"Shit!" Jason snapped and cursed, no longer the gentleman he always was in Zoey’s presence. Zoey clutched her uncle's hand tight and lifted her gaze to him. "Uncle Jason, any updates from the police?" Jason couldn't bring himself to meet her eyes. "Not yet. There isn't any surveillance in the area. The culprit switched vehicles during the kidnapping, so tracking them down is going to be hard.”Zoey didn't tell her uncle about the text messages. The last thing she wanted was to act recklessly, especially after the gruesome photo she received as a warning. As they were holding her son hostage, she had no choice but to go alone. Zoey lowered her gaze. "Okay. I'll be patient." Jason furrowed his brows in a scowl. It worried him that Zoey was acting so calm. Letting her feelings out was better than holding everything in. Jason had sent his men to search around, but it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. "You're still burning up. Take care of yourself and get some rest at
Zoey wasn't kept waiting for long, and it was someone she expected.Sarah approached Zoey, sauntering in her heels and stopping a few feet away from her. She was tall and slender, with wavy hair that fell to her shoulders. Her caked face was glamorous but aggressive, and she curled her lips into a faint smile. The heavy makeup concealed the scar on her face completely. Zoey wasn't surprised to see Sarah; that was the amazing thing about women's intuition. The scheme was a product of careful planning. She had underestimated Sarah's resentment for her. Still, who was Sarah to hate her? Zoey wasn't the daughter of a homewrecker who had stolen her father's love. In fact, Zoey had never gone out of her way to hurt Sarah. Sarah had even gotten a manicure today. She looked at Zoey gleefully and pointed out, "You don't seem surprised." Zoey didn't have time to waste. She demanded, "Where's my boy?" The clicking of Sarah's heels sounded like nails on a chalkboard, and the deafening s
The phone call was untimely, its ring jarring. Sarah clicked her tongue. "Why aren't you picking up? I bet it's Laurence." She got that right. Zoey drew a deep breath and sat in her thoughts for a while before accepting the call as Sarah watched. Laurence spoke into the phone, "Are you home? Has your fever subsided? I bought you painkillers. I'm on my way to your place." Zoey pursed her lips. "I'm good. I have painkillers at home. Don't go to my house. It'll be bad if my mom sees you. She doesn't like you." She came off as harsh and insensitive. Laurence paused and clenched his grip on the phone. That was what he got for being nice. She was back to keeping him at arm's length when she couldn't get what she wanted from him. She burned bridges at record speed. Even when she pretended to be a little kind to him, it hadn’t lasted longer than a few days.Laurence's tone resumed its previous biting undertones. "Don't forget. The results of the paternity test are out tomorrow." Z
The wind howled through the mountains, and blood dripped from the edge of the blade. Zoey's hands shook as she ran as fast as her legs could carry her. The wind tore into her throat, piercing her windpipe. She swallowed blood which carried the bitter taste of rust. Her haste caused her to stumble and fall, scraping her knees and hands on the coarse rocks. There was no time to lose. Zoey picked herself back up and continued running. Despite the beautiful sunset in the background, the strong gusts shuffled her hair, adding to her disheveled state. She had nearly exhausted all her strength when she spotted Sarah's car. The old junk was vintage; God knew where she’d borrowed it from.Zoey drew close, her breaths in short gasps when she heard the wailing of an infant. Tears streamed down her face, a silent release of the tension and fear from sleepless nights.She pulled the car door open with force and carried the baby left in the front passenger seat in her arms. It was probably due
Laurence saw a missed call on his phone after a meeting. The contact displayed on his mobile screen took him by surprise. He quickly returned the call, but no one answered. Since the woman had not called his number in a long time, Laurence had reasons to suspect that she had either dialed the wrong number or butt-dialed him. It was no time to dwell on the matter, though. Laurence made multiple attempts to call her back, but the calls went unanswered, and her phone was eventually switched off. He clenched his phone tightly as his stomach churned. … Sarah watched as the burning car teetered on the edge of the cliff for a moment before plummeting down, consumed by flames. She lit a cigarette. Hiding her expression behind the wisps of smoke, she asked, "Is she inside the car?" The hired gun paused, then nodded, believing that no one could survive such circumstances. He replied, "Yes. Don't worry. She's dead for sure." He was paid to do a job, so he wouldn't cross the line and pok
Laurence had almost forgotten about the paternity test. He was the one who had insisted on getting it done, but the truth was, he couldn’t care less about the results now. It turned out people could be childish when they were in love. He constantly sought Zoey's validation, afraid of being invisible to her. He clenched his phone. "Alright, I'll be there." Since the highway was backed up for miles at around nine o'clock, Laurence took longer to arrive at the hospital. He wasn't in a hurry to get out of the car. Instead, he paced back and forth before heading to the clinical laboratory. The hospital was a hive of activity, so much so that there weren’t any nurses along the corridor. The hospital director immediately welcomed Laurence as he entered the building, knowing he was not someone to cross. After learning that Mr. Scott was there to collect the paternity test report, the hospital director ushered Laurence to his office. A nurse was sent to the nurses' station to retrieve t
Laurence tensed up, his fingers pale from straining. He sat rooted to the spot in the deafening silence. Since there was no response from Laurence, the police officer thought he had hung up. He checked, "Mr. Scott, are you still there?" The man's expression was hidden in the shadows. Clenching his phone, Laurence squeezed the air out of his lungs to talk. The catch in his throat made him struggle to speak. He forced, "I'm listening." Laurence's voice was already hoarse, but now it sounded like nails on a chalkboard as he answered the police officer's question lifelessly. Laurence blinked and found his face wet with tears. He asked, "Are you sure? Did you get the wrong person?" Could this be a case of mistaken identity? The police understood emotions could be running high in the family. He replied, "We believe Ms. Jenner's car rolled off the cliff, and the leaking gas tank caused an explosion. My colleague found her phone and jacket at the scene, which led us to her possible ident
"No." Laurence recalled the missed call. By the time he’d seen it and returned the call, there was no answer on the other line. He calmly swallowed the blood in his mouth, his bloodshot eyes despairing. He choked as he stifled a sob, "I didn't take the call. I was in a meeting." The harsh white light above cast a clinical pallor over the man's face.The police officer stared into Laurence's bloodshot eyes as if he could see the blood coursing through his veins. "Mr. Scott, do you feel okay? You can take a break in the lounge if you need to."Laurence pursed his lips into a straight line. "I'm fine." He had a lot of questions, but his mind was racing so fast that it felt like it was going to burst. His temples throbbed and pounded. How could she be fine one moment and gone the next? Why would she go to that place? It was remote, far away, and dangerous. It was like a nightmare he could not wake up from. Laurence was dragged into the deep, dark sea, his lungs burning as the water ent