âYouâre awake? Are you okay?â Lyle asked worriedly. He was about to walk towards me but was stopped by someone.
âWe havenât agreed on the terms yet, Mr. Smith. Itâs best if you donât step forward now. Your ex-wife is doing okay. I didnât lie to you, did I?â the person said plainly as he blocked the former.
âTerms?â I glanced at Lyle, and then at the rest in the room. Suddenly, I realized that because of my bad luck, I encountered people who were competing with Lyle to get contracts or investors. However, they were unsuccessful, so they turned their attention to me.
But am I really unlucky?
Back then, the incident with Lyle, Crystal, and I caused such a huge commotion in Avenport. It wasnât a secret that I was Lyleâs ex-wife. However, these people seemed to have mistaken something. Where did they get the confidence that this man would give up on his benefits for me? After all, the person he always loved was Crystal.
If Crystal hadnât made so many mistakes, tricked Lyle, and even tried to take over the Smith familyâs assets, it wouldnât have been my place to speak.
âJust say what you want.â He took a glance at me, a guilty look on his face. He must have never expected me to be dragged into his mess.
âItâs simple. We were the ones who were supposed to have the project. If it wasnât for you getting in our way and taking it away from us, we wouldnât have lost such a great opportunity. As long as you sign the contract that says that youâll give me the project, Iâll let go of your ex-wife,â someone answered.
âFor no other conditions?â Lyle scoffed. âIâve already spent fifty thousand just for this project, and I finally got my hands on it. Why should I give it to you just like that?â
His words were cold, and it didnât seem like he had any intentions of backing down.
âWhat? Are you going to be so cruel that you wonât even care about your ex-wife anymore?â The scrawny man standing next to me became frantic and started to wave the knife he was holding before me. âWhatâs the point? Itâs just fifty thousand. The Smith family is powerful and wealthy. You canât possibly tell me that you canât pay fifty thousand, can you?â
âWhat if I say no?â Lyle questioned scornfully. âIf youâre going to kidnap someone, shouldnât you have stopped to think first? If you had kidnapped Crystal, I would agree to whatever condition you propose. But as for Yvonne, do you really think fifty thousand is worth it? Sheâs the daughter-in-law of the Lane family. Do you think Christopher Laneâs woman has anything to do with me? Or are you implying that I should give him a call to let him know that his woman has been kidnapped and that he would have to pay compensation to let her go? Do you need me to talk through the conditions with him?â
My heart sank, and I got more worried upon hearing his words. Even though I was dragged into this mess because of Lyle, his words were still true. In the past, as he stood before Crystal and me, he didnât even want to save me. That was why it wasnât much of a surprise that he wasnât willing to save me now.
Will I die here in Yorksland if he doesnât save me? My only regret is that I didnât manage to find Christopher.
âAre you really not going to care, Lyle? I could kill her right now,â the scrawny man said. He had already put the knife by my throat. I could feel that it was extremely sharp even though it had only slightly grazed my skin.
Lyle remained nonchalant. He swept a glance at me before saying, âI donât mind. However, youâll be the ones ending up in misery if you touch her. The Lane family isnât as easy to handle as the Smith family. Letâs not talk about Mr. Darius for now. Old Mr. Lane was an important person back when he used to be a governor. And as for Christopher, do you think heâd feed you to the dogs if he found out what you did?â
âYou-â
My heart felt empty having heard his words. Not only was he not going to save me, but he was also adding fuel to the fire. These men were already angered, and I could feel the man beside me bringing the knife closer to my neck. Am I really going to die here?