Taken: 96 Hours to Rescue Daughter

Chapter 1

[Daddy, why aren't you answering me? I'm Laurel. I sent you so many messages. Why didn't you reply.]

[I-I'm so scared. The bad men locked me up. I can't find Mom.]

The notification sound chimed. Junior picked up his phone. The voice message was from an unknown number. It was a series of messages from a little girl, her voice trembling with fear.

[Sweetheart, you've sent to a wrong person. I'm not your dad. Are you in trouble?] Junior Anderson adjusted his emotions and replied.

This number had already sent him two messages last night with similar content. But in the midst of the bloodshed, he hadn't had the time to deal with these mistakenly sent messages.

They were at the border between Westcrest and Eastoria, where soldiers from both countries had been battling for three months. It was a living hell, with dismembered bodies and blood scattered everywhere. Junior plunged his bloodstained war blade into the ground beside a headless corpse, the former commander of the enemy forces.

Five years ago, Junior led one hundred thousand troops from the Shadowstorm Legion and crushed a million-strong enemy force. And he achieved unprecedented military merits. Today, with one final victory, he could put an end to the border conflict once and for all.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Another message came through. The little girl was now sobbing.

[Daddy, you're lying. Mommy said… this number is yours. Doesn't Daddy like Laurel because Laurel isn't a good girl?]

[I'm really scared. The bad men said that after today, I'll never see Daddy or Mommy again… I'm so scared…]

[Will Daddy come to see me… The bad men said I'm a bastard. I'm not a bastard. I have a Daddy, and Daddy loves Laurel… Waaaah…]

Junior frowned, anger surging within him, 'Who do these damn human traffickers think they've kidnapped?'

[Daddy doesn't know what I look like, right? I… I took a photo on my birthday last month. I'll send it to Daddy now. Daddy, you must remember what I look like…]

Following the voice message, a photo arrived. It was of a beautifully delicate little girl. She looked about four or five years old, with big, expressive eyes and adorable dimples. In any family, she would surely be the cherished little princess.

But she was now locked in a dark room. Her clothes were in tatters, and her body was covered in wounds, with blood oozing from them. She clutched a blood-stained Bauhinia brooch tightly in her small hand.

Boom!

When Junior saw the photo, a murderous rage exploded from him like a dam breaking. It was a force so destructive that it seemed it could shake the whole world.

In that instant, a chilling coldness radiated from him, making the air around him drop to freezing temperatures, suffocating like a storm cloud descending. He leaped into a military jeep with the speed of lightning.

Behind him, his loyal soldiers, who had fought alongside him in countless battles, quickly climbed into the vehicle.

Junior's voice was ice-cold, his eyes bloodshot, with veins bulging around his sockets, "Go! Get me to Eastoria now! Find that girl as fast as possible!"

"Yes, Commander. But what happened?" Deputy Captain Timothy Gonzalez, who had been with the Commander for a long time, had never felt such intense killing intent before.

"She's my daughter!" Junior roared, his voice booming like thunder and echoing the fury and violence of five years of battlefield slaughter.

Inside the vehicle, the soldiers were shocked as Junior, overwhelmed with emotion, burst into tears. They were all stunned, their hearts pounding with disbelief.

Timothy, not daring to ask more questions, slammed his foot on the gas, and the jeep shot forward like a bolt of lightning.

Phoenix, Titan, Shadow, and Serpent, the four corps leaders, quickly used satellite tracking to locate the number's position in Eastoria. At the same time, four military jeeps followed closely behind Junior's lead vehicle. Sitting in the car, Junior was trembling with emotion. His eyes were filled with tears.

"Laurel... our daughter!!!" Junior couldn't contain his emotions any longer and let out a low howl. He had a daughter for five years and never knew it!

"Faster! I need to see them!" Junior screamed, unable to calm his raging emotions. His guilt erupted like a tsunami.

The soldiers in the front seat, hearing Junior's anguished shouts, didn't dare to slow down. They floored the gas pedal, and the jeep sped off at 200 mph.

Junior closed his eyes, tears streaming down his face. He repeatedly whispered Laurel's name, as memories flooded his mind.

Junior had wandered into Eastoria in his youth and was adopted by the Dutt family. His adoptive father was the head of the most powerful of Eastoria's four great families and treated him like his own son. Yet, on the day of a family banquet, the Dutt family was betrayed by an insider and exterminated by the other three families with no survivors.

Only Junior managed to escape with several stab wounds. He was saved by Rosemary, the heiress of the Jackson family. She brought him to a hotel, but soon after, he passed out from exhaustion. Rosemary bought medicine and carefully tended to his injuries. When he woke up, consumed by grief and anger, Junior clung to Rosemary and cried like a child. That very night, they ended up sleeping together.

The next morning, Rosemary was gone, leaving behind a note and taking his Bauhinia brooch with her. It represented his family.

The note, written in Rosemary's handwriting, read: [The people who killed your adoptive father might find this place soon. You need to leave Eastoria immediately. If you want revenge, head west. And I took the brooch as a memento.]

Afterwards, Junior, bearing a deep-seated vendetta, joined the military in the west. Through years of brutal fighting, he rose to become the King of Westcrest, commanding the one hundred thousand-strong Shadowstorm Legion. Recently, he achieved even more, taking charge of the secret intelligence agency, the Darkmoon Legion, and earning the title of the Lord of Darkmoon Legion.

Not just in Eastoria, but worldwide, Junior was a figure feared by many.

Junior had planned to capture one last stronghold and then return to Eastoria to settle old scores. Unexpectedly, he received messages from his daughter. The King of Westcrest's daughter had been kidnapped!

'That's my daughter! I have a three-year-old daughter!' Recalling his daughter's whimpers on the phone, Junior couldn't help but tremble. What filled him with regret was that his daughter had been pleading for help since yesterday, but he had dismissed it as a mistake!

"What kind of King of Westcrest or Lord of Darkmoon Legion am I if I can't even protect my own daughter? I'm a failure as a father!" Junior's tears flowed uncontrollably.

"Ahhhh! Faster, get me to Eastoria as fast as possible! At all costs! Whatever it takes! Laurel, wait for Daddy! Daddy's coming! Rosemary, wait for me!" Junior's anguished cry shattered the skies, dispersing the clouds above.

At that moment, the military jeep sped to a nearby military airport. Junior jumped onto a fighter jet, took the main pilot's seat, and personally flew towards Eastoria.