Sweeping Him Off His Feet-Chapter 235: They’re dead.

Freda and Augustine pressed their lips together, holding their breath. Though the exterior lights of the building glowed faintly, the inside remained shrouded in darkness and decay.

"Freda, are you still there?" the Commissioner asked through the phone, his voice cutting sharply through the silence.

Startled, Freda quickly pressed the phone against her jacket to muffle the sound.

"Who’s there?" a rough male voice called from within the abandoned house. "Don’t you dare trespass on my property because I won’t tolerate it!"

Augustine leaned closer to Freda and whispered, "Do you think that voice belongs to Reuben?"

Freda shook her head. "Maybe not. It could be someone working with him. I need to alert the cops before things—"

Freda couldn’t finish her sentence because footsteps began to echoed from inside the house, slow but heavy and it was drawing closer.

She swallowed hard, her throat tightening as she hung up the phone call and began to scan the ground with the dim light of her phone, desperate to find something... at least anything she could use to defend herself.

Beside Freda, Augustine crouched low, doing the same while trying not to make a sound.

"For the last time," the man’s voice boomed from inside, sharp and hostile, "who the hell is in my house without permission? I know you’ve been tracking me, but that doesn’t mean I’ll come quietly. So, back off while I’m still being nice!"

His words hung in the air for a tense moment before a sudden scream tore through the silence.

"Arrgh!" the man screamed at the top of his lungs as he charged toward Freda and Augustine.

Startled, Augustine raised the iron rod that was now gripped tightly in his hand and swung it at the intruder but his aim was off.

The rod cut through the air and missed.

The man retaliated swiftly, slamming his baseball bat against Augustine’s shoulder with a sickening thud that made him cry out in pain.

"Ahhh!" Augustine groaned, staggering backward as his hand instinctively reached for his injured arm.

From the doorway, Freda bit down hard on her lip, her body trembling with fear. "Give... give us our partners, you freak!" she shouted, her voice cracking with emotion as she dashed forward to help Augustine.

Freda leapt onto the man’s back, grabbing his nearly bald head and yanking his hair from side to side. "Give me my boyfriend! Give me Charles!!!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face without pause.

Freda, Augustine and the mysterious man all began to wrestle among themselves until suddenly, a soft voice echoed from inside the abandoned house.

A young woman stepped into view, holding a torch in her left hand while her right rested gently on her swollen belly. She was heavily pregnant, her face pale and streaked with tears.

"Please... please, we didn’t mean to run away," the young woman whispered, her voice trembling with emotion. "I love him. I wasn’t forced to go with him, so please... please stop hurting my man."

Instantly, the chaos stopped. Freda, Augustine, and the young man froze, their eyes shifting toward the woman as silence fell over the room.

For a few tense seconds, no one spoke. The air felt thick until the woman finally broke the silence with a trembling whisper. "Please... don’t hurt him."

Freda exhaled shakily, releasing the man’s hair before stepping down from his back. "I... I’m sorry but who are you?" she asked, her brow arched in confusion.

"Huh? You don’t... you don’t know who we are?" the woman replied, her voice unsteady.

Both Freda and Augustine shook their heads.

The woman took a deep breath, sniffling softly as she steadied herself. "My name is Cecilia, and this is Edward, my lover. Weren’t you both sent by my parents to find me?"

Once more, Freda and Augustine both shook their head sideways.

"No," Freda said quietly. "I’m Freda, and this is Augustine. We’re looking for our partners... they’ve been abducted."

"What?" the young man, Edward, asked, running his hand through the few strands of hair on his head. "You’re... wait, what’s all this about?" he added, pulling out his phone and switching on the flashlight.

Freda and Augustine did the same, and with the light from their phones, they could finally see the faces of the couple standing before them.

Cecilia and Edward exchanged a nervous glance before Cecilia began to speak. "We’re not kidnappers," she said softly. "Edward and I are in love, but our parents never approved. He comes from a poor background, and my family is... well, wealthy and influential. They didn’t want us to be together."

