With her mouth taped, Corinne widened her eyes and made noises to attract the man's attention, wanting to speak to him.The kidnapper, the fat man, deliberated on this before reaching out and pulling off the tape on her mouth. He initially taped her mouth out of fear that Corinne would scream for the whole city to hear. Since they were in the wilderness, however, shouting was not going to help her.Once the tape was ripped off of Corinne's mouth, she took a deep breath and said, "Since you know it's useless to threaten Jeremy, why don't you let me go?"The fat kidnapper snorted. "Let you go? What about the work I did today? Little missy, you are quite beautiful. Why don't we have some fun together?"Corinne chuckled. "Fun? Sure! But you have to let me go first. I don't like being manhandled when I'm bound."This must have been their first time having such a cooperative hostage that the fat kidnapper and his companions were stunned as they exchanged looks with each other.The fat
At this point, Corinne was tired. Thus, she gave the fat kidnapper a last kick and prepared to leave.However, the sound of iron screeching could be heard when the iron door of the warehouse opened from the outside.Someone was coming in!It was a man about 1.75 meters tall with his hair dyed silver. He also sported a blue diamond stud on his left earlobe.Corinne looked at the man and took a few steps back warily as she studied the man.The kidnappers could not get up as some of them sustained fractured bones. When they saw the silver-haired man, however, they acted as though their savior had come."Sir!""Right on time, boss. Don't let that b*tch escape!"Corinne finally got a good look at the silver-haired man's face as he walked closer. The man's facial features looked perfect, but he had a scar on the left side of his cheek. That changed his character and assumed a cruel characteristic on him.The silver-haired man lifted his foot and stepped harshly on the fat kidnapper.
Corinne escaped from the warehouse and wandered in the wild alone without her phone. Her kidnappers must have thrown it away when they took her.It was pitch-black, and the clouds obstructed any sliver of moonlight from reaching the land, making it difficult to tell the direction. Corinne thus tried to find a place to hide until daylight would come to find a way back.This place was even worse than an actual jungle. She could have found a cave in one, but this wasteland had nowhere she could go to take shelter. Other than bramble weed, there was not even a tree that she could take cover in!Raindrops started to fall from the sky. Without a place to take cover, she could only let the rain fall on her.All of a sudden, she heard footsteps from behind her, as well as a flashlight beam moving at random.Only the accomplices of the kidnappers were out here in the wild.Corinne held her breath and crawled into the bush to hide.The footsteps sounded as though they were getting closer
"That's good!" Tommy was relieved. If anything happened to Corinne, he was dead sure Jeremy would be pissed.After what happened today, Tommy could tell Jeremy's feelings for Corinne had gone past how he should feel for a contracted wife.Jeremy cared about Corinne—and very much so."Sir, a storm is picking up, and the helicopter can't fly in such weather. I've arranged for the nearest car to pick us up, and it's here. Why don't you and Miss Corinne get in the car?"That answered Corinne's question. 'That explained why they arrived so fast. They came here in a helicopter.'Jeremy responded and gave his command, "Stay here until the police arrive. Make sure all the kidnappers are captured. Don't let any of them go.""Sir, yes, sir!" Tommy nodded. "Understood!"After that, Jeremy carried Corinne and strode toward the car in front of them, all while Tommy escorted them with the umbrella.The flustered Corinne struggled to get down from Jeremy's arms. "Mister, I'm not hurt. I can w
Jeremy stared straight ahead and demanded, "Get down, and go sit at the back!"Corinne was infuriated. She did not remember saying anything inappropriate, and she did not understand why Jeremy would be enraged all of a sudden. What an absurd person he was!If whatever she said was going to provoke him, she would stay out of his way!''Fine! I'll get down! It's quieter in the back too, and I don't have to look at his face!' Corinne thought angrily.She unfastened the seat and reached for the door, not forgetting to shoot Jeremy a pointed look. However, it was then she noticed the blue veins on Jeremy's hand visible as he grabbed the steering wheel tightly like he was tortured.With furrowed eyebrows, she asked, "Mister, are you alright?"Jeremy did not answer her question and instead commanded, "Get down, now!"At this moment, Corinne felt that something was amiss. She closed the door which she opened and turned to face Jeremy. "Mister if you're not feeling well, it's better you
Jeremy desperately tried to quell the foreign sensation in his body and responded deeply. He had already figured it out.Corinne looked at him sympathetically as she raised her brow. "Are you able to drive? Maybe I should do it instead.""No." He started the car engine and grabbed the steering wheel. "Go sit at the back!""Okay." Knowing the true reason why Jeremy asked her to move to the back, she was no longer angry. However, she did not go to the back by getting down as it was pouring heavily outside. She leaped to the back straight from the front passenger seat.As soon as she was at the back, Jeremy quickly raised the partition glass to separate the front and back so they were in different spaces. Despite that, they were still in the same car, with only the partition block separating them. They could still hear each other's breaths.Corinne felt conflicted. She knew Jeremy was trying to control himself, and she could not possibly pretend to not know it.The downpour intensif
