Question after question kept coming, and Heather was stuck in this game. Just who on earth was the one commanding the pieces on this board? The sky in Bradfort City was currently cloaked in clouds. Likewise, Heather’s emotions were all tangled up. Right now, the thing that Heather was most concerned about was Myra’s whereabouts.
When Matthias called, Heather hastily answered her phone. At this moment, his voice was music to her ears.
“Heather,” Matthias said, his tone heavily colored with longing. After Matthias had been hurt by Heather’s earlier distantness, every minute felt like a year instead.
“Call me again on a different number, Matthias.” Heather was worried that the kidnappers had bugged his phone, so she thought of this plan and hung up on him. Matthias was still puzzled, but he couldn’t ignore Heather’s words after she had requested him to do that.
Matthias called Lara in. “Give me your phone,” he said as he stuck a hand out at her.
Lara looked at him, not quite understanding what was going on. “I left my phone outside.”
“Bring it here, quick,” Matthias urged hastily.
Lara dashed out and came back with her mobile device before handing it over timidly to Matthias. It was his fault for asking this out of the blue—her phone’s wallpaper was a picture of him, one that she had managed to get after painstaking effort.
Lara waited nervously and expectantly like a young girl faced with her crush, but Matthias didn’t say anything about her wallpaper. Instead, he entered Heather’s number with well-practised ease, having already memorized her phone number until it was carved into his mind.
When Heather saw a number she didn’t recognize flashing on her phone, she quickly answered the call. Then, Matthias’ familiar voice drifted over from the other end.
“Heather, what’s going on with you?” Matthias’ instincts were telling him that things definitely weren’t as simple as they seemed.
Heather carefully asked, “Is there anyone around you now?” At a time like this, Heather couldn’t trust anyone.
Matthias glanced at Lara and said to her, “I’ll return your phone later when I’m done. Please go outside for now.” His even tone completely shattered Lara’s girlish expectations.
It turned out that Matthias was capable of ignoring her to this extent. Hatred suddenly bubbled up within Lara, but she also felt lucky that Matthias was using her phone. Moreover, she even knew that he was on the phone with Heather.
A pained smile crept onto Lara’s lips, and a poisonous look flashed across her eyes. Now, Lara knew why people were warned not to fall in love with their superiors.
“Myra has been kidnapped,” Heather said as she cut right to the chase. She couldn’t accept this either despite being the one delivering the news, but she had to tell Matthias about this.
Upon hearing this, Matthias’ brows furrowed deepy. He somewhat panicked as he replied, “No way. Myra is under Tony’s protection, so how can she be kidnapped?” Clearly, it was difficult for Matthias to accept the news too.
“I’m still a little unsure about that, so I’m hoping that you can drop by Myra’s place yourself to see if she has actually been kidnapped.” Heather still held a shred of hope that these kidnappers had found some other woman who greatly resembled Myra to put on an act. At any rate, they should first determine whether Myra was really missing.
“Okay, I’ll go there now.” Matthias immediately got up, for there was nothing more important than this matter right now.
“Don’t be in such a rush—let me finish first. If you can’t find Myra at her home, you must get a picture of a certain pretty maid working at her house. I need a clear picture of that maid.” Heather could only put her hopes on Matthias to do what she couldn’t.
“Got it, no problem,” Matthias answered.
After a moment, Heather still felt that something wasn’t right. “Hold up, I think it’s not all that safe for you to go alone. There’s someone watching us, after all.”
That was a tough problem. Then, Heather mulled it over and asked, “Can you arrange for someone you trust to go?” Heather believed that Matthias would be able to finish this task well.
“Yes,” Matthias said with absolute certainty.
“You must keep everything a secret, and you can’t let anyone else know. By the way, we’re already being watched; not even Tony has been able to escape their surveillance. I hope that you’ll keep an eye out for yourself.” Heather pulled a long face as she thought about Tony’s phone call. The situation with Tony was also another problem.
“What happened to Tony?” Matthias immediately asked. He hadn’t thought that even Tony would be compromised, and things were getting more and more complicated.
“That’s a bit more personal, so now’s not the time to talk about that. Please do what I’ve asked you to do first.” Heather was like a strict commander. They couldn’t make a misstep, or their plan would go up in flames.
“In that case, do you need me to go over to where you are now?” Matthias asked, worried beyond belief. He could tell that Heather wasn’t in a good state even over the phone.
“There’s no need for that. We can’t see each other for now; the kidnappers have forbidden me to see anyone. They’ve kept me at the Langston Residence, turning the place into my prison.” Heather gritted her teeth as she spoke. At the same time, she wished for nothing more than to rip every single one of those criminals to shreds when she thought about them.
“Okay.” Matthias knew that this matter was important, so he obeyed Heather’s instructions this time.
“We will successfully rescue Myra,” Heather said with utmost confidence. In truth, she was also hoping for Matthias to comfort her.
“Yes, I trust your resilience and my own skills—they aren’t behind yours. With us two great minds together, nothing can defeat us.” Matthias completely understood what Heather was thinking right now; deep down, he knew that Heather wanted someone strong. As such, he would do just that.
