Chapter 407 Xavier’s Broken Promise
Ding— Suddenly, there was a notification on WhatsApp from Veronica’s phone.
She unlocked her phone and took a look. It was a message from Matthew. ‘Today’s your birthday and I’ve ordered you a cake. Send me your location. I’ll arrange for the cake to be delivered to you. I won’t turn up.’
Today’s not my birthday. Veronica frowned. She was quite aware that they had celebrated her birthday two days ago in Castron.
During her birthday, he had kept her up the entire night. That was not an enjoyable celebration at all. What does he mean by this text message, huh? Suddenly, it dawned upon her.
Although she had purposely flared up at Matthew by speaking in a rude voice earlier and sounded as if she was picking a fight, this was her tactic of confusing Matthew so that he would not overthink the situation.
However, he was too smart and he had discovered that she was currently held captive. He had sent this message to probe and figure out whether she was currently in a safe condition.
If she was safe, then she would be able to send him her location and he could come over to save her.
Veronica continued to consider the situation, but everything flashed through her mind quite quickly and she hesitated about whether to send her location to Matthew.
“What are you looking at? Give me your phone.”
Xavier scrutinized her coldly and realized that she was looking at her phone in a daze, which caused a sudden sense of apprehension in him. Consequently, he snatched Veronica’s phone from her hands.
At that moment, Matthew called Troy while seated in his car. “Contact the presidents of the banks and get them to approve the Crawford Family’s loan request.”
“Huh? Young Master Matthew, why did you suddenly decide to approve their loan?” Troy was slightly confused.
“Cut the crap and do what I say right away!” Matthew’s solemn voice rang out and he emphasized his instructions several times. Although Troy had no idea what was going on, he was aware of the severity of the situation.
After Troy hung up the phone, he instantly contacted all of the presidents of the banks in Bloomstead to approve the Crawford Family’s loan.
Meanwhile in the abandoned building on the outskirts of town, Veronica waited anxiously and checked her watch from time to time. “Don’t worry. Matthew will definitely sort things out.” She comforted Xavier.
However, he remained seated and held her phone in his hand. He then scrolled through her chat history with Matthew.
Matthew had offered to send her a cake, but Veronica merely replied, ‘I would never accept a cake from you.’
“Is it your birthday today?” Xavier lifted his brows. “I’ve known you for ages, but I honestly don’t know when your birthday is.” He revealed a self-contemptuous smile.
She heaved a deep sigh and lamented to herself, It’s lucky that you don’t know when my birthday is. If you did, then I would be in hot water.
“Since today’s your birthday, then I’ll grant you a wish.”
His interest was suddenly piqued, and he spoke to Veronica benevolently like a king bestowing his subjects a gift.
“A wish?” She smiled resignedly as she lifted her head to brush the scattered hair on her forehead. Since there were no windowpanes installed in the building, it felt quite chilly under the cold breeze and she shivered from the cold.
“What a joke. You’re saying as if you would grant anything I wish for.”
“Well, you’ll never know if you don’t try.”
“Uhh…” She hesitated for a moment as she pursed her lips while lost in thoughts. “I wish for Monica’s safety.” After all, Monica was the innocent party in this entire debacle.
“Got it!” Xavier nodded and took the walkie-talkie to instruct the man on the other end, “Send some men to escort Monica out of the place, but make sure that she has a good night’s sleep today.” It was an indication to ensure Monica would not report this matter to the authorities.
However, Veronica was not offended by that. After all, it was natural for a kidnapper to be careful in his ways. She merely had conflicted opinions toward Xavier. What sort of person is he like?
Prior to this, he had talked about killing Monica, but the next moment, he had agreed to grant Veronica a wish for her birthday; perhaps he truly did love her.
“Xavier, thank—” Veronica was just about to express her gratitude when she heard Xavier ask, “Have you caught the other person?”
Instantly, her heart sank to the pit. Frightened, she asked, “Who is it?!” Veronica questioned him.
Subsequently, she heard the man on the other end of the walkie-talkie voiced out, “We’ve caught Shirley.”
“Hold her captive instead.”
“Yes, boss… Ah! What are you doing? Aaaah! Save me!!! Sobs…”
On the other end, Xavier’s subordinate had just finished his sentence when Veronica suddenly heard Shirley’s loud sobs.
Despite her best efforts at putting up a calm front, she could no longer contain herself.
She stood up abruptly and stared at him coldly. “What are you trying to do? I told you to come at me. What’s the point of using such ruthless tactics on those two young girls??”
He smiled calmly upon seeing her frustrated look. “Is that how easy it is to trigger you? You got to pick one of them to save. In the past, you made the choice between Matthew and me, didn’t you?”
“Xavier, you freaking psycho!” She could not contain herself at that point and turned around to head down the stairs.
“Go ahead. If you walk down this flight of stairs, then Monica and Shirley will become your worst nightmare for the rest of your life.” Behind her, Xavier expressed this calmly.
As soon as Veronica heard his words, a chill ran down her spine as she tightened both of her hands by her side. She clenched her teeth and there was simmering anger in her eyes.
Ring! Ring! Ring! Suddenly, there was a ringtone from Xavier’s phone.
He instantly answered the call. “What is it? What? The loan has been approved? How much is it? Five hundred million? Haha! Great! That’s awesome.”
Finally, Veronica felt much at ease after hearing his conversation with the man. “The loan for your family has been approved, so can you release Monica and Shirley now?”
Matthew was indeed very efficient in his ways.
“You mentioned earlier that you would give me some money to leave Bloomstead, right?” he asked another question without answering hers.
“Yes. As long as you leave Bloomstead, then I’ll give you the money.” This was the last thing she could do for him.
As much as that was her thoughts ten minutes before, she no longer felt that he deserved her kindness anymore!
“Send me off,” Xavier suddenly voiced out.
Shocked, Veronica wondered, What does he mean by that?
“I’ll do as you wish and release Monica and Shirley right away, but I want you to escort me out of Bloomstead. Otherwise, I might not be able to leave the place in one piece.”
He intended to use Veronica as a hostage.
“Okay. I promise.” She naturally understood Xavier’s intention, but the most important thing right now was for her to ensure Monica and Shirley’s safety. Once they were out of danger, then she would be able to find a way to escape too.
Xavier got up and headed over to her with a slight limp.
He stood in the same spot two meters away from her and gestured at her. “Roni. Come over and give me a hand.”
“What’s wrong? Aren’t you afraid that I’ll shove you down the stairs?” Veronica’s words were said in a half-joking manner, but she seemed to mean it. There was a formal-looking smile on her face, and no one could tell what was going on in her mind.
“I’m scared, of course. I’m worried that I’ll lose out if I end up getting killed by you.”
As he spoke, he walked toward her to stand in front of her and reached out to place an arm around her neck. “But then, Roni, I know that you couldn’t bear to kill me.”
Approaching closer to Veronica, he tilted his head and sniffed her neck. He shut his eyes to take in her body scent and he seemed quite attached.
“Damn it. You’ve still got the familiar scent I’m used to. If only I knew this would happen, I wouldn’t have wasted my time to act like a good seed.”