The call got through and, within moments, was connected."Hello?" said Sunny, his voice barely above a whisper. "Jeremy, I'm doing my homework. What's up?""It's me," said Corinne."Corinne?" blurted Sunny, his voice raised in surprise.He quickly cleared his throat and talked proudly, "Corinne, why are you calling me with Jeremy's phone?""Is your sister at home?" she asked.This baffled Sunny. "Why? Why are you looking for her?"Corinne knew she should not talk with Sunny about Jeremy's condition because he was still a child. "Umm… Jeremy needs her badly now. Can you ask if she's free to come?"Sunny thought something was wrong. "She's not in the country now. It's probably going to be a while longer before she comes back. Why does Jeremy want to look for my sister? Why doesn't he call her directly?"Sunny's sister could never help out Jeremy in time, not when she was out of the country!"Nothing. Bye!"This evidently displeased Sunny. "Hey, you! Wait, answer my question—"
Jeremy looked like he just finished his shower and had changed into the white robe. With his damp hair, he looked relaxed and at ease, but his expression showed the exact opposite—it was dark and sullen, just like a devil."Err… When did you come out, Mister?"Jeremy was calmer after taking a cold shower. When he left the bathroom, however, he saw Corinne talking on the phone near the window.He looked down at the screen and noticed the call was still connected, so he pressed the red button and ended the call.He looked up from the screen and glared at Corinne. "What are you trying to do, looking for my ex-girlfriend?"Corinne did not avoid the question and explained honestly, "Your condition calls for reinforcement to help you settle, so I…""So you called people to help me look for a woman?" Jeremy sounded angry.Corinne nodded. "Yes, but I didn't find any. Why don't you contact your ex-girlfriend and see if she's willing to rekindle with you?"Jeremy's gaze darkened as the c
Sherman could not help but feel fearful when he recalled the incident.Rita gently smoothed his furrowed brow. "I knew you'd come to rescue me, just like all the times you did. I love you, Sherman."Previously, Rita confessed her love to him when she was groggy. At this moment, however, she was clearly awake, even sporting a faint smile on her face as she confessed.Sherman immediately blushed. "I love you, too."Rita did not stay long in the hospital; she quickly returned to the Parr family's mansion. Just as Sherman's grandparents had said, Rita did not have any major injuries, so there was no need for her to stay in the hospital that long. In fact, she might even recover faster emotionally under the care at home.Not once did Sherman bring up Rita's job, but she surprisingly resigned from New Capital Times on her own accord. It would be difficult for her to investigate cases with her current condition; not to mention Sherman had handed over the evidence to the police. The polic
"Sherman, I like you. I love you," Rita finally confessed.Sherman, deeply pained, pulled Rita into his arms. "This is all my fault. I should've looked for you quicker. I've never blamed you. All I want is to see you smile. It's enough for me as long as you're willing to let me stay by your side."You don't have to confess to me. I know it's hard for you to do that because of your family. I've seen the way they've treated you, and…"The bodyguards who had barged in with Sherman felt a bit awkward to see their company president in tears. However, the priority was to get Rita to the hospital for a check-up. Being tied up for hours could cause circulation issues, and it could be dangerous if her limbs did not regain feelings soon.In the end, they got the bravest among them to convince Sherman to let them take Rita to the hospital. Instead of letting them do it, Sherman wiped away his tears and, with ease, lifted Rita as if she was as light as a feather.Fortunately, after the hospit
With that, Karen left without looking back. She was carrying Vince's baby in her womb, so how could she pin all her hopes on Sadie? Since Sadie was obviously unruly, she would have to rely on her son.'Sadie can spend the rest of her life with Esmond since she likes him so much. God knows it had been exhausting enough to raise her. Plus, it's only fair for Esmond to take care of her since I've done my part taking care of her until now,' thought Karen.Meanwhile, the only consolation for Sherman was that Esmond did not try to put up a fight. It seemed that he still cared about his daughter Sadie.Sherman led his men to a dilapidated house. Esmond had been cautious enough to choose a rundown house situated at the end of a village.When Sherman barged in, he found Rita lying on the floor while Esmond's men ignored her. Esmond's men had followed his orders, and since he did not instruct them to do anything to Rita, they left her well alone.Before the men could react, they were surrou