Edward nodded in agreement. "I used to sneak in just to see her," he admitted. "But then she got pregnant, and when her parents found out, they told her to keep the baby but planned to give the child up for adoption after it was born so we decided to run away from home to my great grandmother house."

Freda’s expression softened as she exchanged a glance with Augustine, both now realizing that these two were running not from justice, but from heartbreak.

When Augustine and Freda heard their story, Augustine let out a weary sigh. "We’re so sorry for disturbing you both and for causing trouble. We’ll be on our way now," he said quickly, taking Freda’s hand and hurrying back toward the road where his car was parked.

As Augustine slid into the driver’s seat, he bit his upper lip as tears streamed down his face. "If only... if only I had run away with Charles like those two," he whispered, his voice trembling. "Maybe none of this would’ve happened."

He slammed his fist against the steering wheel, his body trembling with grief and regret.

"We’re going to find them, Augustine. Nothing’s going to happen to our partners, so don’t even think negatively, okay?" Freda whispered, trying to lift Augustine’s spirits. "We can’t afford to waste any more time. Now drive!"

Augustine nodded several times and started the engine. He gripped the steering wheel tightly and sped down the road, his eyes focused ahead while Freda stared out the window, scanning the dark landscape.

Moments later, Augustine’s phone beeped. He reached into his pocket, pulled it out, and noticed a new video message from an unknown number.

Instantly, Augustine’s heart skipped a beat and with one hand steady on the wheel, he used the other to tap play.

The video flickered to life with a camera positioned in the middle of a dimly lit room that shows a man dressed on complete black outfit which includes black trouser, black long sleeve, black gloves and even a black gas mask.

In the video, the masked man was seated with his gloved hands resting calmly on his knees.

On the floor before him lay Charles who was lifeless and his clothes were soaked in pool of blood.

Beside Charles was Reginald and his hands were tied to his legs with blood covering all over his skin, and his swollen eyes fluttered as he struggled to breathe.

"Oh... oh my God." Augustine gasped, pulling the car abruptly to the side of the road while his eyes remained glued to the phone screen.

Freda leaned closer, twisting the phone toward her side and the moment she saw her boyfriend’s lifeless body, a strangled cry escaped her lips.

"Re... Reginald," Freda whimpered, pressing both hands over her mouth as her body trembled uncontrollably. "What... what the hell did they do to... what the hell is even this?" Freda inquired as hot beads of tears streamed down her eyes and kissed her already damped cheeks.

Then, the masked man began to speak with his voice cold and void of any emotions. "Well, Augustine," he began, "I’m sure life’s already falling apart for you and I hope you lose everything and that includes your company, your wealth and even your life because men like you deserve nothing."

He chuckled lowly before leaning a bit forward from where he was seated. "But don’t worry, Augustine... I’ll make Charles’s death quick. Consider it a favour from me to you."

Following his words, he let out a dry scoff and rose from his seat, pulling out a dagger from the waistband of his black trousers, and then, he crossed the room to where Reginald lay.

He grabbed Reginald’s wrist and pressed the tip or his dagger into the center of his palm. Blood welled and slid between their fingers.

"Arrh..." Reginald whimpered, each breath a ragged gasp.

"Pfft!" He scoffed mockingly. "Scream all you want, Reginald. It won’t save you." He purred as he drove the blade deeper into Reginald’s palm.

"Arrrrrrrrrrrrghhhhhh!!" Reginald screamed, yanking his head towards the back in pain due to the impact of the pain that masked man was currently inflicting.

Then he pulled the dagger out of Reginald’s palm and ran his tongue along the blood that dripped down its blade. "Hmm," he purred, turning to stare directly at the camera. "By the time this reaches you, Augustine, your partner and your best friend will already be dead."

Following his words, the video suddenly came to an abrupt end.