The small room suddenly became stuffy after the bookcase door closed. It was hard to breathe without a single window. However, it was a perfect hiding place for Lily and Edward.The two looked at each other without a word, then heard footsteps and someone talking outside.Someone seemed to have discovered the bodyguards lying at the doorway and rushed into the office, yelling, “Sir?! Sir!”Lily tensed up and gripped the desk corner beside her as she listened intently.“What took you guys so long?” Mike’s voice was tinged with anger and sounded authoritative.“Mr. Corden?” Those grunts knew him and were shocked when they saw him.Mike said, “You imbeciles! Where were you?!”“Mr. Corden, what the hell happened?”Mike said solemnly, “Someone barged in and kidnapped the boss, but I got wounded and couldn’t stop them. They’re a bunch of losers!”Although Lily was not outside and could not see him, she knew he referred to the bodyguards lying outside in the last sentence.“Who were
After getting an earful, the grunt no longer dared to utter another word. Still, he did not leave.“What the f*ck are you waiting for?”“Y-You’re injured. Would you like me to send you to the hospital?” The grunt asked tentatively, probably trying to please Mike.“Thanks, but no thanks! If we can’t get our boss back, we’ll all die. You might as well send me to the morgue!” Mike sneered. “Oh, by then, you’ll also get sent there with me, won’t you?”The grunt was terrified by what he had heard and hastily said, “I’ll go right away!”Then he ran off. This time, there were no more noises. However, Mike did not return to the secret room, probably for safety’s sake. Lily also remained inside, seemingly thinking about something.After five minutes, the bookcase door made a sound and slowly opened. Mike appeared at the doorway and said solemnly, “You can’t hide here for long.”Lily nodded, wanting to leave as well.“What about him?” Mike pointed his chin to the man on the floor.Lily
Lily stepped out from the secret room with Edward in tow. Then she turned to him and said, “You should leave this place.”Edward was puzzled.“Whatever your goal is, you can’t help much by staying here, not to mention the danger you’ll put yourself in,” Lily added, “Just go!”“I can’t!” Edward said, “This place is dangerous!”“All the more reason for you to leave.” Lily put her hand on his shoulder and said solemnly, “They forced me and Mike to stay, but not you! Just leave. There are people outside this place who need you more!”After a pause, she said meaningfully, “Someone is waiting for you back home!”Edward became misty-eyed. He knew who Lily referred to but could not leave the place, knowing how dangerous it was.“Mrs. Russell, I want to stay here and protect you,” he said. “I disrupted your plan, and if anyone finds out what happened, you two will be in grave danger!”Lily noticed his sincerity and smiled. “Edward, when it comes to fighting, do you honestly think I need
Lily understood Edward’s pain and was shocked.She stopped persuading him but raised her hand, paused, and lightly placed it on his shoulder. With a sigh, she said, "All right! But you must be careful and remember to stay under the radar."Edward nodded and was about to leave when she stopped him again. "Edward!"When he turned around, he saw Lily stepping forward to look at him. "There may be a solution for the virus in your body. Don't give up just yet! You must know that there are still people waiting for you!"Edward was stunned, probably because he did not quite believe there was a solution to the virus in his body. However, after seeing the sincerity in Lily’s eyes, he knew she meant well, even if it was just to comfort and give him hope.Edward nodded with a light smile. "I know."Several people left the office, one after another. Within half an hour, the news had already spread like wildfire.Few people knew about the masked man’s existence, especially the ground staff.
Mike's expression darkened. "What do you mean?""Nothing much," Rhea replied leisurely and unhurriedly. Her gaze scrutinized Mike as she continued, "You should be the one most aware of the boss's disappearance. After all, you were the only one there, weren't you?"As she said this, she turned to look at the man sitting across from her.Mike put his hands on the table and retaliated, "What are you implying here? Are you saying I kidnapped the boss? Why would I do that? What good would it do for me?""That's a question I'll have to ask you," Rhea replied with a shrug and a meaningful smile. "Maybe you want to kidnap the boss to force him to tell you about your son's whereabouts. After all, your grudge against the boss isn't something new.""Rhea Moore, don't talk out of your *ss! The boss's disappearance puts everyone here in hot water! Do you think anyone can get away with it? Besides, I got injured trying to save him. Everyone saw it. If you want to throw dirt on me, at least have
Faced with Rhea’s doubts, Lily was neither angry nor nervous. Instead, she raised her pen upward and pointed to the ceiling. "Oh, but there are CCTVs."Rhea immediately fell silent but still did not believe Lily. "No one checks the surveillance footage, so you can run your mouth! Who knows if you were really at the lab?!""I did."Lily initially wanted to defend herself by saying Rhea could check the footage if she did not believe her, but before Lily could open her mouth, the man at the side spoke. Lily was startled and quickly swallowed her words."What?!" Rhea did not expect him to defend Lily and was momentarily stunned."I've checked all the monitoring systems, and she’s not lying," the man said in a deep voice.The 'she' he mentioned naturally referred to Lily.Rhea's lips moved as if he wanted to say something. Instead, she stared at Lily fiercely and leaned back, somewhat unconvinced."All right, it's useless to discuss this now. Our priority is to get the boss back as
"Someone has wronged you, Mr. Corden!" Rick raised his hand and lightly patted Mike’s shoulder. Then he glanced meaningfully at Mike’s injury before sitting down again.Mike sucked in a breath, obviously in much pain. As he put his leg away, he tied up the torn bandage again and said, "Rick, what were you trying to do? Did you think my injury was fake?"Rick's voice was cold as a smile crept onto his stoic face. "Well, not really. I just wanted to see what weapon the other party used."His excuse was superficial, and no one bought it. Mike snorted and said, "If you wanted to know what weapon they used, you could've just asked me. Also, don't change the topic! The most urgent thing right now is to find the boss quickly!"After a pause, he continued, "Do the higher-ups know about the boss’s disappearance?"Everyone was downplaying the situation before this. Now that Mike had mentioned the higher-ups, Rhea's face froze. Even Rick raised his brows.Only Lily did not react much to it.
Lily laughed mockingly. "So, you're saying we don't need evidence at all? As long as you want to do it, you can, right? The boss has only disappeared briefly, and you're already here, showcasing your power. Are you saying everything will be your call if the boss is gone? If that's the case, you're the prime suspect!"Lily downplayed herself and shifted the blame back unto Rhea in just a few sentences."I…" Shocked momentarily, Rhea immediately retorted, "I didn't say that!"She swallowed her words angrily, feeling Rick's calm eyes on her. The back of her spine felt a little chilly.She had met Rick several times, but not enough. However, she knew he often appeared by the boss's side. He was a man of very few words and always seemed indifferent. His actions were always cruel and vicious.Rhea accidentally ran into him once while he was punishing someone. Even though she had grown accustomed to various experiments and bloodshed, she still felt sick at that scene. Later, an inexplica