The Unwanted Wife's Return (Ex-Husband Wants Me Back) novel Chapter 130

I Failed Her 

ELIJAH’S POV: 

THAT SAME DAY: 

“Covering the 444 district, ground floor underground parking lot at Martinez’s company…” 

I heard the police officer’s voice through my phone speaker, but my head was spinning too fast to process the words properly. My heart was pounding so loud and so fast I could actually hear it echoing in my ears like a drum 

Everything had gone wrong so quickly. 

One minute I was wrapping up a meeting, checking my watch and smiling because I knew I’d have plenty of time to get to Amelia’s performance. The next minute, the elevator had stopped moving. 

Just… stopped. 

The lights had flickered once, twice, then gone completely dark. I’d pressed the emergency button immediately, but nothing happened. No response from security. No automated voice telling me help was on the way. Nothing. 

I’d tried my phone, but there was no signal. Not a single bar. Like something was deliberately blocking it. 

Ten minutes. I’d been trapped in that metal box for ten agonizing minutes. 

At first, I’d been annoyed. Then concerned. Then, as the minutes ticked by and I kept checking my watch, genuinely worried. 

Amelia’s performance was starting soon. Hannah would be waiting for me. She’d be checking her phone, wondering where I was. Maybe starting to worry. 

I’d kept pressing that emergency button over and over, my frustration growing with each passing second. 

When the elevator finally lurched back to life and the doors opened on the ground floor, I’d practically run out. 

“We are so sorry, Mr. Martinez,” the security head had said, rushing toward me with the maintenance team close behind. “We don’t know what happened. The system just shut down. We’ve never seen anything like it.” 

I didn’t even respond. I was too angry, too rushed, too focused on getting to my car and getting to that school. I’d just brushed past them, already pulling out my phone to text Hannah. 

But as I’d walked into the parking lot, my phone had started buzzing with notifications. Missed calls. Texts. Lots of them. 

My mother: “Where are you? The show is starting!” 

Martin: “Elijah, everything okay? Hannah’s not answering either.” 

Lucas: “Dude, where are you guys? Amelia keeps looking at the door.” 

I’d frowned, my steps slowing. Why wasn’t Hannah answering? 

I’d tried calling her immediately. The phone had rung, and I’d heard it. Actually heard her ringtone echoing somewhere in the parking lot. 

That’s when the first real spike of fear had hit me. 

Why would her phone be here? She should have left already. She’d texted me an hour ago saying she was heading down to the car. 

I’d followed the sound, my heart starting to race for a completely different reason now. My footsteps had echoed in the mostly empty parking lot as I’d walked toward where the sound was coming from. 

“I failed her,” I’d said, and my voice sounded very strange. Hollow and dead. 

The words had tasted like ash in my mouth the moment they’d left my lips. They’d lingered in the cold parking lot air, hanging between Mr. Willow and I like a curse neither of us wanted to touch. 

There was a beat of silence. Then his tone had shifted completely. 

“Listen to me,” he’d said, his tone shifting instantly from playful to professional. “Take a breath. Tell me exactly what you see.” 

My eyes had scanned the ground again like I was seeing it for the first time. 

The shattered phone lay a few feet away, the screen spider-webbed, still lit from a missed call my name. My name. The back door of her car hung open slightly, swaying as if mocking me. The strand of hair looked darker now, matted against the concrete. Her charm lay beside it, the tiny gold butterfly Amelia had me get her for her as a gift. 

“My God…” I whispered. My knees felt weak. “Her phone is here,” I’d said, my voice shaking. “Her car door is open. There are tire marks on the ground, like someone left in a hurry. Fresh marks. And her hair… there’s hair on the ground.” 

I’d swallowed hard, trying to keep my voice steady. “She didn’t leave willingly. Someone took her.” 

“I’m dispatching a tactical unit and forensic team right now,” Mr. Willow had said firmly. “Do not touch anything. Don’t move anything. Are you alone?” 

“Yes.” My voice had cracked. “But I won’t be in a second.” 

I’d ended the call and immediately dialed 911, giving them the details again. Then I’d just stood there, staring at the scene in front of me, trying to process what had happened. 

Someone had taken my wife.