Considering that Paul was a friend of Alec's and that she had not given up on pursuing him, she nodded at Paul as a form of greeting. To her dismay, Paul ignored the gesture because he looked down on her. Enraged, she felt disrespected."Are all Parringtonians this stubborn?" First, there was Jenny, and here came Paul, who was similarly annoying. She also knew how obstinate Alec could be.Paul sat on the bench outside of the operating theatre and chuckled. "Maybe it's not us who are stubborn. Perhaps, Bardoff people are simply weak in comparison.""Paul Wagner!" She was outraged. "I didn't want to fight with you because you're Alec's friend, but you shouldn't go overboard either!""Miss Watkins, you're being weird. When did I go overboard? I didn't even do anything." He shrugged, looking innocent. Sure, he did not do anything to her, but his attitude alone was enough to irk her.She scoffed and sat on the bench across from him, refusing to talk to him for the sake of her sanity. T
"Dr. Walter said the surgery was a success, but the patient needs to be warded in the ICU. If he gets through tonight without complications, there won't be any major risks down the road."Paul felt assured by the nurse's explanation. He was initially worried about Jenny operating on Alec because he could not gauge her feelings for him. She could have taken Alec's life in silence by claiming a "slip-up" in the surgery. Thankfully, Jenny didn't pull any tricks on Alec.Soon, Alec was wheeled out from the operating theater to the ICU. Jenny came out and noticed Paul by the entrance. She told him, "The surgery was successful. Please inform Mr. Zachary Faust.""Sure, I'll let him know." Paul nodded, his worries gone after learning about the successful surgery. On her way out, she stopped again and said to Paul and Blake, "I need someone to stay guard at the hospital tonight. Which one of you is staying?" She had announced that on purpose to observe Blake's response."I'll stay back. A
Paul glanced at Alec from the ICU entrance and sat by the door. At that moment, he was incredibly troubled by Jenny's words even though he didn't believe her. He was sure that Stephanie loved him. It would be impossible for her to be with another man in such a short time. But what if…At that thought, he had the urge to meet with Stephanie and question her. Still, he had to put that on hold because Alec had not woken up.Meanwhile, Jenny hung around in the staff lounge after the surgery. She didn't have to work the subsequent shift, but she stayed on anyway for reasons unknown. Perhaps, she fully knew what was going on in her mind but was reluctant to admit it.The hospital was tranquil at night, and Alec was in stable condition. However, the same could not be said for some others in Bardoff City.At 3 am, Jenny finally managed to fall asleep in the lounge but was woken up by her ringing phone. She shot up, thinking that something might have happened to Alec, only to realize it was
Half an hour later, the car rolled to a stop by the interstate highway."The police said they only have surveillance footage up to this point. If we want to investigate further, we'll have to look into private surveillance cameras," Neil briefed Jenny, following closely behind her. She surveyed the surroundings and noticed the lack of surveillance cameras. Since the abductors had deliberately dodged the areas with surveillance, they could not be easily tracked down. A short pause later, she instructed him, "Get someone to make a copy of all available surveillance footage along this route.""All of them?" Neil sounded doubtful."All of them." She nodded. Although Neil was confused, he still carried her orders because she was the de facto head of the Walter family now that Graham had disappeared.Once he was gone, Jenny drove the car down the route slowly. She wracked her brain to figure out the destination where the abductors were headed with Graham and James. "Could they be kept
Graham's worries were not unfounded. James frowned at his words. "I think there's a tiny possibility of that happening, so we can't rule it out. Why don't we ask them right away?" Then, he kicked the table beside him, and it toppled over.The huge crash attracted the attention of those who were standing guard outside. Someone entered the room—it was the blond man, the same one that had attacked Jenny."Wow! What do you want, gentlemen? You don't act like prisoners, do you?" He was pissed when he detected no hint of fear on Graham and James' faces. James ignored his smirk and asked, "What do you want?"The blond man was stunned by James' boldness. Then, he chuckled and said, "You two are clever men." He didn't abduct them for no good reason. If he had followed the instructions of the Glasses, he would have killed off the two hostages instead of going through the trouble of hiding them.James scoffed, thinking, "Isn't that obvious? I don't even need to guess.""I bet you know who'
Graham and James were well aware of the blond man's craftiness but did not object to the ransom amount. "Money is not a problem. But how can you guarantee you'd let us go after you get the money?" James asked. In his eyes, the abductors had no credibility at all."Mr. Windsor, just trust us," the blond man offered a lackadaisical promise, unconcerned with whether Graham and James were convinced, knowing full well they had no other option. His hostages didn't have the luxury of giving up their only hope, even if he walked back on the promise. That was the reason behind his cockiness.James glanced at him but did not call him out. "How about this? We'll pay you the first 300 million dollars to release Mr. Walter. You can let me go when you receive the second payment," he suggested. At the very least, one of them could be free. Graham would be safe even if the blond man took back his word."No!" Graham spoke ahead of the blond man. "James, you leave first. I'll be the last to go." He
James wanted to chat with Jenny, but the blond man was aiming the gun at him. His intention was obvious; he didn't want James to waste time. James said, "They told me they'll only let us go if we pay 300 million dollars each.""Tell him that's not a problem, but we will do the exchange in person," Jenny replied. The blond man heard her answer through speaker mode and said, "Wire the money. I will text you the account later. Remember, Miss Walter, you don't have a choice now."Hearing that, she bit her lips, struggling to keep her composure. "Okay. But I need to talk to my dad. I need to make sure he's safe." Knowing that Graham was shot in the thigh, she'd be worried if she couldn't verify that he was safe.The blond man was happy to oblige her at the thought of the incoming 600 million dollars. James handed the phone to Graham. Graham took the call and assured her, "Jenny, I'm fine.""Dad, don't worry. I'll get you out," she comforted him and added, "Is everything okay over ther
Kevin was well aware of the obstacles in his path that Jenny brought up. More than that, he wanted to understand her motive. Perhaps, he now had a newfound respect for her because she had survived their attack. "Miss Walter, what do you want out of this?""My goal is simple; do not lay a finger on your hostages. If you're worried about revenge from the Glasses, I can solve that problem for you." Jenny was satisfied with her proposed solution. Kevin had no good reason to turn her down unless he didn't want to get out of Clusia safely.Indeed, Kevin hesitated at the attractive offer. The problem of leaving Clusia after getting the ransom weighed heavily on his mind. Jenny remained calm in the face of his silence. At the same time, she urged Neil to work faster to locate Graham and James. Two minutes later, Kevin chuckled. "I'll consider your suggestion.""Great. I'll wait for your reply," Jenny replied. Kevin hung up soon after when she did not insist on staying on the line. Pushi