Ryan had no choice but to acquiesce to the reason in Nicholas' words. He loathed it but he had to
admit that the other man was right.
For now, he had to return home alone.
"Fine. I'm leaving now, but I expect you to show up in a week just like you said," he said begrudgingly.
At this moment, Ryan was coming to understand the gravity of what working with Nicholas truly meant,
along with the reality of its less than desirable consequences. He was constantly on edge, teetering on
a wire of mistrust and helplessness. Every day was growing more and more tiresome, but he had no
choice but to proceed. He was so near to getting Kevin's property and his wife, yet he knew that he
couldn't do it alone. He wasn't going to give up easily.
As Ryan left, Nicholas watched him disappear and sipped his tea slowly with a faint sneer lurking on
his lips.
Night was approaching in A City. It was summer now, but even the sweet fragrance of the breeze left
Kevin desolate.
"Kevin, go back and rest. I'll take care of everything. You haven't slept for two days," Sam said, his
voice edged with concern.
Everything was his fault. Seeing his friend so distraught only made guilt eat away at his gut.
Kevin turned to him and saw the shadows in Sam's face. He pulled himself together and answered
lightly, "It's alright. You can go back first. I'm not tired."
But instead of being consoled, Kevin relieving him of blame only made Sam feel worse. It would have
been better if he had cursed at him, maybe even landed a blow or two. Sam would choose Kevin's
sharp words and anger over him being an empty shell every day.
"Kevin, this was my fault. I'm so sorry. I'll do everything I can and keep looking for clues. I swear I'll take
responsibility and see this through to the end." Sam was less confident than his words, but he would be
damned if he didn't die trying.
Kevin let out a long sigh and shook his head. "No, I was too careless that day. They had already
planned it long ago. If anything, I should be the one apologizing that you had to be dragged into this.
I'm the one who didn't think things through, so don't go blaming yourself. Besides, Anne is my wife, so
this is my responsibility."
Sam took a long look at his defeated friend and found that words had failed him this time. There was
nothing he could say to alleviate Kevin's burden. Instead, he opted for action. "No, we both failed here.
I'm just as much to blame as you are, so we will both find her. We already have the license plate. We
have a lead now. It'll get things moving, but you still have to take care of yourself. There's a limit your
body can take. You can't fall ill now, of all times. You know that."
Kevin was the image of exhaustion. Sam could see it in the way his shoulders hunched, and the lost
look in his eyes. He was tired, but he couldn't bring himself to stop. More than anyone, Sam could
understand Kevin's feelings. He would be in the same state, if not worse, if it had been Emily instead.
But what added to the weight of Anne's abduction was the fact that she was pregnant. Kevin was a
father now too, and this catastrophe had endangered his whole family. His pregnant wife was missing,
and the baby growing inside her was their hope to save their other son.
The turmoil of his thoughts were becoming a little too much to bear. "I know. Go ahead. I want to be
alone," he answered.
He spoke heavily, as if the very act of speaking put a strain on him—far from the untouchable fortress
that he always seemed to be in front of everyone else.
Knowing that there was nothing else he could say, Sam sighed and got in the car, giving Kevin a quiet
space for his own thoughts.
The lights had all been turned off, but Kevin made no move to leave. He felt as if the darkness was
clinging to him, making his limbs useless. He breathed deeply. No one could see him here. He
surrendered his emotions to the thick blackness that surrounded him.
He couldn't give up now. Anne would be fine. His children would be fine. Kevin repeated the same
phrases to himself, almost as if in prayer. It was all he could do not to fall apart.
A cold rush of air passed through her skin, carrying the scent of salt. Anne woke up and opened her
eyes to an impenetrable darkness.
As she tried to move, she found that her hands and feet had been bound, and that her face was
covered. She had no inkling of time or place. All she knew from the telltale smell was that she was
probably somewhere out at sea.
"Finally awake?" a voice asked. It had a chilly timbre, but at the same time, it sounded vaguely familiar.
She pored through her own memory, chasing the sound of the voice. When she had finally put a face to
the sound, she sneered as she felt anger rise inside her, "Nicholas."
The man in question was momentarily taken aback at her being able to put two and two together.
Nicholas had not expected for her to be able to trace him so quickly. He had quickly recovered and
answered, "Our little Miss Anne is very smart. Yes, it's me."
"What the hell are you doing? Why did you kidnap me?" Anne demanded sharply. Leaving her anger
aside, she did not show any other sign of distress. Nicholas was almost impressed.
"No need to worry. I won't hurt you. I just want to ask Kevin a little favor." Nicholas' voice was even and
relaxed. He knew that Anne had a good head on her shoulders. She wouldn't do anything stupid.
"Kidnapping a pregnant woman and holding her captive… It's unthinkable how shameless you people
can be," Anne scoffed, almost mocking. There was not a single quiver of fear in her.
"Shameless?" Nicholas asked, repeating the word slowly, letting it roll slowly along his tongue like a
taste of something foreign. "Shame is such an overrated concept. I guess it can be pretty convenient,
seeing how people keep spouting it whenever it suits them. But I'll tell you what, Miss Anne, such
ideals are of no value. It will only slow you down and make you hesitate at crucial moments. The
sooner you discard it, the easier things will be. You are very smart. I really don't want to kill you. That
would be the real shame, wouldn't you agree?" Nicholas chuckled, tilting Anne's head with a slender
finger.
She was definitely spirited, but even that wouldn't hide her fatigue.
For some unknown reason, Nicholas thought of how she had deliberately put herself in danger in order
to protect Eddy. His dark eyes turned softer at the thought.
