Eventually, Lucas nodded heavily. "Don't worry, Mister Henry. I won't break my promise.""Good. I can rest easy now that I have your assurance."With the die cast, there was nothing Claudia could do to change their minds. Lucas and Henry stealthily got up to lift the mesh wires on the large window at the back while she kept watch.Claudia dared not even breathe too loudly, afraid of waking up the two kidnappers outside, despite their loud snoring."Hurry up!" Claudia whispered urgently.Lucas and Henry were sweating profusely. Although it was easy to handle the wires, they had to be extremely careful not to make any noise, which made it quite difficult.Thud!Henry accidentally knocked on the window frame, producing a crisp sound that startled all three of them. Claudia stared anxiously at the two kidnappers, afraid they might wake up and ruin everything.Luckily, with a bit of alcohol in their systems and it being the wee hours of the morning, they remained deeply asleep and u
Neither of them wanted to wake up Stan; they dreaded facing the man's wrath. However, all the money would slip through their fingers if they let the captives escape.Stan could not believe how incompetent they were. He had only asked them to keep watch for one night, yet they had slept like logs, not even noticing when the captives had slipped away.He remained silent, scrutinizing the two of them before finally speaking in a composed tone. "Hurry up and chase after them.""Yes, Boss. I'm sure they couldn't have gone far since they were injured. Trust me, Boss. They definitely ran out from the main gate. I heard the noise."One of them tried to ingratiate himself, but his smile was swiftly wiped away by a slap from Stan."You!"Stan glared at Manny, wanting to unleash a torrent of insults, but as Manny moved closer to Stan, he understood what he was thinking of. Immediately, he lowered his head, saying nothing."Useless," Stan muttered. "Manny, take the van and chase after them.
Lucas was about to leave when Claudia grabbed his wrist. "Our phones were confiscated. How am I supposed to know how long two minutes is? We don't need to rest. I'm not that tired. Let's keep going. My dad… He's already chosen to distract the kidnappers. We can't let his sacrifice go to waste."Claudia spoke through tears, which quickly mingled with the soil, disappearing."Okay," Lucas said, pulling Claudia up.Claudia felt like her legs were filled with lead; it was incredibly hard for her to take each step. Her chest felt like it had a bellows in it, making it painful for her to breathe."You need to adjust your breathing. Don't keep your mouth open. The wind will only make it more painful," Lucas advised.Claudia gradually felt a bit better as she followed the rhythm of Lucas' breathing while he kept listening carefully for any sounds behind them. It could mean trouble for Henry if there was a car honking. At that moment, all Lucas could do was pray.Finally, the police found
"It's not like they have wings. I refuse to believe three grown people can slip away from under my nose just like that. They must still be nearby. Search carefully.""Yes, boss!"Henry's eyes widened inside the stuffy and foul-smelling trash can. He heard Stan's footsteps approaching.Stan even tapped on the lid of the trash can. "Hey, don't forget to clear the garbage at the gate tomorrow. The garbage truck only comes once a day in this remote town."His lackeys, who were in the midst of their search, were puzzled by his sudden mention of this matter. They responded with a bewildered 'okay' or 'understood, Boss',Only Henry felt uneasy.Meanwhile, Claudia, who was fleeing, suddenly cried out and collapsed to the ground. Her legs had given way.Lucas immediately stopped and asked her, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"She was clutching her chest, and tears were streaming down her face.…"I... I think something happened to my dad!" Thalia, who was approaching the town,
'My children, what will become of you? It seems like this is as far as I can go,' thought Henry."What should we do next, boss? This guy is barely alive and not much use anymore. He and that Rivera kid are totally different in terms of value! Damn this useless old man! He's to blame for helping our golden goose escape!"Stan shrugged off the concern. "Do you think making money is that easy? We'll just catch the Rivera kid again. Is that so difficult? If we could catch him once, we can catch him again. Besides, he's still accompanied by that little loser. With that girl around, how could they have run so far? Start searching along the perimeter of the house. I refuse to believe we can't find them!"Stan found the whole matter increasingly amusing. He thought he would receive the remaining payment early the next morning. He had not expected these three to have such energy to play a game with them in the dead of night.'If only I had broken their hands and feet earlier. At least then
Lucas slowly lowered his hand from Claudia's mouth, though he still kept a tight grip over her wrist."You two sure can run. Let's go. You're coming back with me," Manny said, brandishing a knife. He did not consider these two brats much of a threat; he was confident he could take them back.Lucas squeezed Claudia's wrist repeatedly to signal her."What's the matter? Are you too scared stiff to move? Hehe, next time I'll make some noise first so you won't get startled, okay? Now be good and come with me," said Manny."Three, two, one!"This was the rhythm Lucas squeezed on Claudia's wrist, and when he repeated it, he shouted, "Run!"They bolted in the opposite direction of Manny."Tsk! Looks like I need to teach you a lesson for not listening to me. You should always listen to the grown-ups!"They had been running for so long that they were both exhausted. Even Lucas was running out of steam. However, Manny was fast, and Claudia could feel the rush of wind he stirred up as he c
"Quick, Grandma. We gotta go save Mister Henry!" Lucas only stayed in Beatrice's embrace for a few seconds before lifting his head. "We gotta hurry! The fact that this kidnapper found us probably means Mister Henry might be in danger!"Claudia snapped out of her shock upon hearing what Lucas said. She quickly grabbed the arm of a police officer. "Officer, please save my dad! My dad is still there. He might be in danger!"Beatrice patted Lucas' back before turning to Claudia. "Child, we've split into two teams. One team has gone to find your father. Don't worry, we haven't forgotten about him."Unfortunately, no amount of reassurance could ease Claudia's distress. She looked dazed, prompting Beatrice to have her assisted into the car. "Get her some water to drink. Let's go, Lucas. Get in the car."As for Manny, even though he was caught by the police, he continued to struggle. He tried to escape so that he could return and inform Stan about the newcomers. Unfortunately, they were fa
'If it weren't for Claudia clinging to him, how could they have been involved in this kidnapping case? Dad was taken away by those kidnappers just to save her. All of this was her fault!' thought Thalia."I didn't say anything wrong! If it weren't for Claudia having an ulterior motive for you, why would my dad be lying here right now? Why didn't you save him?"Lucas remained silent; he did not know where to begin explaining. Nothing was going on between him and Claudia."The ambulance is on its way. We've already administered emergency measures to your father. I'm sorry." Jimmy turned away, unable to offer better emergency treatment for Henry lying on the ground. That was their mistake.Thalia did not want to argue with them anymore. She just knelt beside her father, crying out in distress.She was filled with resentment. 'Dad, why didn't you listen to me when I advised you? It's been like this since I was little. You were even willing to sacrifice your life for Claudia. Am I not
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