Chapter 29
As soon as Charlie heard it, he shouted, “Give it to me!” and s*ed the phone from Owen’s hand. All he could think about was whether Tiffany was safe-he didn’t stop to wonder why she had called Owen instead of him.
“Tiffany, is that you? Where are you?” Charlie asked, his voice thick with concern.
“Dad. Tiffany’s voice was weak, barely a whisper.
The moment Charlie heard her, his eyes filled with tears, and his hand holding the phone began to tremble. “Sweetheart, are you okay? Are you hurt? Where are you? I’ll come get you right now!”
“Dad, the kidnappers stepped out to smoke, so I got a chance to call you. It’s Stan who kidnapped me!” Tiffany’s voice was raspy, as if she’d been hurt. Then, she broke down into sobs. “I don’t know where I am. Dad, I’m so scared, please come get me!”
Charlie’s heart shattered, while Owen, standing nearby, caught every word of Tiffany’s plea. If he hadn’t just spoken to her earlier, he might have believed she was truly injured. ‘She’s quite the actress, Owen thought to himself.
But Owen hadn’t forgotten his mission. He quickly said, “I’ll get someone to trace Tiffany’s phone rightaway. As soon as we have an address, we’ll go get her!”
“Yeah, yeah, right?” Charlie responded, his mind spinning. He couldn’t wrap his head around the idea that Stan bad kidnapped Tiffany, but she had just told him that herself.
Tiffany must have guessed Charlie might doubt her, so as soon as she hung up, she started a video call. Charlie hurried to answer it.
In the video, Tiffany quickly hid the phone, leaving only the camera showing. She whispered, “Dad, mute your phone so they don’t hear you.”
Before Charlie could reply, there was a loud bang in the video-the sound of a heavy iron door being kicked open.
When Tiffany heard the bang, she curled up in the corner, hugging her knees, terror written all over her face. Three vicious looking kidnappers barged through the door, their menacing figures captured by the video.
One of them stepped forward and kicked Tiffany, snarling, “What’s your old man up to? Why hasn’t he sent the money yet? Does he not care about saving you?”
“No, no!” Tiffany shook her head frantically, clearly terrified. “My dad will save me, he will. But can you tell me why Stan would kidnap me? I can’t believe it-he’s family!”
No sooner had she spoken than she got another brutal kick.
One of the kidnappers growled, “Who said Stan kidnapped you? Don’t go making things up!”
“Damn it, she must’ve overheard us when we were on the phone! What are we gonna do? If the boss finds out, we’re not getting paid,” another kidnapper muttered.
The kidnappers huddled together, whispering furiously. Finally, they decided to force Tiffany into silence, no matter what it took. The video call ended abruptly with Tiffany’s screams echoing in the background,
Charlie was shaking with rage. As a father, watching his daughter being treated like this was unbearable. “Star, you ba**rd!” he hissed through gritted teeth.
Just then, Owen burst in, panic in his voice. “The signal’s cut off Is something wrong with Tiffany phone? We can’t trace her location. What do we do?”
Charlie’s eyes blazed with fury, his expression terrifying. He spat out, “I know someone who knows exactly where she is!”
Without another word, Charlie stormed out of the office, heading straight home, with Owen close on his heels.
The bank where Charlie was withdrawing cash just happened to be owned by the Hampton family. That evening, as Richard finished work and drove home, he passed by the bank. Casually, he asked, “Are they working late? What’s going on?”
“Yes, Mr. Hampton,” his assistant, sitting in the passenger seat, quickly replied. “The Kelley Group called this evening, saying they needed to withdraw ten million dollars in cash, so the staff had to stay late to handle it.”Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.
Usually, news like this wouldn’t catch Richard’s attention. But the word “Kelley” immediately piqued his interest. He asked. “Did you mean the Kelley family?”
“Yes. The assistant nodded.
“Why are they taking out that much money?” Richard’s voice remained as cold and detached as ever, giving nothing away. The assistant was a bit taken aback-he couldn’t understand why Richard would care about something like this. But he still answered. “I’m sorry, Mr. Hampton, I’m not sure of the reason. I’ll find out right away.”
Three minutes later, the assistant had the answer. “Mr. Hampton, it seems Charlie Kelley’s daughter has been kidnapped. The kidnappers are demanding ten million dollars as ransom.”
“What did you just say?” Richard’s expression darkened instantly
The atmosphere in the car grew frigid, and the assistant felt a wave of nervousness. It had been a long time since he’d seen Richard this angry.
“Find out where she is. I want to know her exact location, Richard ordered.
“Yes, sir!” the assistant responded immediately.
The black sedan pulled over to the side of the road. Richard stared at the neon lights outside, his mind ddenly flashing back to the smile Tiffany had given him at the restaurant entrance that day. He remembered her saying, “Now we’re in this together, we have to look out for each other!”
Just as Tiffany had said, Richard had made up his mind. He was going to protect her, no matter what it took.
As he was lost in thought, the assistant’s voice broke through. “Mr. Hampton, I’ve got the information!”
In the Cedar Ridge Villa, Stan was savoring a glass of fine red wine. The thought of getting his hands on a huge sum of money by tomorrow filled him with glee.
The kidnappers he’d hired were seasoned professionals, checking in with him every two hours. To stay safe, Stan never showed his face, giving all his orders over the phone.
“Everything’s going so smoothly, it’s like the universe is on my side. But I should give them a call, remind them to keep an eye on that brat, just in case, Stan thought, setting down his wine glass. But just as he was about to make the call, he heard the sound of a car pulling up outside.
He knew it was Charlie returning home, but he had no intention of greeting him. Stan was afraid his expression might give something away. What he didn’t expect was for Charlie to suddenly kick the door open with a loud bang and storm in.
Stan jumped, about to lash out, when Charlie’s furious voice cut through the air. “Where’s Tiffany?”
“Charlie, what are you talking about? Tiffany has classes today; she’s probably at school, isn’t she? Why are you–” Stan didn’t even finish his sentence before Charlie punched him square in the gut.
“Tell me, where’s my daughter?” Charlie roared, his voice filled with rage. “Stan, how could you kidnap Tiffany? She’s your niece! And have you forgotten all I’ve done for you? You old b**rd!“
Fueled by fury, Charlie yelled as he relentlessly beat Stan, each punch landing like a blow of vengeance for Tiffany.