Karen cried and silently knelt by Sadie's side without trying to defend herself. Sadie, on the other hand, feebly tried to explain herself. Alas. Vince refused to listen.There had been many occasions before when he had chosen to believe Karen and Sadie, but at this moment, he realized he had been terribly wrong to do that.Rita used to be so kind, understanding, and well-behaved. However, ever since Karen and Sadie moved in, Vince felt like his daughter had become manipulative, always trying to compete for attention, and stirring up jealousy in front of him.Unfortunately, it took Rita's disappearance to make Vince realize that Rita was not trying to compete for attention. All Rita wanted from him was to treat her the same as Sadie.Vince used to think that Rita should give in to Sadie more since Sadie was younger, too."Why don't you go live with your biological father since you prefer him so much? I never want to see you show your face around here anymore! As for your mother, s
Sadie was so anxious that she wanted to jump out. "Mom, don't tell me you fell for it! Why did you call Esmond? Now they all know where Rita is. You've ruined everything, again! What were you thinking?"Karen could not care less. She cried and slapped Sadie. "You nearly scared me to death! What would I do if something happened to you? I didn't raise you just to watch you die. I told you not to meet up with Esmond, so why did you secretly meet up with him? How can you ask him to get rid of Rita?"Are you out of your mind? All I want is for us to live out the rest of our lives peacefully, so why didn't you listen to me?!"Sadie was furious. Karen had stopped trying to get rid of Rita ever since she got pregnant, so how could Sadie not be angry? Rita was like a thorn in her side, and Sadie would never be happy unless Rita was dead."Don't you know I like Sherman? How could you ask me to do nothing when Rita has stolen him from me?! I was the one who liked him first. It's either Rita g
Karen wanted so badly to slap Esmond through the phone.'What good are his pompous words now? We wouldn't be in this mess now if he hadn't hit me back then! What's more, he's saying he's doing this for Sadie. But has he ever thought of what would happen to me and Sadie if he got rid of Rita? Rita's the heiress of the Russell family. Not to mention, she's married to Sherman, so that makes her owner of Parr Group too! What makes Esmond think he can get rid of Rita so easily?'Karen's breath was ragged as she said, "If you don't believe me, just listen to your daughter's screams. I can't save her now; you will literally decide her fate! Plus, I'm pregnant with Vince's baby, so even if I lose Sadie, I still have a kid—which is more than what I can say about you!"Sherman could not help but be impressed by Karen a little. Even in this dire situation, she did not forget to express her heartfelt feelings to Vince, letting him know that she was always on his side. It was certainly not an ea
"Sherman raised an eyebrow. "Don't worry, I'm sure it's just a minor injury, maybe just a finger. There shouldn't be any major issues. A sprained joint takes only a hundred days to heal, and it might take her even less time to heal if you take very good care of her while she's recuperating."Karen's heart ached upon hearing that. She lunged toward Sherman, wanting to hit him, but the bodyguards stopped her before she could get close.Vince, still worried, held Karen tightly beside him. "Calm down. I'm sure Sadie will come out unharmed if Rita's kidnapping has nothing to do with her. But if it does, then you should know very well that…"Vince's voice dropped an octave. He could not believe his daughter's disappearance had anything to do with his stepdaughter. However, he was not utterly naive.He continued, "How could a girl like her take Rita away? Even the car window was smashed. Others must've been involved. Does her biological father have anything to do with it?"Sherman nodded
"Yes, it's true I met up with my biological father, but it was just a one-time thing. I don't want to go back to him at all! Otherwise, I would've done it ages ago. Dad, I'm really grateful to you for taking me in and looking after me all these years. That's why I feel like you're my real father, even more real than those who share the same blood."How could you unjustly accuse me and Mom like that? Sherman is the one spouting nonsense here. He's trying to push all the blame onto us. Dad, you have to wake up and see the truth!"Karen nodded along, but her heart was racing. 'When did Sadie meet Esmond? How did Sherman know when I don't even know? Seems like Sadie does have something to do with Rita's kidnapping. I have to settle things and get Sherman out of here.'Karen never had the thought of rekindling her relationship with Esmond. The only thing she wanted then was to peacefully give birth to her son. Everything in the Russell family would eventually go to her son, and she would
Sherman detested people pointing their fingers at him when they spoke. He stood up slowly, towering over Vince instantly."You claim to be Rita's father, yet if I were you, I'd choose to shut up and stand aside. I can't believe you're scolding me for threatening Sadie when she's not even your real daughter!"Look at her guilty expression; it's clear she's involved. If you don't believe me, use your brain a little. No wonder Russell Group is declining under your leadership. It's only a matter of time before the company goes completely bankrupt!"Sherman showed no mercy, causing Vince to retreat with every word. Vince clutched his chest, struggling for breath.Karen, despite her weakness, stepped forward to support him. "How could you speak to your father-in-law like this? What has Sadie done to offend you? She has nothing but admiration for you. Plus, she's just a child. How could you treat her like this?"She went on and on, but Sherman stood his ground. Meanwhile, the burly bodyg