Chapter 177: Still Alive

Chapter 177: Chapter 177: Still Alive

"Not your man?" Wade Wolfe narrowed his eyes, refusing to miss the slightest change in his expression.

Harry Rivers shook his head frantically. "I’ve never even seen this person, how could I possibly know him?"

Wade Wolfe’s voice was icy. "The man who kidnapped Mrs. Hawthorne boarded your freighter."

Harry Rivers’s face turned deathly pale, and cold sweat streamed down his temples. "President Wolfe, this really has nothing to do with me! There must be some misunderstanding!"

"Without the tacit approval of your men, how could they have boarded your ship so easily?" Wade Wolfe let out a cold smirk. "If I were you, I’d have launched a thorough investigation before seeing President Hawthorne. If you wait for him to get angry and take it out on you, this little business of yours could be wiped out in an instant."

Harry Rivers was now in a full-blown panic. He hastily pulled out his phone and frantically dialed a number.

Half an hour later, he was escorted to the docks in Arisdale.

A biting wind swept across the seaside. A tall, well-built man stood with his hands clasped behind his back, facing the churning sea.

Over a dozen bodyguards in black were lined up on either side, their presence cold and formidable as they stood at the ready.

Seeing Harry Rivers get out of the car, Maxim Chandler stepped forward and reported in a low voice.

"President Hawthorne, we’ve brought Harry Rivers."

Jared Hawthorne turned slowly, his long, narrow, and deep-set black eyes falling heavily upon the man. Drenched in cold sweat, Harry Rivers shuffled forward, not daring to meet his gaze.

"President Hawthorne, I was completely unaware of the incident involving your wife."

"I’ve just checked with everyone. It was the ship’s captain who acted on his own authority. He took a bribe of twenty thousand to secretly transport two unknown men to Veridia. One of them is the kidnapper in the photo."

"The other one is named Bill Young. He was just released from prison not long ago."

Maxim Chandler took out his phone to make a quick call. A moment later, he returned to Jared Hawthorne’s side and reported in a hushed voice.

"President Hawthorne, we’ve confirmed it. Bill Young and Shane Cornell were incarcerated in the same prison. They were released one day apart. This was no spur-of-the-moment crime. Someone must be pulling the strings from behind. Otherwise, two newly released prisoners would never dare to target Mrs. Hawthorne."

To unmask the mastermind, they first had to get their hands on these two men.

A bone-chilling glint flashed through Jared Hawthorne’s narrow, black eyes. His thin lips parted. "Contact the captain."

Harry Rivers understood immediately. He quickly took out his phone and initiated a video call.

"President Hawthorne has questions for you! Answer honestly, and don’t you dare hide anything!"

Jared Hawthorne held up a photo of Vesper Grayson, his voice completely devoid of warmth. "Have you seen this person?"

The captain on the other end of the video shook his head repeatedly, his face a mask of terror. "No, I haven’t. It was just the two of them, and they were carrying a sealed burlap sack. I had no idea what was inside. After they boarded, they locked the sack in the cargo hold."

The men had been generous, casually offering a payment of twenty thousand. Driven by greed, he hadn’t bothered to ask any questions.

The moment Jared Hawthorne thought of a pregnant Vesper Grayson, drugged with ether and curled up in a cold burlap sack like cargo, a monstrous rage ignited in his chest.

’The woman I hold in the palm of my hand, the one I protect with everything I have... How dare this scum humiliate her like this!’

Overwhelmed by the increasingly sinister and terrifying aura radiating from him, Harry Rivers held his breath, not daring to even breathe too loudly.

The atmosphere on the dock grew oppressive and stagnant. Even the sea breeze felt heavy and sluggish, carrying a bone-deep chill.

With a grim expression, Maxim Chandler pressed, "What kind of sack? You took an off-the-books job, why didn’t you perform a routine inspection?"

The captain was on the verge of tears. "According to the rules, I should have inspected it thoroughly. But they offered a very high price and were rushing me to set sail, so I got greedy and let my guard down. I never, ever imagined they would dare to smuggle a person on board."

"Did you hear them say anything during the voyage?"

