Betrayed By Husband, Stolen By Brother In Law

Chapter 329: Crazy

Adam paced the hospital hallway, his thoughts tangled with everything that had just happened. For the first time in his life, he’d felt a strange aversion to kissing Melanie. The realization unsettled him. He clenched his fists, trying to make sense of it. What was wrong with him? How could he have pulled away from her when they had been on the verge of a kiss?

He ran a hand through his hair and let out a deep sigh, eventually leaning back against the wall. There had to be something off with him. That was the only explanation. But what was the reason? Was it because of the stress and worry he’d been carrying over all that had happened to her recently? Could that be the reason he was hesitating to be close to her or being with her? As if she would break?

Whatever it was, he needed to figure it out-and fast. Melanie wasn’t naive. She hadn’t questioned the space he’d kept from her over the last few days, probably thinking it was because he was worried about her. But soon, she would be discharged from the hospital and sent home. Once that happened, he wouldn’t be able to avoid facing the truth, not even with distractions or distance. She would know something was wrong with him.

Still, even as the thought crossed his mind, he shook it off. Why was he even thinking like this? Not feel drawn to his Melon? That was impossible. Even if he somehow lost all sense of attraction one day, she’d be the only one who could bring it back. No one else could ever come close.

It had to be the hospital. The sterile environment, the beeping monitors, the weight of everything that had happened, all of it was probably throwing him off. That, combined with Melanie’s current vulnerability, was messing with his head. He’d always felt protective of her, but because of how independent she was, that feeling had never overwhelmed him. Now, though, she’d been almost clingy, and that unsettled him in a way he didn’t know how to handle.

What had really happened to her during the time she was missing and then thrown out of the car? When she was taken hostage? She was clearly holding something back-he had sensed that from the start. But still, he trusted her. If she wasn’t ready to share every detail with the police, then there had to be a reason. A good one. And when she was ready to talk, he’d be there. He always would be.

He took a deep breath and straightened, rubbing a hand over his face as if that might help clear the confusion in his head. Whatever this strange feeling was-this hesitation and this sudden pullback, he needed to get a grip on it before it did any more damage.

If nothing else, he couldn’t let Melanie feel like he was the one pulling away from her when she was already dealing with so much. The last thing she needed was to doubt him or wonder if something had changed between them. That meant he had to put in more effort now.

Just as he was about to walk back into the room and apologize to her for running away from the kiss, he saw Max approaching from the end of the hallway. Adam frowned, immediately sensing something was off. After all, he had just sent him off many minutes ago.

"Why haven’t you left yet?" he asked.

Max reached him and quickly pulled him aside, lowering his voice. "I just got a call from one of our people," he said, glancing around to make sure no one was listening. "Someone’s trying to access Melanie’s file. They’re digging through her records and trying to find out details. I’ve placed a few of our people near the source. They’ll feed some basic information, nothing sensitive, then pull back and come straight to report. But I thought you should know right away given all that has been happening."

Adam cursed at this information. He had cut off the paper and online trail for Melanie to protect her but now, someone wanted to access this. These people, whoever they were, could not be upto any good.

"That’s not all," Max continued, lowering his voice even further. "They’re also poking into the Thomases. Not just Richard and Marianne but Melody, specifically. I had her flagged in the system after this kidnapping incident. Something didn’t sit right with me because of Melanie and Melody’s face being same, either coulg be hurt because of the other, and now... well, it’s a good thing I did it."

"But why would they look into Melody if they have already kidnapped her?" Adam asked in confusion.

Max shook his head,"That is the thing. We don’t know anything about these kidnappers. If it was a robbery, why did they take Melody? And there has not even been a ransom call so it cannot be for money. Anyway, I think you should know. One of our guys flagged something odd in her history. Melody was completely off the radar for nearly a year. No public activity, no medical records, no job listings, just nothing at all. Her only trace during that time was limited contact with her parents. Then, about four months ago, she just... reappeared. Back in the city, back in the system. No explanation."

Adam felt the chill crawl up his spine.

Max went on, "And now, after her kidnapping, someone’s trying to pull up her file too. Could be coincidence. Or it could be connected. I don’t know yet. But it’s not looking clean."

Adam nodded at the implications. If there was something dirty going on, then Melanie could be in much bigger danger than they imagined.

He pushed a hand through his hair and asked quietly," Do we have the power to look for Melody at our disposal." noveldrama

Max looked at Adam in surprise. He was not asking about something common but uncommon. Something that would require pulling in a lot of favours. Max had never thought that Adam would be willing to go to this extent...but he nodded," Of course we have a lot of social capital. I’ll get on it."