At a time of danger like this, not only did Matthias have to show his trust in Heather, he had to make her understand that they could accomplish anything with him around.
“Right, thank you.” Heather got an answer that satisfied her. Suddenly, she felt a little remorseful about her attitude toward him earlier.
All this time, Heather had an endless amount of guilt toward Matthias. Going forward, how was she supposed to repay him?
“You don’t need to thank me, and you don’t have to apologize to me ever. I’ll always be your strongest shield,” Matthias said gallantly. He was a man, and he had to hold everything together.
“You’re always so accommodating when it comes to me, and I’m filled with guilt over that. I don’t know how I should repay you.” Heather bit her lip. This was something that came from the bottom of her heart, and was also difficult for her to say.
“In that case, you can pay me back by spending your life with me.” A charming smile appeared on Matthias’ face. He needed to try and get as much benefit for himself as he could while Heather was still feeling guilty over him.
“Well then, you better prepare yourself for a life of torture from me.” Heather didn’t dodge the question, instead opting to answer it relaxedly. This made Matthias’ heart beat quickly; even a manly man’s heart would race when a woman flirted with him.
“I’m willing to spend my life with you,” Matthias answered with his raw emotions. Even if he had to spend the rest of his life being tormented by Heather, he was willing to put up with it.
Meanwhile, Heather laughed blissfully and hung up. Both of them were a little reluctant to let the conversation end, but Heather hoped that Matthias would be able to get a new lead for her. However, despite all her plotting and planning, she didn’t account for one thing—it was her fault for never really thinking about that person during her daily life.
This particular day seemed unusually long, and it felt as though several centuries had already passed. Heather would occasionally look out of the window, and the clouds outside shifted with time—just like her heart.
There was still no way to resolve the situation. Half a day had gone by, yet she couldn’t even find a clue. Heather hugged herself tightly and forced herself to think quickly, believing that she had overlooked something. In the sealed space that was her room, Heather threw a fit at her computer. She had never been so frantic before, but now, her emotions were all over the place.
Then, Heather got up from her seat and immediately opened the windows to let some cool air in. The place was quiet, and she was unable to hear anyone else. Heather had to admit that the Langston Residence’s noise insulation was pretty good.
The wind blew mercilessly onto Heather’s face, and it hurt quite a bit. She was unsure whether it would rain, for it looked like a storm was about to appear soon.
The garden at the back of the Langston Residence had safflowers which never withered throughout the years, and it seemed as though they were gloating over their resilience. The flowers swayed with the wind, and Heather could smell the faint scent of flowers and other plants in the air.
She loved this smell back then, but she was abnormally irritated right now—she even felt that the smell was like the scent of blood.
Waiting was the most torturous part, for there was still nothing from Matthias’ end. Likewise, Everly still hadn’t gotten any leads yet. Heather waited and waited, but she ended up getting a call from the kidnappers instead.
“Heather, Heather—it looks like you’re not being a good girl at all. Naturally, you have never been one to follow the rules.” The kidnapper’s voice was dripping with condescension.
“What do you mean?” Heather had an ominous feeling.
“Since you’ve turned a deaf ear to my words, I’ll just have to punish you a little.” The kidnapper’s icy voice made Heather anxious.
“Don’t do anything rash. You must not do anything to Myra.” Heather was worried for Myra’s safety, afraid that the kidnapper would do something impulsive.
“Relax, Miss Heather. It’s your mistake, after all. I won’t take my anger out on Mrs. Hart herself. You’re quite pretty, and I’m a little reluctant to actually do anything to you. In that case, who should be my target instead?” As the kidnapper spoke, he tapped on the table. It sounded like a trumpet announcing the start of a war.
“What are you planning to do?” Heather’s heart had just calmed itself down, but it then tensed up again.
“It seems that you got your cousin to carry out the investigation instead. The young girl is working so hard too. I love girls who keep their word. Why don’t I call her over to have a cup of tea with me?” the kidnapper asked with madness in his voice.
Instantly, Heather was worked up. “I’m warning you—don’t touch any of my family. We Langstons are not people that you lowly criminals can just touch.”
The kidnapper guffawed. “You’re the one who broke the rules first, Miss Heather. I can’t get close to you, and I can’t blow off some steam through someone you know either?”
After finishing his speech, the kidnapper took a short pause before he continued, “Of course, I was going to invite your man over so I can pummel him all I want, but I heard that Mr. Locke is even more skilled than the best martial artists out there. You also know that I’m someone who won’t give in even in the face of a challenge; naturally, I’d just pick an opponent that I can easily beat. Am I right, or am I right?”
Heather was already incredibly livid. How could there be such shameless people out there? How could he say all those impudent things without any filter?
Regardless, Heather had to stop this impending tragedy. No matter what, she couldn’t let them capture Everly.
“Don’t get mad, Miss Heather. You still have half an hour. If you can find Everly within that time, you win,” the kidnapper said like he was playing a game, once again challenging Heather’s boundaries.
