Even after hearing what Susan said, Ivan continued the countdown coldly.
"Eight minutes."
Susan clenched her teeth and scrambled to her feet.
Reaching her hand out to Victor, she started to plead, "You can’t do that, Victor.I’ve loved you for three
years.I’ve also helped you! How can you be so cruel to me?"
"Seven minutes."
Ivan went on with the countdown, reminding Susan of what was at stake.
Susan felt tensed as if a time bomb was put above her head because of Ivan’s precise countdown.
When her phone on the bed rang again with Tammy’s name on the caller ID, it felt like a death warrant.
Susan lowered her head, glanced at her empty hands, and then tears streamed down her cheeks.
The continuous sharp ringing of her phone seemed like an assault to the silence of the ward.
Although Ivan was sure that Susan wouldn’t put her father’s life and the future of the Salazar family at
risk over this, he was surprised that she still refused to tell them where Joey was after another two
minutes.
"You only have five minutes left, Miss Salazar.I hope it is clear to you that even if you choose not to tell
us anything now, we can still find out where Joey is.It’ll be just a matter of time.We can wait, but I’m
afraid your father might not,"
Ivan warned her.
Susan raised her head and looked up at Ivan, her eyes livid with fury.
Ivan wasn’t fazed by her glare at all.
He looked Susan straight in the eyes and said expressionlessly, "Four minutes left, Miss Salazar.Where
is Joey?"
Sitting on the bed, Susan’s phone kept ringing.
Ivan glanced at his phone to check the time again.He was about to say something when Susan
cracked up a distinctive chuckle all of a sudden.
In the next second, she burst into laughter.Her eyes were red in anger, but her lips curved up into a
wanton smile.
"Miss Salazar…" The frenzied smile on her lips confused Ivan.
"Yes, you’re right.Even if I don’t tell you, you will still find Joey."
Susan took a deep breath and smiled again, a sinister one this time.
"The Salazar family is nothing in your eyes.How can I bargain with you? I was doomed to fail right at
the start, wasn’t I?"
Seeing the sudden change in Susan’s demeanor, Ivan had a bad feeling.
Wiping her tears, Susan reached for her phone and answered the call.
Before Tammy could speak on the other line, Susan said in a hoarse voice, "I’m sorry, Mom."
"What…"
Tammy was confused by Susan’s words.
When she was about to ask, the other line was already cut off.
Susan removed the SIM card from her phone and threw it into the trash can.She then turned to look
daggers at Victor.
"I’ve loved you for three years, Victor! Three fucking years! I fell in love with you when I first saw you
and I was willing to do anything for you! But what did you do? You trampled on my love and didn’t show
even an ounce of mercy towards me! What did I do wrong? I’ve done so much for you, but in the end,
you want to destroy my family!"
Even with tears all over her face, Susan’s frenzied smile didn’t wear off.
Waving her hands dismissively, she continued, "Yes, I took Joey away! I’ve hidden him! You are very
powerful, right? Go ahead and look for him then! Find him if you can!"
When the ward fell into silence after Susan finished speaking, a chilly tension emerged all of a sudden.
"Susan Salazar!"
Victor’s cold voice boomed.
Susan almost jolted in fright, and the smile on her face froze for a moment.
When she came back to her senses, she smiled wider and said, "What’s wrong? Wasn’t I right? I won’t
tell you where Joey is, Victor, even if I die! I will let your son die with me!"
Victor was brimming with anger that the veins in his temples were almost visible.
Striding forward, he grabbed Susan by the neck.
Susan cried out in pain.She pushed Victor’s hands off her throat to gasp for air.Her smile still hadn’t left
her face but her eyes were full of viciousness and despair.
Deep inside, she was desperate.
‘‘Joey is Mr.Sullivan’s son?’’ Ivan couldn’t help but be stunned.
He was frozen on his feet for a moment.
When he finally returned to his senses, he hurriedly stopped Victor before it was too late.
"Mr.Sullivan, you mustn’t let yourself be too carried away with anger!"
But Victor seemed to hear nothing.His grip on Susan’s neck only got tighter and tighter.
Susan choked breathlessly in agony.
Victor didn’t loosen his hold on her even a little.
Susan was already almost out of breath, and her bloodshot eyes were about to pop out.
Despite the suffocation, she managed to say, "You will regret this for the rest of your life, Victor."
"Mr.Sullivan!" Ivan called out again.
Just as Susan was about to lose consciousness, Victor loosened his grip on her neck.
Like a lifeless vegetable, Susan fell to the floor feebly and hit her back hard on the bedside table.
However, despite lying there with little to no strength anymore, Susan laughed sarcastically.
"Where is Joey?" Victor asked sternly.
Struggling, Susan raised her head and shot back at him, "I won’t tell you, Victor! If you can, just kill me!
After all, I won’t live long enough even if I survive here after you ruin my family and take revenge on
me! I’m not afraid of anything anymore! You are the one who should be scared, Victor! You are the one
who should be scared."
Susan seemed to have lost her mind completely as she repeated her words and kept mumbling some
more.
"Joey is your son.How ridiculous! I was kept in the dark like a fool.No wonder…I understand now.You
hate children so much, but you give special treatment to Joey."
She glared at Victor.
"You’ve hurt me so badly, Victor, and I told you I would make you regret it! You’d better kill me now and
let your son die with me! If I die, your son won’t live either! By the time you find him, it would be
useless.You will find nothing but his dead body.Victor, I will let you regret it for the rest of your life.I will
make sure you will not forget that you are the one who got him killed! That he died because of how cold
blooded and ruthless you are!"
Victor’s jaw clenched.He squatted down and grabbed Susan’s chin firmly.
Although Susan kept reminding herself not to be afraid because she was the one who had a trump card
against him, she still flinched in fear at the sight of Victor’s cold eyes that she knew too well.
"What do you want?" Victor asked in gritted teeth.
Gathering her strength, Susan clenched her fist and looked at Victor.
After a while, a sneer appeared on her face.
"Are you finally yielding to me, Mr.Sullivan? Will the arrogant CEO of the Sullivan Group really back
down this time? Don’t you want to kill me?"
"Let go of Joey and I will let the Salazar family off," Victor said stiffly.
Susan stared down at the face of the man she loved deeply.She had tried her best to make Victor yield
to her and reciprocate her feelings, but her efforts were only met with indifference.
But for Joey, Victor didn’t hesitate even for a second to give in this time.
How ridiculous!
"I will let him go on one condition."
Susan raised her head and looked Victor straight in the eyes.
After a moment of silence, she grabbed Victor’s wrist to pull him closer and put her other arm around
his neck.
"Marry me."
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