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
Sunlight poured into the hospital room. Alec opened his eyes and was greeted with the sight of the white ceiling above his head. Briefly dazed, he furrowed his brows in pain when a rush of painful memories flooded in. That was perhaps the reason his heart rate increased, causing the machine at the headboard to beep incessantly. A nurse immediately rushed in to check on him. Call the doctor," she told another nurse. She checked Alec's vitals while the other went to get the doctor. When the doctor arrived, Alec was finally feeling like himself. He could recall all the memories from his past, but that overwhelmed him a little. Once the doctor was done with the check-up, he called out to Alec, "Mr. Faust?"Although there didn't seem to be any issues with Alec's physical health, the doctor noticed that Alec's mental state seemed off. "Could something else be wrong with him?" the doctor wondered."Yeah, I'm fine," Alec answered, voice hoarse. He hadn't taken any solids or liquids after
When morning came, the news of Graham and James' abductions was at the center of public attention as the business day started. As Jenny expected, the stock price of Walter Inc and Windsor Corp took a plunge right as the market opened. The two families had no choice but to release a joint statement to assure the investors about Graham and James' safety, promising that the incident would not have any material impact on the two companies.Jenny didn't have to worry about that because she had a team to deal with public relations. She had arrived at the small town and began exploring every nook and cranny that had anything to do with logs.Ten minutes away from the one-hour deadline, she was sweating profusely and still stuck in the middle of the search. She had also instructed her staff to wire Kevin the money right in time to be safe.At the logging factory, Kevin stared at his phone, annoyed he hadn't received the wire notification. "Call Jenny Walter and ask her if she is giving up o
Kevin's anxiety grew when he received no answer. "Miss Walter, do you want your father dead?""I promise," she sighed, feeling that she was at the mercy of the mercenaries. Still, she was not too concerned now that her team had tracked down their location. As long as she tailed them, she would have a chance to rescue Graham and James.Kevin let out a relieved sigh. For a second, Jenny got him thinking that she refused to entertain him. "Good thing that the Clusians are soft-hearted," he thought.After the call, Jenny hid well to keep herself out of sight from Kevin and his men, whom she expected to leave soon.Just as she had guessed, ten minutes later, there was movement at the logging factory not far away. The sight of Kevin exiting the factory with his men brought relief to Jenny as it proved her search fruitful. She watched Kevin closely as he climbed into a car, his other men occupying the other cars. Soon, she spotted Graham and James being shoved inside one. She immediately
When Jenny arrived at the scene and saw the madness, she grabbed the steering wheel and crashed the car in front of the mercenaries to stop them from shooting at the hostages. Then, she hopped out of the car and walked over to Graham and James, taking off her ski mask. "Dad, James.""Jenny, I know you wouldn't let us down." James was glad but unsurprised to see her, for he knew she'd come to their rescue.On the other hand, Graham, who looked a little pale, forced a smile at her. "Jenny, I have nothing to worry about if you're this capable.""Let's get into the car and talk after we leave." She was worried that Kevin and his men in the first car might turn back. Even though it was an impossible scenario, she didn't want to risk it."Sure." The two men nodded and went into the car that Jenny drove. They didn't walk long before Jenny noticed something amiss in Graham. "Have you been shot?""No, no. Let's go now." He shook his head, knowing they were at greater risk with each passing
That afternoon, Gilbert called off his engagement to the Silveras. He did not pick up a single one of Lottie's calls. When he found Marigold, she was taking Caleb on a stroll around the neighborhood. It had been a while since she'd taken notice of anything related to Gilbert. She suddenly felt how nice it was to have her mental energy spent somewhere else, no longer being so hung up on that man. However, when Gilbert appeared before her, her heartbeat quickened. "Why are you here?" Marigold said, snapping out of her reverie. Gilbert smiled lightly. Without saying much else, he pulled her into an embrace. "Didn't you say that I could come to see you once everything is settled?" Marigold was stunned. She was in disbelief. "So, what you're saying is it's all over?" "Didn't you read the news?" Gilbert was speechless. "No. I didn't want to care." Every time she saw anything about Gilbert and Lottie, she felt miserable. She'd rather save herself the pain and block out anything
In the end, Esther went with Gilbert's suggestion. However, she did not trade Bradshaw Operation's projects with Jenny. She went with the Silveras. For one, she did not trust the Walters. On the other hand, the Silveras and the Bradshaws were going to be united through marriage. They deserved to be trusted more. Gilbert didn't mind. After all, if anything happened to the Bradshaws, the Silveras would not help. With those projects in hand, they would only fall further into debt. The plan was going smoothly. Gilbert had not gone to see Marigold once. He knew that before subduing the Bradshaws, going to visit Marigold would only endanger her. After all, Marigold was safe. Nothing had happened, and Caleb was growing up healthily. One month later, things began to feel off in Bradshaw Operations. After Faust Group received their money, they did not start the project. No one knew what they were doing. Esther was feeling antsy. She prodded Gilbert to ask if there was anything wro
