"Sir, how did you know it's Abbas?" Saif scrunched his brows

"Because, I was supposed to meet with Tahir this evening to discuss my findings on the bullet he brought from Singapore," Mr. Latif explained, "Turns out that despite the common initials on the bullet, it was engraved with a different component which contains gold."

Mr. Latif rushed towards the computer to his left to demonstrate his findings.

"I looked around the system of those who customize bullets and the only man that added gold to his initials was Abbas Alqahtani who also happens to be the biggest shareholder of the royal hotel."

Saif nodded as he placed the puzzle pieces together, "It's also why he was able to infiltrate the hotel. He had all the access and authority."

Mr. Latif agreed with him and spoke into his earpiece, signaling the rest of the agents in the facility.

Just then, Tahir walked up to them, announcing his arrival in an aggressive manner.

Saif and Mr. Latif looked up, awaiting what he had to say.

"I've got mission Athena already tracking his whereabouts. He can't have gone far. Also, he's a businessman. He's got the money for us to track and transactions he makes," Tahir said.

Mr. Latif nodded and asked him, "How did you know we were speaking of Abbas before I even briefed you about the bullet engraving?"

"You forget that I'm your top agent Mr. Latif. I also happen to be the son of the founder of this facility. My hunch began the day of the auction. But, I don't take action unless I have confirmation," Tahir simply explained.

"So what's our next move? We can't just wait for Anisa to show up," Saif interrupted.

Then, he remembered that he had left Layla to the other guards without giving them certain instructions.

"Tahir, what about the other princess. Tell me you placed her on high security back there," Saif sounded worried

Tahir sighed before replying, "You think I had the time to specifically ask for her security? I already prepared the palace on a lockdown. No one is leaving anywhere."

For some reason, Saif felt a bit assured but not entirely.

Anisa regained her consciousness and took her blindfold off. She squinted her eyes from the brightness of the light that welcomed her.

She looked around, trying to examine where she was taken. Surprisingly, it wasn't like those old buildings like in the movies.

The room looked decent but there were no windows. Just a black, tinted screen across from her. Otherwise, it had every furniture an average bedroom had.

Suddenly, she heard the door open, making her flinch from surprise. Abbas appeared through the door with a calm expression.

"How does the princess like her new room?" He smirked.

She frowned at him and refused to answer the question.

"Oh don't worry. You'll get used to it. You'll be here a couple days before we officially get married," he said.

Anisa paused and widened her eyes before she yelled, "I'm NEVER getting married to you!"

"Why not? I mean, your father even approved. Well, he's not here to do that anymore but he'd always imagine the both of us," he smiled

It only angered her more.

"You do NOT put my father in your mouth!"

"Princess, you've got to calm down. At this rate, you're only harming yourself," Abbas put his hands in the air as a surrender but it was all filled with humor.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked

Abbas sighed before answering her question, "Well, at first, my plans were to get rid of you. Remember Singapore?"

He leaned down to get a closer look at her expression, "But, you managed to get out alive. So, then I thought, you just might be a good useful object in my journey to become King."

Her blood started coiling at a faster rate, "You did all this for power!?"

"Why else would I do it? I'm just a businessman who's limited to being a shareholder of your hotel. I want to feel the power of being a royal. What better way to do that by marrying you and fooling the public, all at once," he said.

"I would NEVER marry you. You're nothing but a pathetic man!" She growled.

Abbas shook his head in disappointment and told her, "You see that tinted screen just across from us," he pointed, "Just behind that glass lays someone very precious to you."

Confusion took over her mind as she furrowed her brows, trying to see through the glass. Then, the lights turned on, revealing a woman, sitting on a rocking chair, who seemed to be in her forties. But, Anisa didn't recognize her.

"Abbas, you think that you're going to marry me by threatening me with a stranger?" She looked up at him with a frown.

Abbas chuckled and said, "This is where it gets interesting," he leaned close to her ear as he placed his hands on her shoulder, "She's no stranger. She's the first wife of the late King. So, that practically makes her your mother."

Saif and Mr. Latif watched Tahir staring blankly at his screen on his tablet. At this point, they both grew worried for him.

He hadn't said a word to anyone in the past few hours and even refused to eat.

"Tahir, at least rest your eyes a little," Mr. Latif told him

There was no response in him and all Saif did was sigh in disappointment. Their attempts in phasing him weren't even slightly successful.

Then, an agent approached Mr. Latif and reported, "Sir, Abbas hasn't made any transactions for the past day. His most recent purchase was apparel, a woman's to be specific."

Tahir heard the agent and stood up angrily. His thoughts were driving him insane. A woman's apparel? He could've planned to have Anisa kidnapped and have clothes ready for her. The worst cast scenario...he didn't even want to go there.

"This isn't helping, at all," Tahir finally said, "We're one of the top agencies. Finding people is our specialty. Why can't we find a single a**hole!"

The agent looked at Tahir in fear while Saif and Mr. Latif stared at his frustrated state.

"Thank you, agent Sofia," Mr. Latif excused her.

She simply nodded and left through the door.

