered an underground tunnel system with Bella.
Built decades ago, these tunnels were forgotten by most, but not by Vincent Julian. His men had been mapping them for months, knowing they'd need a perfect escape someday.
The kidnappers walked two miles underground, until getting to an old ambulance waiting at the end of the tunnel.
Two of the kidnappers, disguised themselves as paramedics, wheeled out a stretcher and laid Bella strapped down, with a fake oxygen mask over her face.
"Critical patient transfer!" one of them yelled as they exited.
Civilians moved aside. Nobody questioned it. Nobody ever stops an ambulance.
They drove straight through a police checkpoint.
Two miles away, the ambulance pulled into a garage.
Inside was a funeral van.
A coffin sat in the back.
They moved Bella inside.
Then, with sirens still wailing in the city, the funeral van drove off calmly, just another vehicle heading to a burial.
By the time anyone realized Bella was already leaving town, she was already deep inside Vincent Julian's hidden basement.
That night, I sat on Bella's bed, holding her favorite stuffed bunny. My tears soaked into the pillow.
"Please be okay," I whispered. "Please come back."
The phone rang. I jumped.
Gabriel answered. "What? Where? I'll be there in ten."
He turned to me. "They found the hoodie guy's car parked near the old train station."
We drove like mad through the night. When we got there, the place was empty. The car was abandoned.
The detective met us there. "No sign of Bella. But we're getting closer."
Closer wasn't enough. I needed her in my arms.
The next day, the media picked it up. Photos of Bella were everywhere. News anchors said her name like it was just another headline. But this was my child.
Tips poured in. People thought they saw her at gas stations, parks, stores. All dead ends.
I didn't sleep. I didn't shower. I didn't care. I couldn't rest until I saw her smile again.
Three days later, a call came.
A shaky voice said, "I saw the girl. She's in an old cabin outside town. She looked scared."
Detective Harper jumped into action. They traced the call. Organized a search team.
Gabriel and I weren't allowed to go. We waited at the station, hearts pounding.
Minutes felt like hours. Hours felt like days.