That very afternoon, Esther and Gilbert rushed to Faust Group to sign the deal. Gilbert said he was worried that Alec would change his mind, so he urged Esther to sign it. Only through a written contract would they be able to relax. Esther thought it made sense and agreed to rush to Faust Group with Gilbert.In the meeting room, Alec looked at the two people before him, expressionless. "You have a good son, Mrs. Bradshaw." "I'm flattered. My son had Bradshaw Operations' interests at heart. He'll inevitably be a little insensitive. Please don't hold that against him, Mr. Faust." Esther smiled. She didn't mind Alec's sarcasm because it didn't matter. As long as Bradshaw Operations could truly benefit from this, she didn't care how much Alec mocked her. Alec smiled coldly and slid the contract over to her. "You may flip through it." Esther took it and read through it seriously.If this project succeeded, they would reap massive rewards. However, it required a massive upfront inv
In the following days, Gilbert headed over to Faust Group infrequently during the day. To others, he was there to talk business with Alec. But in reality, it was a different scenario altogether. Vincent brought Gilbert a cup of coffee in Alec's office. Because of all the times he'd been there, Vincent knew what he wanted without having to ask. Alec had a cup of coffee placed before him, too. Everyone thought that Gilbert was trying to convince Alec to give him one of the shares, which was why he always came there, but that was not the case. The collaboration was a set-up. As long as the Bradshaws signed the deal on the project, they would not escape unscathed. Gilbert had planned this for a long time just to trick the Bradshaws into accepting the project. However, the scheme had to be executed perfectly. Since Gilbert buttered up the project in front of the Bradshaws, Alec had to feign disinterest in his collaboration. Otherwise, it would seem suspicious if Alec, a smart ma
After the engagement party, Gilbert officially had a stronghold in Bradshaw operations. Because he was already very capable, he had a lot of supporters. No one challenged him in the company. Most of them sucked up to him because they knew that if things went well, he would be the heir of the company.Gilbert didn't really care about that. He didn't even want to be there for long. He knocked on Esther's door and walked into her office."Come, sit." Esther was all smiles when she saw him. It was more sincere than before.She used to doubt him a lot, but now, although she still had her reservations, she mostly believed in him. In her eyes, no one would reject the chance to inherit Bradshaw Operations. This was basically manna from Heaven. Gilbert just didn't know it back then, and now he did. Gilbert sat down in front of Esther and began reporting the information he had gathered, as well as his thoughts on Bradshaw Operations and his plans for the future.When he presented the inf
Gilbert and Lottie's engagement party was held at Bardoff Grand Hotel on Saturday.A ton of people showed up to their engagement party. After all, the Bradshaws and the Silveras were pretty big names in Bardoff City, and plenty of the other families knew of their true wealth. They all came to attend the party. Jenny and Alec had both received invites. Jenny was Gilbert's sister, and on top of that, they represented the Walters and the Fausts. It was to be expected. At first, Jenny didn't want to go. The party held no meaning to it. It was just a show put on for Esther. It would be a complete waste of her time. However, she was talked into it by Alec. It would be weird if she didn't go. Zack brought Janet to the party. He found Jenny and was in a daze. "Wasn't Gilbert courting Marigold? Why is he engaged to Lottie?" Jenny rolled her eyes. "What have you been doing, Zack? You're really bad at keeping up." Gilbert had been courting Lottie for a while now. If Zack paid attention
Gilbert drove to Jenny's villa, but he was in no rush to get down. He didn't unlock the doors, either. He obviously wanted to talk to Marigold. But Marigold evidently didn't want to. "I want to take my child and leave." She was afraid. What if Gilbert and Lottie married and took her child away? She no longer believed in love. The only thing she believed in was her child. Gilbert tightened his grip when he heard that. "Marigold, the engagement is only for Esther to see. I have no feelings for Lottie." "Who knows? People change. You said you didn't have feelings for me, too." Marigold found this all very amusing. Perhaps this was fate. Gilbert wanted to keep explaining, but Marigold did not give him the chance to. "Just let me and Caleb leave. If what you say is true, you can come to find us once everything is over." And if Gilbert didn't come looking for her, the truth would unfold itself, and she would give up all hope. Gilbert understood that Marigold had already made
Marigold was miserable throughout dinner, but she persevered till the end without being too dramatic. After dinner, they walked to the entrance of the shopping mall.Gilbert went to get the car. Lottie stood with Jenny and Marigold. Watching Gilbert leave, she turned toward Marigold. "I heard that you used to like Gilbert very much." "It's all in the past. It's not worth mentioning." Marigold didn't want to talk about it. She was afraid that Lottie would see that she still liked Gilbert. Most importantly, she was afraid that Gilbert's plan would be ruined. Lottie smiled. "That's true. The past is the past. You're such a nice person. You'll definitely be able to find someone better suited for you in the future." Marigold pursed her lips. Gilbert soon brought the car over. Lottie was about to get into the car, but before she did, she suddenly turned to Marigold and said, "Gilbert and my engagement party will be in a few days' time. If you have the time, you're more than welcom
Everyone was shocked to hear her speak so suddenly. Lottie was stunned, and she explained, "You've misunderstood. That's not what I meant. I just think that if the child follows his father, it'll help him develop better, and you'll be less stressed." "I don't need your concern. I can raise my child alone," Marigold snorted. She did not hold back at all. Lottie looked unpleasant. Gilbert had no choice but to step in. "We'll have our own child together. And whoever likes it the most will get to keep it." Although they knew that Gilbert had meant this for Lottie to hear, Marigold found it extremely upsetting. She looked at Gilbert, and for a moment, she was unable to tell if he was being genuine. She thought of all that Gilbert had said to her last night, saying that he didn't like Lottie and had no intention of marrying her. But he looked to be truly in love. Marigold didn't think she could tell if he was faking it. "I'm sorry. I need to go to the restroom." Marigold didn't w