"Any updates from mission Athena?" Saif asked Tahir.

Tahir shook his head, "The only update they got were more traitors in the very walls of the royal hotel."

Mr. Latif wasn't able to understand one thing about Tahir. Was he so frustrated because his mission took a turn for the worse? Or, was it because of Anisa's kidnapping? Either way, he decided to figure out for himself rather than asking him directly.

Saif, on the other hand, knew what she meant for Tahir. The only reason he didn't warn him or make a big deal out of it was because Anisa was the first woman to ever hold such value in Tahir's eyes.

Finally, Saif broke the silence and told both of them, "I'm going back to check up on the palace. Nadia will swap with me and I'll take here place. So, expect her back here in less than an hour."

Mr. Latif nodded, "Yes, it's best to take turns watching the royals. Afterall, we don't trust anyone in there."

With that, Saif left to the garage in the basement where he started his car and drove out through the driveway.

Getting to the palace didn't take long before he arrived at the gates and scanned his card for entrance.

He quickly walked out of the car and in, through the doors, rushing to find Nadia. The last time he communicated with her, she said she was in a balcony, watching over the two siblings.

He went to the one on the main floor to find the three of them, gazing into the distance.

They all turned their heads once they say Saif and Layla couldn't help but stand up from her chair.

"Where have you been!" She scolded.

"I had some work to do outside regarding your sister," Saif replied.

Then, Yasin got up and grew worried.

"Where's Anisa?"

Nadia and Saif looked at each other before he sighed and finally told them, "She's been kidnapped."

"WHAT!? How does a specialized bodyguard let that HAPPEN?!" Yasin grew furious and Layla couldn't help but gasp at the situation.

"I was outnumbered and trying to ensure the safety of the princess but he took advantage and took the princess," Saif explained while avoiding eye contact with Yasin.

"He? Who's he?" Yasin asked.

Saif stood silent only adding suspense to the moment before he finally told them, "Abbas."

Yasin had to sit back down from the shock he was experiencing. Layla couldn't believe him as well.

One thing was certain, no one saw this coming. It struck everyone with a bolt of shock. For now, all that was left was hope.

"We're searching everywhere. It's also why the head of security won't be present for a while. He's not resting until the princess is found," Saif reassured them.

While Layla and Yasin tried to comfort each other from the sudden news they received, Saif whispered to Nadia, "I'll take over. You need to go to headquarters."

Nadia nodded and excused herself before rushing out of the balcony. Saif had already communicated with the other security guards of her leave through the earpiece as the palace was on lockdown.

Meanwhile, Tahir held a meeting with other agents at the facility with Mr. Latif's approval.

"The news outlets have already grown worried. Rumors are spreading quicky among people and when the royals have lost control, it's our job to maintain it," he explained, "They currently know of the late king's death which happened just two days ago. We can't have them finding out about princess Anisa's kidnapping."

The other agents nodded in agreement as he continued to speak.

"Our first phase is to keep the royals in lockdown. Provide them with their necessities and have the media know that they're in mourning of the late king's passing. Intel, you've got me on that?" He questioned looking at the third row of agents.

They nodded and went right to it by tapping on their keyboards.

"While the country is distracted with that, I'll have more teams secure the perimeter of the palace. Half of you will track the whereabouts of every royal in the past month, including the queen who's still in hiding. One of them has had to have met with Abbas," Tahir said, "For now, this is phase one. Once we start phase two, I expect all of you present for a second meeting."

Everyone in the room nodded as they were dismissed. They chatted amongst themselves while leaving the room one by one.

Tahir stayed to take a seat across from Mr. Latif who kept trying to analyze his actions. Then, he was startled once Tahir told him, "I know you're curious."

"Then you should also know what I'm concerned about," Mr. Latif sighed from the sudden heart attack he almost had because of him.

"There's nothing to be concerned about. None of us go into a mission expecting to form true relationships with anyone. Mine was a mere coincidence," Tahir explained.

Mr. Latif scoffed, "Coincidence? You pestered me fo a while to take this mission as it concerned your father's death only to come out like this, in the middle of chaos."

"I wanted to do something for my father. I wanted to avenge his death by extracting his murderer and I did. Only, I haven't taken out the murderer yet," Tahir looked down at the table.

"Right. Instead, you fell for the princess who happens to be someone your father looked after. Let me ask you this...does she know about your truth? Does she know why you're actually there?" Mr. Latif questioned.

Tahir didn't feel like responding to that question. But, his silence spoke enough.

"I thought so," Mr. Latif nodded, "Poor girl is going through a time in which her step mother killed her father. Her brother almost didn't tell the contents of her sleeping pills. The shareholder of her own hotel is behind all of this. She lost twenty members from the royal administration. Now, the only ingredient left to destroy her trust, to destroy her world...is you."

A/N:

I think this is one of the best chapters so far. Correct me if I'm wrong 😅😂, but it's filled with a lot of suspense to keep you guys on your toes. I'm sure you were all shocked, just as much as the characters were.

But, don't forget to express yourselves in the comments and hit that star button!

Thank you~