Just as Arzu's message was sent, Ateş was lost in thought amid a crowded meeting.
Though his eyes scanned the room, his mind was still caught in Arzu's gaze.
"Do good people show up when you speak of them, or i..." she had teased earlier.
As he let out a deep sigh, his phone started to vibrate on the table.
At first, he ignored it.
But the screen kept flashing over and over, the phone buzzing with an almost furious rhythm.
It felt like someone was hurling words at him—not sentences, but letters, each one landing like slabs of concrete.
He tilted his head slightly, glanced over.
"Who the hell is this idiot?" he muttered to himself.
His fingers moved toward the phone.
But the name flashing on the screen stopped him cold.
Serçe...
For a moment, his heart skipped a beat. A smile curled on his lips.
But as soon as he opened the message thread, the smile vanished.
His brow furrowed, jaw clenched, and his whole face hardened.
Words were crashing into the screen, one after another:
howdareyoubrandme?!?!?!?because of youI gotan indecentproposal.Each word hit Ateş's chest like a slap.
His vision blurred.
His breath quickened.
A cold rage stirred deep within him.
Through gritted teeth, he hissed:
"An indecent proposal, huh?"
And then, a fire ignited in his eyes.
The fury raging inside him now burned visibly in his pupils.
"To my woman?" he growled under his breath.
At that very moment, the entire room seemed to fall silent, without even realizing it.
A storm was brewing on Ateş's face—and tonight, someone was about to be swept away.
Without wasting a second, Ateş dialed Arzu's number.
But the call was instantly rejected.
He tried again—same result.
His scowl deepened, his eyes sparking with fury.
"Has she lost her mind?" he muttered darkly.
His fingers flew to the message box:
Where are you right now?
The reply came almost instantly, as if Arzu had been clutching her phone, ready:
I'm in the depths of hell...
Are you coming?
Ateş's fingers typed back, lightning fast:
"Arzu, if you don't tell me where you are...
When I find you,
I'll turn that place into hell myself."
But after that…
Silence.
The messages stopped as if they'd been cut with a knife.
Minutes dragged into each other.
Patience boiled into poison within Ateş's veins.
He typed again, fury dripping from every word:
You'll regret this, little miss.
I'll make you pay.
He gripped the phone tightly and raised his head.
Several pairs of eyes in the room were locked onto him.
His gaze swept across the room slowly, piercing.
Then, in a voice that brooked no argument, he asked:
"Is there anyone here who can track a location through a phone?"
At the end of the table, a scrawny, bespectacled man nervously raised his hand.
"I... I can do it, sir," he murmured.
Ateş stood abruptly, his expression unflinching, and marched toward the door.
He barked a single command at the man:
"Follow me."
The man stumbled after him, like a prisoner being led to the gallows.
Once inside the office, Ateş pointed sharply at the computer:
"Sit. Find her. Now."
His voice was deep, an absolute command.
The man was clearly terrified.
But like everyone who knew the fire of Ateş Yamanoğlu's anger, he chose to throw himself into the task rather than risk burning alive.
Screens flickered rapidly under his hands.
Minutes passed.
He finally lifted his head:
"Whose name is the SIM card registered to?" he asked cautiously.
Ateş's eyes locked onto him, a gaze sharp enough to cut steel.
"Ateş," he said, cold as ice. "Ateş Yamanoğlu."
The man stammered, confused:
"How's that possible?"
Ateş snapped:
"The most recent line registered under my name.
If you can't even figure that out, how the hell are you going to find her?"
Back when Arzu had an accident, unconscious and dazed, Ateş had given her one of his spare lines.
The man shoved his glasses up his nose and dived back into his search.
Ten minutes later, he jerked upright:
"It's on an island! The signal's coming from an island!"
Ateş's eyes widened.
"What do you mean, which country?" he barked.
The man hurried to clarify:
"Oh no, sir, not overseas. I meant Büyükada... the island near Istanbul!"
Ateş exhaled sharply, muttering under his breath:
"Patience..."
"Alright. How do I track her live location?" he asked.
This time, the man's face lit up with relief:
"Oh, that's easy, sir! I can install an app on your phone!"
Ateş's stare pinned him down like a hawk eyeing its prey:
"What's your name, kid?"
His voice was a cold, dangerous calm.
The man gulped.
"Cem, sir... I... I won first place in your IT competition this year..."
(IT = Information Technologies)
Ateş slung a heavy arm around Cem's shoulder, his voice a velvet threat:
"Alright, Cem.
While you're around me, keep your mouth shut unless I ask you to open it."
Cem immediately averted his eyes.
"Sorry, sir. I was just... excited. I found her, after all."
Ateş exhaled, lowered his tone, but kept the threat beneath his words:
"Two things:
One, you do exactly what I tell you, the second I tell you.
Two, whatever you hear or see... you keep it sealed tighter than a tomb.
Understand?"
"Yes, Ateş Bey... understood, sir!" Cem stammered.
Ateş clapped him roughly on the shoulder:
"Good. Now install that app."
He tossed his phone onto the desk.
Minutes later, Cem straightened with excitement:
"All done, sir!"
Ateş approached swiftly, eyes locked on the screen.
Cem beamed proudly:
"From here, you can track her live, see her distance, the map, every movement in real time!"
A wicked smile curled on Ateş's lips.
"Good work."
He grabbed his phone, shrugged on his jacket, and left the office without a backward glance.
"Let's see what hell looks like tonight, little Serçe," he murmured.
The hunt was on.
And the hunter had finally stepped out of the shadows.
He made his way to the General Manager's office.
Without even knocking, he called out:
"Ali."
The man jumped to his feet at once.
"Have the yacht pulled to the marina.
I'm heading to the island."
Without a word, Ali whipped out his phone and started making calls.
Ateş stormed down to the parking lot.
He slipped behind the wheel of his sleek black sports car, eyes burning with cold determination.
His course was set.
His goal was clear.
Tonight, no one would stand in Ateş Yamanoğlu's way.
He sped toward the marina.
The yacht was already waiting, engines rumbling low, the crew lined up in silent readiness.
Ateş appeared like a dark statue against the horizon—black suit, broad shoulders, chiseled frame—an embodiment of fury and resolve.
He boarded with slow, deliberate steps.
Handing the captain his phone, he said simply:
"We're heading here."
The captain glanced at the coordinates, then nodded sharply.
"Understood, sir."
The yacht rumbled forward, cutting through the dark waters like a blade.
Ateş sank into a chair, one elbow braced against the window, never once tearing his gaze from the screen.
His fingers moved lightly, tracking Arzu's last location.
A remote villa complex surrounded by lush forest, isolated, secluded—exactly Arzu's kind of place.
A smirk played across Ateş's lips.
"Still the same little bird... never changed a bit."
The waves slid past beneath the hull, the night stretching out ahead in slow motion.
Ateş leaned into the sea breeze, eyes locked on the distant unknown.
There was a burning hunger in his gaze, a fierce promise on his lips:
"You owe me one night, Serçe..."
And Ateş Yamanoğlu was not the kind of man to forget debts.
Now the only question was:
Would Ateş claim his prize at the end of this merciless chase?
Or... would hunter and prey end up switching roles in the end?