Chapter 182: It’s Rare to See You Go to War for Someone

Chapter 182: Chapter 182: It’s Rare to See You Go to War for Someone

A woman’s disgruntled voice came from the other end of the line. "Where’s her face? The video you sent is too dark. I can’t see anything clearly. How do I know you’re not trying to fool me?"

"There’s nothing I can do about that. Our options were limited." Bill Young feigned hardship. "My buddy and I are taking a huge risk doing this for you. Now we have to lie low and hide all over Veridia to avoid trouble, and our daily expenses aren’t cheap..."

"I’ll wire you the money in a bit. Once you get it, bring her to Heaven on Earth as soon as possible. I’ll have Richie meet you there."

Bill’s heart skipped a beat, but he forced himself to sound calm and gave a noncommittal response.

The moment he received the bank transfer notification on his phone, he immediately turned it off. His expression darkened completely.

Just then, Shane Cornell rushed in.

"Bill, this is bad! I just got word that Jared Hawthorne’s men have traced us to the docks. Our location might have been exposed a long time ago!"

This meant that Jared Hawthorne already knew they were hiding in Veridia and might have even set an inescapable trap.

Bill’s face changed drastically. He roared in disbelief, "Impossible! That woman is just a plaything Jared Hawthorne keeps. The last thing a rich man needs is another woman! Why would the head of the great Hawthorne Family personally chase us all the way to Veridia for some woman?"

He still remembered what Miss Langley had said—that Vesper Grayson was just a canary Jared Hawthorne kept in a cage, to be discarded once he got tired of her. If Jared truly cared about her, why hadn’t he given her an official status after all this time?

’Could it be... Miss Langley has been lying to me from the very beginning!’

"My contact in the underworld told me himself. He wouldn’t lie to me!" Shane’s forehead was beaded with sweat from anxiety. "We have to leave Veridia right now! Any later and it’ll be too late!"

The two didn’t dare to linger. They hastily packed their things and left the motel. The moment they reached the street, they noticed it was suddenly filled with an unusual number of people holding photographs, looking around as if they were searching for someone.

"Bill, something’s not right. They... I think they’re looking for us!" Shane Cornell clenched his fists tightly, his voice panicked.

"No way! This is Veridia. No matter how powerful and well-connected Jared Hawthorne is, his reach doesn’t extend here!" Bill retorted stubbornly, but deep down, he was already panicking.

Not daring to make a rash move, they quickly hid in a dark corner of the street to observe. Their faces fell as they watched the men compare the photographs and gradually head in their direction.

’We’re screwed! They’re really after us!’

Seeing the search party closing in on them, the two couldn’t afford to hesitate any longer. They turned and bolted back down an alley.

"Stop!"

A sharp command suddenly rang out from behind them.

The two were scared out of their wits. Without daring to look back, they fled with all their might.

"Those two look suspicious! After them! Don’t let them get away!"

In their panic, they ducked into a narrow alley without looking. When they realized it was a dead end, they tried to turn back, only to find themselves cornered by the figures closing in. There was no escape.

But they weren’t going to surrender without a fight. A brawl broke out, but they were subdued in a matter of seconds.

Shane Cornell was horrified.

He had been a soldier and was a decent fighter, yet he hadn’t lasted three moves against his opponent.

Dust filled the air of a suburban cement factory as a cold wind swept pebbles across the desolate ground.

Bill Young and Shane Cornell were thrown violently onto the cold, rough cement floor like a pair of dead dogs.

A subordinate bowed his head, his voice low and reverent.

"Lord Rex, we’ve brought them."

In the depths of the dim factory, a tall, imposing figure stood silently.

The man wore a long, pure black trench coat. The fabric was heavy and crisp, creating a sharp, severe line at his waist. The dark hem fluttered gently in the wind.

At the sound of the voice, he slowly turned around.

His profile was sharp and severe, his eyes were dark, and his gaze was utterly devoid of warmth. A natural, murderous aura emanated from him, his presence overwhelmingly intimidating.

Bill Young and Shane Cornell, sprawled wretchedly on the ground, endured the intense pain and struggled to lift their heads to look.

In the vast, empty factory, shadows overlapped upon shadows. A tall, cold figure stood in the depths.

Clad in a long black trench coat, he blended into the gloom. His silhouette was hard and profound, and his face was hidden in the heavy shadows, making his features impossible to discern. But a bone-chilling, oppressive aura swept over them like a fierce wind, a cold that seeped through their limbs and into their very bones.

The two men froze, their throats constricting. They were enveloped by a suffocating fear.

"Speak. Who hired you to kidnap her?"

Bill Young suppressed the terror churning inside him and stubbornly played dumb.