"I vaguely heard them mention going to Veridia to strike it rich, and something about five hundred thousand... They were extremely cautious and kept their voices down. I didn’t want any trouble, so I didn’t dare to deliberately eavesdrop. As soon as the ship docked, they carried the sack, got into a private car, and left."

"Make, model, license plate? Do you remember anything?"

"It looked like a blue Chevrolet. I was busy unloading cargo at the time, so I didn’t pay attention to the license plate."

When the video call ended, Harry Rivers, who was on the verge of breaking into another cold sweat, hurriedly tried to distance himself from the situation.

"President Hawthorne, I honestly didn’t know. I was completely kept in the dark by my subordinate. The moment that captain returns, I’ll fire him and punish him severely."

’Talk about a disaster falling out of a clear blue sky.’

Jared Hawthorne’s face was impassive as he looked away from Harry and toward Wade Wolfe at his side. He gave a simple order. "I’ll leave the follow-up matters for you to handle."

With that, he turned and strode directly toward the helicopter waiting at the dock.

En route to Veridia, Maxim Chandler immediately mobilized his local contacts, pulling surveillance footage from the docks and surrounding areas to track the blue Chevrolet and pinpoint the whereabouts of Shane Cornell and Bill Young.

...

The atmosphere inside the cramped car was oppressive.

"Why isn’t she awake yet?"

Bill Young stared at the motionless sack, his eyes filled with confusion and unease.

The trip from Northolme to Veridia had taken nearly two hours. They’d intentionally used a heavier dose of ether; she shouldn’t have been out for this long.

Shane Cornell’s brow furrowed, his tone hesitant. "You don’t think she... suffocated in the sack? That something went wrong?"

He rushed forward and untied the sack. After placing a finger under the woman’s nose and feeling the steady rhythm of her breath, he finally sighed in relief.

"She’s still alive. Her body must just be different, with a very low tolerance for the drug, so it’s taking longer to wear off. It’s not necessarily a bad thing if she wakes up later. At least she’ll be quiet and won’t cause trouble."

"True enough." Bill Young’s eyes filled with greed as he stared at Vesper Grayson’s stunning face. "With looks like these, she has to be worth at least seven figures. After this job, we can retire to the countryside and be set for life."

"Bill, I’ve got a bad feeling about this. She’s Jared Hawthorne’s woman..."

"Getting cold feet?" Bill Young sneered. "If she wasn’t the girlfriend of the head of the Hawthorne Family, do you think this job would pay so well? Fortune favors the bold. You want to be poor for the rest of your life? After this one last score, we can wash our hands of all this for good."

"Heaven on Earth is one of the most notorious pleasure dens in Splendid City. I’m just curious what kind of grudge our employer has against her, wanting to push her into a place like that."

"I didn’t realize you had a soft spot for beautiful women." Bill Young grinned, a lecherous look on his face. "What, you smitten? If you want a taste, there’s no harm in us brothers having a little fun before we drop her off."

After years in prison without a woman, Bill Young could no longer suppress the heat building inside him.

"I’m not interested."

"If you don’t want her, then I’ll have this beauty all to myself."

Vesper Grayson, who had been feigning unconsciousness all along, felt her heart plummet. Her hands clenched into fists, her knuckles turning white from the force.

After driving for an unknown amount of time, the car slowly came to a stop.

"Bill, maybe we should just forget it. Let’s not cause any more trouble than we have to."

"What’s there to be afraid of? We’re in Veridia now; the mountains are high and the emperor is far away. It’s not every day you come across a perfect ten like this. She’s getting sent off one way or another, so what’s wrong with me having a taste first?"

The next second, she was swept up into his arms.

She heard the man book a room, then coldly order his companion, "If you don’t want to wait, wait in the lobby."

With that, he carried her into an elevator.

Vesper Grayson’s heart pounded with fear, but she also felt a secret sense of relief.

’Thankfully, only one of them has ill intentions. That means I only have to deal with one person, giving me a chance to escape.’

’This is my only hope in a desperate situation. I absolutely cannot let it slip by.’

The man tossed her onto a soft bed. His greedy eyes roved over her enchanting face, lust surging within him as he impatiently stripped off his outer clothes.

Hidden in her sleeve, Vesper Grayson’s fingers quietly tightened around a silver needle, poised to strike.