(Alright, so most of my titles are going to be song titles. They don't necessarily relate to the chapter exactly but this one is Too Late by my babies Chase Atlantic. Enjoy!)

Steph's P.O.V

"Wakey, wakey bitch," the woman's voice said

Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I sit up and look at her. To say my body hurt like hell was the understatement of the year. She looked really familiar. But I couldn't see her whole face.

"Why are you doing this?" I ask. It hurt to talk, probably because of all the screaming I did yesterday.

"Can't you see, you are all Carter ever talks about. All he cares about now is you. That should be me. (Cue the Justin Bieber song lol) If I get you out of the way, things can go back to the way they were. Carter will finally realize that I'm the one he needs, not a nobody like you." she says. It all comes together.

"Anastasia?" I ask

"Oh look, she actually figured it out. Took you long enough," she says

"You are the one who cheated, not Carter. You have no one to blame but yourself," I say

"That may be true, but let's be honest, no one can resist me," she with a smile and walks away

Soon after, I was given a glass of water and a little bit of food, and even though I didn't want to eat for fear it was poisoned, I couldn't hold back and ate it all. Soon enough, everything went black.

Tara's P.O.V

"I got a question," Lucifer says

"Yea, shoot," I say while watching my show

"Do you plan on taking over your dad's company?" he asks

"Well, I thought about it. But, I'm not too sure if I want to." I say

"You should go for it," he says

"I don't know. To be honest, I don't think so," I reply

"Oh, c'mon. You should. You definitely should." he says

"I'll think about. I've got a lot on my mind at the moment." I say

"Just text your dad and tell him you want to," he says

"Lucifer. Stop. I said I'll think about it. Why are you pushing this?" I ask

"Sorry, sorry. I just thought it would be good for us," he says

"You have your own company, isn't that enough?" I ask

"Yes, I guess it is," he says in defeat

"I'm sorry I yelled. I'm just so stressed about the whole Steph thing," I say

"All good," he replies

"Babe I'm scared. What if he doesn't find her." I say

"What are you talking about?" Luce asks

"Were you even listening to me? I said that Steph was taken and Carter is going to get her right now before something bad happens to her." I say

"Oh really. That's good. Hopefully, he gets to her in time," he replies. Then his phone rings. "Let me take this real quick," says getting up

"K," I say

"Talk to me...Mhm...Yea...He's on his way, you know what to do," he says then hangs up the call

"Who's on who's way?" I ask

"No one babe, watch your show," he says with a smile.

Carter's P.O.V

I was racing down the streets like a madman in order to get Steph. I was prepared to shoot or run over anyone that got in my way. Even though it was stupid to go alone, I didn't want to risk anybody else's life. Plus I didn't want to have to be responsible for watching anybody's back.

Pulling up to the house, I quickly run out of my car and break the door down. Gotta admit, I felt pretty cool doing that, but back to the point. I check every room and then headed downstairs. There were 2 rooms. One that could be mistaken for a control room and one that looked like a torture room. God, what did they do to her? And where the fuck is she? Examining each one of the controls in the "control room", I press each one to see what they do.

On the T.V screen plays a video.

Hello Carter, so glad you could join us, even though you are a tad bit late.

No worries, I have someone who wants to say hi to you.

"Say hi to Carter, baby," he says

"Don't call me that," she says sternly

"I said, SAY HI," he yells, grabbing a fistful of her hair.

"Hi, Carter," she croaks, tears forming in her eyes

"Good girl. See what happens when you behave" he says

"Now, by now you're probably all mad and shit because your girl isn't there as promised.

You see, it's simple Carter. You took something from me, so now I have to take something from you.

The best part is, you don't even know who is involved, therefore you can't even trust anyone with the information I give you. Carter, Carter, Carter. If only you didn't do what you did. Steph is really pretty, so I'm not rushing you, take your time. Your sweet, precious time. A friend and I would love to get to know your girl more.

In more ways than one, if you know what I mean.

Tick. Tock. Carter. Tick. Tock"

And with that, the video shuts off. Another one of the buttons was to turn the intercom on or off and the other one sent electricity to the chains I saw hanging there.

"They electrocuted her," I said to myself

"Walking into what I call "the torture room", I see that there was a plate that once held food, an empty glass, chains, blood, a chair, and a note.

"She was here," I tell myself again

"She was here and I took too long. I wasn't fast enough," I say in dismay

Picking up the note, I read what it says:

"Oh, Carter. What did I tell you?

Time is ticking.

Just admit it, you're too slow. You won't be able to save her.

You have no idea how tempting it is to put my hands all over her.

Hurry Carter. I'm not a patient person.

And remember, I'm always a step ahead and I'm closer than you think.

As always,

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock"

Shoving the note in my pocket, I take one last look around to make sure I haven't missed anything. Hoping back into my car, I drive back to the city, thinking about who it could be that has her.

You won't be one step ahead for long whoever you are, I'm coming for my girl, and when I find her, there will be hell to pay. I promise you that.

Then everything went black