"Who are you? I don’t know what you’re talking about."

The moment the words left his mouth, the man, without saying a word, simply lifted his hand.

The next second, a burly henchman stepped forward with a gleaming iron rod. He raised it high, gathering his strength, and brought it down with a whoosh!

A bloodcurdling scream pierced the air, followed by the sharp, sickening CRACK of a leg bone breaking. The sound echoed repeatedly through the vast, silent cement factory, utterly horrifying.

Rex Lambert unhurriedly took out a cigar. He rolled it between his fingers, lit it, and took a light puff from his thin lips. He exhaled the smoke slowly, his expression languid and indifferent, completely unfazed by the scene.

"Now, do you understand?"

Bill Young was convulsing in pain, on the verge of fainting. His eyes, fixed on Rex Lambert, were filled with nothing but bone-deep terror. He stammered, "Who the hell are you? I’ve never offended... AAGH!!"

Before he could finish, the iron rod fell again, and his other leg snapped with a sickening CRUNCH.

"Who gave you permission to ask questions?" the burly henchman beside him snarled, his eyes vicious. "You answer what Lord Rex asks. If you dare give another irrelevant answer, I’ll break every bone in your body, one by one!"

The pain made Bill’s consciousness fade. He was drenched in a cold sweat, his lips trembling as they opened and closed, unable to form a single complete sentence.

Shane Cornell, standing in the corner, was already drenched in a cold sweat. He stared intently at the scene, his heart filled with horror.

’These people aren’t ordinary thugs. They’re ruthless monsters, their hands stained with blood, completely devoid of humanity!’

After what felt like an eternity, Bill Young finally recovered a sliver of strength from the excruciating pain. Lying paralyzed in a pool of his own blood, he spoke with difficulty, his voice hoarse and broken.

"I’ll talk... I’ll tell you everything... I’ve never met the mastermind. We only ever contacted her by phone. She gave me 700,000 to bring the woman to Veridia, sell her to Heaven on Earth, and hand her over to a guy named Richie... Before we could do anything, the woman managed to escape..."

He gasped for air, a ragged, wheezing sound coming from his throat. Not daring to hide a single detail, he laid out everything that had happened, down to the last particular. Finally, he pleaded pitifully.

"I was just greedy and wanted to make some quick money... Please, spare my life, I’m begging you..."

Rex Lambert’s cold eyes narrowed, and a biting chill emanated from him. He gave a cold order to the subordinate beside him, "Go find that guy named Richie. Once you have him, bring him here."

Back at the hotel, Jared Hawthorne had lulled Vesper Grayson to sleep. Only when her breathing became steady and deep did he quietly get up. After getting dressed, he walked slowly out of the bedroom.

In the living room, Maxim Chandler and Leon Quillan had been waiting for a long time. They immediately bowed when they saw him emerge.

"Sir, the men who kidnapped Madam have been caught."

Jared Hawthorne acknowledged with a soft grunt. His expression was icy as his gaze swept over the two men.

"Maxim, you stay here and stand guard. Leon, you’re coming with me."

「An hour later.」

A black sedan came to a steady stop in the open space of the abandoned cement factory.

Jared Hawthorne strode inside with Leon Quillan. The first thing they saw was Bill Young and Shane Cornell, lying paralyzed in pools of blood, barely breathing.

A tall figure slowly emerged from the shadows. A faint smile touched the man’s dark eyes as he was the first to break the silence.

"Jared, it’s been three years in the blink of an eye since we last saw each other."

Jared Hawthorne’s gaze swept over the two men on the floor. His expression was indifferent as he got straight to the point.

"Did they confess everything?"

"They confessed, more or less. But it’s about as good as nothing," Rex Lambert said, his smile vanishing. His cold eyes swept toward Bill Young, his tone devoid of any warmth. "Repeat what you just said."

Bill Young trembled all over, his pupils constricting violently. Not daring to delay for a second, he stammered through a repeat of his confession, shaking from the excruciating pain.

Jared Hawthorne listened in silence. The atmosphere around him dropped to a freezing point, and his face turned frighteningly grim.

’Miss Langley?’

He couldn’t, for the life of him, recall when Vesper had ever had a conflict with someone like that.

"I’ve already sent people to track down Richie. As long as this one isn’t lying, we’ll have him soon." Rex Lambert held out a cigar, but Jared Hawthorne didn’t take it.

"I just took a shower. I’m not smoking."

’Vesper is pregnant now. The smell of smoke on my clothes would be bad for the baby.’

Rex Lambert raised an eyebrow, a playful glint in his eyes. "It’s rare to see you go to such lengths for someone. Are you serious this time?"