Dark Revenge Of A Jilted Bride: Till Life Do Us Part!-Chapter 73: Rescue Team III

"Doesn’t that tattoo look familiar?" Sandro asked Zane, his voice low but sharp as his eyes caught the inked mark on the wrist of one of the kidnappers.

He squatted slowly, pushed back the black sweater sleeve, and perused the tattoo more closely—a crescent moon etched in dark ink, a Roman numeral six sitting neatly on its edge.

Zane’s jaw tightened. Seeing it, he immediately checked the wrists of the other two men, one after the other, his frown deepening with each confirmation.

He straightened slightly, unease settling in his gut. "They are from the same gang."

Ewan walked up to them then. He had been with his wife and Gianna moments earlier, as Gianna recounted what had happened in her own words—or the closest version she could manage, given how shaken she still was, her voice breaking in places, her hands trembling as Athena held them.

"What do we have here?" Ewan asked.

Zane looked up at him, still frowning, eyes flicking once more to the tattoo. "They are from Philemon’s gang."

Ewan raised a brow, surprise flashing across his features as he followed Zane’s gaze to the tattoo his friend was pointing at.

"What would Philemon want with Gianna?" he questioned, his mind immediately going back—back to the time they had worked with Philemon to eradicate Morgan from existence during the Grey Virus saga.

They weren’t friends. Enemies, really. But Morgan had been a necessary evil—someone they had all needed gone badly enough to stand on the same side, briefly.

Since then, there had been no contact. Not even through Madam Ruby, Philemon’s cousin.

"That’s the million-dollar question," Sandro muttered, standing erect again, brushing dirt from his knees. "I guess we have to ask him. Do you still have his number?"

Ewan did. He didn’t relish the thought of calling the gang leader—not even a little—but he didn’t have a choice.

"Let’s get out of here first," he said. "We can talk at Spider’s cottage."

In the car, Gianna sat between Athena and Ewan, her body curled slightly inward, while Zane and Sandro occupied the front seats. This time, Zane was driving.

"Philemon’s people..." Ewan said out of the blue, his eyes shifting briefly to his wife. "They had the gang’s tattoos on their wrists."

Athena stiffened slightly, hearing this for the first time. "Have you seen those men before?" she asked Gianna gently.

Gianna shook her head, confusion clouding her already tired eyes. Who was Philemon?

"Philemon is the head of X Gang," Athena explained softly. "When we were looking for Morgan back then, and found him hiding in Philemon’s territory, he granted us passage. His cousin is Madam Ruby—one of the shareholders in Ewan’s company."

She paused, frowning faintly. "But I don’t see why he would be interested in you. Surely he must know who you are... and what you mean to us. He wouldn’t dare spark a fight."

Gianna felt even more confused. Why would a gang leader want her? Or was she just bait? Was there another war waiting to break out because of her friend’s choices?

She hoped not. She truly wasn’t up for it.

And yet...

She closed her eyes as the night replayed itself in jagged flashes. When she opened them again, they met Zane’s gaze in the rear-view mirror. He looked away immediately.

She didn’t dwell on it. She chose instead to focus on Athena’s voice.

"...we have to confirm from him first."

Ewan nodded. "I know. We’ll talk when we get to Spider’s—"

He broke off suddenly, his frown sharpening as his eyes caught something ahead of them: a vehicle revving hard, tires screaming as it sped away into the night.

"That must be the boss," Sandro muttered, tapping Zane’s thigh to signal urgency. "Or whoever was coming to check on the captive."

Zane didn’t need a second urging. He accelerated.

Gianna clutched Athena for dear life.

But when they burst from the grassy stretch onto the main road, the vehicle was already miles ahead, swallowed by distance and darkness.

"Let’s leave it," Athena murmured quietly. "We need to take Gianna home. Spider can follow the car and give us updates."

She felt Gianna shivering beside her—whether from cold or fear, she couldn’t tell. But she knew one thing: her friend had had more than enough for one night.

At Spider’s cottage, Ewan finally reached out to Philemon.

"Who is this?" Philemon asked over the line.

Ewan scoffed. "You know who’s speaking, Phil. Pretence doesn’t look good on you."

Silence stretched, heavy. Then Philemon grunted. "Wolfsbane."

"Just call me Ewan, big man," Ewan replied calmly. "That life is far behind me."

Philemon scoffed. "You keep saying that, but you still command reach as usual."

A pause.

"Why are you calling me at this time of night?" Philemon continued. "You want to be friends suddenly?"

Ewan snorted. "Three of your men kidnapped my wife’s best friend. They’re all dead now. But I want to know why you wanted her."

The silence that followed cracked down the line, thick enough to make everyone in the room restless. Gianna and Athena were already in the main mansion, Athena choosing to stay with her friend, to make sure she slept, trusting the men to handle the rest.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about, Ewan," Philemon said finally. "Is this a joke? An excuse to attack me? Because trust me, I—"

"Cut it, Philemon," Ewan snapped. "I’m not that idle. My friend was kidnapped today. Assaulted. Would have been raped if my people hadn’t arrived in record time. I saw the tattoos of your gang on their wrists."

"Do you have pictures?"

Ewan silently thanked his stars that Zane had thought ahead. He sent the images immediately, the call still live.

"Familiar?"

Silence.

"Philemon..."

"...Yes. They are my men," Philemon admitted at last. "But Ewan, I didn’t send them. They went rogue. You have to believe me."

"And why would I do that?" Ewan asked coolly. "Believe you."

Philemon sighed audibly. "You have a good relationship with my cousin. And I don’t have the strength for a clash right now. So no—I wouldn’t have done it. And why would I even want your friend?"

That was the billion-dollar question, Ewan thought, lips pursed. Why was Gianna kidnapped?

He ended the call with Philemon promising to conduct his own investigation, then turned to Spider. "Any luck?"

Spider shook his head. "This fellow knows what he’s doing. He disappeared under the bridge—no cameras there."