Seaton coldly snorted. “Well then, we shall see how valuable you are when the time comes. You may not be valuable to her, but your relationship is. I’m sure Helen will force Arianne to save you.”....The next day, Arianne was absent from work, too busy accompanying Helen at home as usual. Helen was completely shaken and there was no way Arianne could leave her be.Helen was even more attentive than Arianne of incoming calls. It did not matter who it was, for as long as Arianne’s phone rang, Helen would jump and think that it was Seaton. However, a whole day passed without a word from Seaton.It was torturous, just blindly waiting around. Helen had not been able to have either a proper meal or a good night’s sleep.When it was past 9PM, a phone call finally arrived from Aery’s number.Helen grabbed the phone from Arianne’s hands before the latter could answer. “Hello? Is this Seaton? Release my daughter immediately! What have you done to her? You can come for me instead. Are you
Arianne immediately stopped in her tracks. “What would you have me do? Run amok like you are now and let an innocent child suffer as well? Aery was the one who sealed her fate by coming back here. This would never have happened if she did not return here with malicious intentions. What would you have me do now? Exchange myself for her? Why should I? What right do you have to make such a request? I can understand that you’re panicking and are worried, but don’t you dare vent your frustration on me. You have no right to!”After saying that, Arianne carried Smore and sprinted to her room, slamming the door behind her.Arianne had thought that she had put the past behind her and forgiven Helen. It was not until this incident that Arianne realized that Helen neither needed to be forgiven, nor did she deserved to. In the end, Arianne was just a child she had abandoned for so many years. The relationship they had could never be compared to the one Helen had with Aery, who had been raised by
Mark rubbed his glabella to stop the headache he had. “Can you please calm down? I have not asked my men to retreat. Alejandro and I have arranged for a new batch of people to look for her, since Seaton has long but had me running around his fingertips. Do you honestly think that I haven’t already thought of everything that you have? Time is of the essence now; I’m already annoyed to no end, so please stop making it even worse. None of this would’ve happened if Aery had not caused trouble. Also, how is she young and foolish? Is she still a child? It’s no wonder that Aery turned out to be how she is today when she’s been pampered by you. It’s a good thing that Arianne was not raised by you!”When he was done, Mark walked upstairs and ordered the guards not to let Helen leave the house. Things would only become even more serious if Helen did anything foolish.They only had 10 hours left before sunrise, and these 10 hours were the most critical. Mark changed into a fresh set of clothes
Meanwhile, Alejandro, along with his men, had found the village, which was located in a rural area. There were no headlights along the way and the roads were bumpy, so the men had to continue the rest of the journey on foot instead. If Seaton was really there, the sound of their car would most definitely expose their presence.The entire village was enshrouded in darkness even under the moonlight, and there was not a single house that had its lights on; it was as though it was a haunted village. Other than the sound of the stray dogs barking, there were no other noises coming from the village, so their footsteps sounded very loud as they walked into the village.Alejandro instructed all of his men to move separately to avoid the sound of their footsteps from being accumulated together. That way, they would be able to move more discreetly. According to Alejandro’s men, Seaton had actually been to the village, but it was not known whether he was still there. However, time was running o
Based on the details given by the drunkard, it was definitely Seaton.Alejandro grew annoyed when he noticed that the drunkard would not stop mumbling, and he urged him to show the way. Alejandro was in no mood to waste his time talking to the drunkard.The drunkard noticed the gun in Alejandro’s hands and swayed even more due to fear.Both of them walked together along the narrow street, which was filled with holes. Alejandro had his guard up at all times. He realized that something was wrong after walking for a few minutes. The village was not that big, yet the drunkard seemed to be unable to remember where his house was and was going around in circles.Just as he was about to interrogate him, the drunkard suddenly slammed into a nearby house that had a rotten door and disappeared into the darkness.When Alejandro realized that the drunkard was escaping, he spat out a swear and turned the light on his phone to the maximum brightness before following the drunkard in a hurry.The
Seaton dragged Aery along as he ran. It was a race against time in order to survive. That unreliable bachelor wouldn’t be able to buy them a lot of time. He had calculated it all. However, he didn’t think that Alejandro would arrive so quickly. He had arrived before he could change to a different hideout.Aery had never suffered this kind of torture. She hadn’t slept or eaten well since her kidnapping, so she really couldn’t keep up. She began faltering before running too far and allowed Seaton to drag her along with a rope around her wrists. However, now she couldn’t run any longer and fell onto the ground. “I can’t. I can’t run anymore. If you want to run for your life, go ahead. Survival is most important now. Stop using me as a threat…”Seaton forcefully dragged her to her feet and icily snapped, “Do you honestly think I’m enjoying cutting and running like this? You’re my hostage. I can’t let them take you home unscathed; I’d be humiliated. I’m giving you two choices now—either y
Helen supported herself against the walls of the hallway and sat down. Her face was deathly pale. “How could this happen? Her ankle isn’t fully recovered. How much has she suffered? She has nothing to do with this mess… Why did she have to suffer all of this?”Arianne couldn’t listen to any more of this. She turned around and walked to the nearest chair, sitting down. Was Helen implying that Aery shouldn’t have suffered, and she should have instead? She could understand how Helen felt, but she couldn’t understand her selfishness. Who was she to Helen, after all this time?After an unknown amount of time, the door to the operating theatre opened. Helen immediately pounced. “Doctor, how is my daughter? Is she alright?”“After having a fall from such a considerable height, how could she be alright?” the doctor replied sternly. “Her head has suffered severe trauma, and her body has sustained a lot of broken bones. We’re not sure if she’ll regain consciousness. It’s highly likely… that s
At around noon, Arianne carefully asked, “Would you like something to eat? Or a drink? I’ll get some for you.”Helen looked at her with a cold and distant stare and said, “I’m not that cold-blooded. I can’t eat or drink.”Arianne’s last nerve was close to snapping. “Can you stop being so prickly all the time? It’s Seaton’s fault that Aery’s turned out this way, not mine or Mark’s. If you have something to say to us, just say it!”Helen grew riled up. “I should just say it, should I? Okay, I’ll just say it then. How could Mark and Alejandro have allowed Aery to get hurt during their search for Seaton? There were so many people, yet Seaton still found the chance to hurt Aery. They clearly didn’t do a very good job. Aery had absolutely nothing to do with this; Seaton’s objective was you. Aery has suffered a blow for you, and even if you don’t feel any guilt, you shouldn’t act so cold and distant; you’re blood relatives! I saw it, your heart ached when you saw how Mark was up all night