"Can I at least be on a soft bed? You've kept me here on the floor long enough. As you said, I have a
good head, but unfortunately, I'm also pregnant, so you can rest assured that I won't run away. You're
already keeping me captive and I'm not even resisting. I'm sure you have enough courtesy left in you to
at least let me be more comfortable," Anne said suddenly.
She made a quick run through of her mental notes. One: she was blindfolded and Nicholas had
kidnapped her. Two: they were on some body of water, and escape was impossible. Three: she was
pregnant, and at this moment, her child's life was her top priority.
At her abrupt demands, Nicholas' eyes widened with shock. This woman never ran out of surprises.
"Shouldn't you be a little more concerned about your life than a comfortable accommodation at this
moment?" he asked, his amusement seeping into his words.
However, Anne just smiled, and even under the blindfold, her face was lovely.
"You already said that you wouldn't kill me. Obviously, I have someone else to worry about. If it were
just me, I would have already found my way around and jumped into the water by now. But since I am
pregnant, I don’t really have much of a choice." As she spoke, Anne remembered the look of shock on
Nicholas' face when he saw her protecting Eddy. He was a scoundrel, but she had an inkling that he
wouldn't harm children.
Nicholas stood up and poured a glass of warm water for Anne. "Drink this," he said. "It won’t help you
recover your strength, but it would at least make sure you're not dehydrated."
His gesture told Anne everything she needed to know that she had been right.
"I don't understand parenthood, but I do envy your child. I've never had a normal mother, or a normal
family. For people like you, love comes naturally. But I am different. My father is a piece of absolute
trash. After getting my mother pregnant, he moved on to the next woman. It was ridiculous. My mother
used to be a proud woman, but she was reduced to a frail excuse of her old self after that. She had
even wanted to abort me—she told me that herself. For some reason, my father kept her locked at
home until she had given birth to me. Then from being frail, my mother turned into an alcoholic. It was
as if she couldn't stand the sight of me when she was sober."
Nicholas narrated his story with a distant expression, and his eyes gleamed coldly.
Anne didn't need to see him to know what his face looked like. She could hear it in his voice— a painful
memory speaking from the grave. "How could you be so sure that she couldn't stand the sight of you
when she was sober?" she asked.
If it had been another time, the question would have sparked Nicholas' temper. He loathed when
people prodded about his past. But he felt different with Anne. Before he could stop to think, the words
were out of his mouth.
"My mother blamed me for my father's philandering ways. She probably had to tell herself that to save
what little was left of her pride, but drinking made her acknowledge the truth. When she got drunk, she
was able to see things more clearly, but once she sobered up, it was the same thing all over again.
This was the only parenting I had known, which was why I was very surprised when I saw you."
Nicholas' story touched a sore spot in Anne. She was, after all, also a mother, and in some strange
way, she felt wronged for the man's sake. No child should have to go through what he did. "Children
should not have to shoulder their parents' mistakes. Even if two people cannot stand each other, the
child should always be put first. If they just neglect the kid, they shouldn't have had them in the first
place. Those people have no right to call themselves parents,"
Anne could not help but speak her mind. Her love for her children was something that came so
naturally to her, like an instinct being awakened. She was ready to kill and to die the moment she laid
eyes on Eddy, and she was sure it would be the same for the child inside her.
"Perhaps," Nicholas said after a long silence.
Then another stretch of quiet filled the space.
At the AN Group.
Outside the French window, the bustling city came alive with a boundless and magnetic energy. It
painted a stark contrast to the desolation that filled every crevice of the room.
Kevin had thrown himself into work. He had a responsibility as president to keep the company in top
shape. Apart from this, his anxiety about Anne's whereabouts had been eating at him at his every
waking hour, but he could not stop now. He knew that his enemies wanted his position. If the company
collapse, he would lose the bargaining chip to negotiate.
He had to endure. Losing was not an option, not even if his body threatened to stagger from his pain.
At this moment, Sam swept inside the office, looking disheveled, but hopeful. He walked up to Kevin
and said, "Kevin, the license plate—it's Ryan's. It was one of his men."
Kevin had already known that it was Ryan behind this, but Sam's investigation provided him a foolproof
guarantee. "I know. I won't let him go,"
he said with a determined expression.
Sam continued, "Ryan had left, but he is coming back. I dug around and found the schedule of his
arrival. He'll be landing at the airport at eight o'clock tonight."
At this, Kevin stood up. Sam had definitely done the job right. Now that they had a place and time, all
there was left to do is wait. "Let's make preparations. It's time to give him back what we owe him in
full."
At the airport.
Night had fallen, but the airport was flooded with bright lights, making it seem as if it was still daytime.
The place was always packed with many people. A City was among the most affluent areas in the
country, and so it was a choice destination for all sorts of purposes.
Ryan blended in with the crowd, but apprehension bloomed in his chest as he thought of Nicholas'
words.
He couldn’t be sure if Kevin had come or not. He put on a mask, then scanned the surroundings before
walking out.
Once he reached the company, nothing would happen.
With this thought, he calmed himself.
As he walked out, he looked at the taxis that were passing by and waved his hand. Two minutes later,
one stopped at the gate of the airport.
Ryan got inside and said, "To the KIA Group."
The driver nodded slightly, then started the car and left.
The car ran very fast, and soon enough, Ryan found that the car was taking a different route.
"Stop! Where are you taking me?" Ryan demanded coldly.
The next moment, he was looking straight into Sam as he turned his head from the driver's seat. Just
as Ryan was about to jump out of the car, it came to an abrupt halt.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda