“Room service.”
Gloria and Victor were pushing a janitor cart that belonged to the hotel.
A man in a black attire opened the door and moved aside. “Come in.”
She was slightly shocked as she quickly placed her hand on Victor.
The man was one of Justin’s bodyguards and they both had met him before. If it hadn’t been for the masks, the bodyguard would have immediately recognized them.
If there weren’t any accidents, Rachel should be right here in this suite.
The door to the master bedroom was kept shut.
Rachel sat on the carpet as she helplessly hugged her knees to her chest. Her tears had run dry a long time
ago.
She didn’t know how much time had passed when someone knocked on the door.
Knock knock
The door opened from the other side and the bodyguard entered with a meal tray in hand. “Mrs. Burton, you haven’t eaten anything in two days. The hotel has prepared some soup for you, so please at least have some. If something happens to you, President Burton will hold us responsible.”
Rachel flipped the meal tray over as her shoulders trembled.
When she did so, the hot soup scalded the bodyguard’s hand. He took in a sharp breath, but he dared not say anything as he silently cleaned up and left. Once he was out of earshot, he cursed as he walked.
“She’s still not eating?” The other bodyguard outside gave a pitiful look. “You were scalded?”
“Obviously. No matter what they say, I won’t send the food later tonight. You should do the job.”
“She won’t eat even if we send in the food, so let’s just stop taking the food in.”
“If Frankie and President Burton learn about this, they’ll rip us into shreds. We’re simply unlucky to be in this position, so let’s just submit to fate.”
“Let’s eat first, I suppose.”
The hotel had already sent the bodyguards their lunch and the food was on the dining table.
The two bodyguards walked over to the table to sit down. As they ate, they glanced at the two janitors who were still tidying up the room. “Why are you guys so slow today?”
“Huh? You don’t have to clean the master bedroom, so you can leave that alone.”
Gloria and Victor hastily nodded and collected their things as they prepared to leave.
Behind them, the two bodyguards feasted on the meal. They hadn’t eaten much and suddenly fell over before Gloria and Victor could even reach the door. The motionless bodyguards flopped on the table.
“Timber!” Victor pulled at Gloria’s sleeve. “Isn’t your drug a little too effective?”
“I swiped a bottle or two when I visited Justin’s medical research institute. No one dares to sell this sort of drug on the market. Good thing I had foresight.” Gloria beamed gleefully. “Now, let’s get down to business.”
The two then ran toward the master bedroom.
“Miss Rachel!”
A complete mess had greeted them when they opened the door to the bedroom. Rachel was seated on the carpet next to the bed and she looked so frail that she could topple over at any moment.
When she saw Gloria and Victor, she was stunned for a long while as she thought she was dreaming.
The three of them then rented a car and sped to Riverdale the same night.
Gloria was the one behind the wheel on their way back.
Rachel had borrowed Victor’s phone and contacted Janice first and foremost.
Since Justin refused to help, she could only turn to Janice.
“Victor, tell Rachel to calm down first. I’ll check the texts and calls on her phone to see whether I can track where the kidnapping occurred.”
“Okay, got it.”
After hanging up the call, Victor comforted Rachel, “Miss Rachel, perhaps things aren’t as bad as you think they are. Maybe they would leave Madam Tiller alone when the kidnappers realize that Justin wouldn’t help.”
“Yes, that’s possible.” Gloria clutched the steering wheel as she intercepted. “Justin isn’t a heartless person, so I think he might have the same idea.”
“Come on, are you still sticking up for him? This isn’t the first time something like this has happened. This madman even dared to lock Miss Rachel up!” At the mention of Justin, Victor’s expression turned sour. “He has a few screws loose, you know? What does he think other people are-criminals and animals? Is that why he locks people up without thinking twice? He won’t come to the rescue and even pushed the whole problem onto Miss Rachel!”
Gloria responded, “When we arrive in Riverdale, wait for me while I have a word or two with Justin.”
“Would he even listen to you?”
“It’s still better than nothing. Miss Rachel, don’t worry much since I’ll think of a way. It’s your grandma, so I’m sure Justin won’t just stand by and watch.”
It was only after meeting Rachel that Gloria knew about the kidnapper’s demands.
According to her understanding of Justin, Gloria felt that he wouldn’t trade someone’s life for this tiny little bit of benefit, much less allow any harm to befall Rachel’s grandma, who was her one and only family left in the world.
At that moment, Rachel couldn’t think of anything but her grandma’s safety.
Victor’s words were logical, but most kidnappers were cruel people. If they knew that Justin was stubborn and wouldn’t give in, there was a high possibility that they would just kill their hostage.
She had never heard of kidnappers sending their hostage back in one piece after a failed negotiation.
As for Gloria…
Rachel felt that Gloria was merely used to Justin’s obedience, which was why she believed that he would go to the rescue.
Meanwhile, a black car was speeding down the streets of Riverdale.
On the passenger seat, Frankie had received a call and his expression immediately fell. “President Burton, I just received a call from Brookville Hotel reporting that Mrs. Burton has escaped.”
Justin’s cold eyes were reflected in the back mirror as he raged, “Escaped? What do you mean by ‘escaped? There are many people there, but none of them can keep an eye over her?”
“Gloria was the one who took her away.”
His expression darkened before he immediately made a call.
Gloria’s phone was repeatedly ringing.
Seeing the incoming call on the display, she said hastily, “Oh no, I think Justin found out that I helped Miss Rachel escape.”
Victor sneered, “You’re simply doing the right thing. What can he complain about?”
“Shut up. If you don’t want to complicate things. don’t you dare say a word later.”
With that. Gloria gingerly pressed the button to initiate a handsfree call.
Justin’s voice immediately filled the inside of the car. “Gloria, where are you right now?”
“Me? I’m having a night out with my friends.”
“Spare the nonsense. Gloria, did you go all the way to Brookville Hotel to get Rae out? Is she with you?”
Now that the beans had been spilled, Gloria couldn’t maintain the pretense anymore. “So what if I did? You never had any right to lock people up and I’m actually on my way to talk to you about this. What are you thinking? Is a business deal more important than someone’s life?”
“I’m doing this for her safety, Gloria. Listen, is Rae with you right now? If you’ve already taken her back to Riverdale, send her over right now.”
Her anger rose when she heard those words. “You still refuse to help, eh? How long do you think you can maintain your relationship with Miss Rachel if this continues? If you won’t help us, we’re better off taking this to the police!”
“Don’t!”
“Why not? Miss Rachel’s friend would definitely lend a helping hand.”
“Because I said so!”
“Now that’s going overboard! I thought you were someone more decent.”
With that, Gloria ended the call as her face reddened with anger.
Victor was about to drop a sarcastic word or two when his phone rang. “It’s from Officer Hawkins. Does she already have some news?”
Rachel’s eyes brightened.
As soon as the call went through, Janice’s voice rang from the other end of the line. “I’m sorry, Rachel. I couldn’t make it in time.”
She forcefully pinched her palm. Couldn’t make it in time?
