âTherefore, youâve got no choice but to obey me.ââGreat, just great! It looks like you won this round, Mr.
Fairchild.â Winnie wore a smile that didnât reach her eyes.Xavier threw her a frosty glare. âWatch your tongue. I donât want to hear you uttering a single word about my wife.âConversely, Winnie couldnât be bothered to entertain him. Whoâs his wife? Dream on!In no time, Xavier gave Louis a call. âWithdraw twenty million from my personal account and change them into gold bars. Do it now, right this instant!âAfter quickly ending the call, he immediately made another call. âOrder all the bodyguards in Teams 1 and 2 to be on standby.âBy then, the man finally finished giving out instructions.Winnie had also successfully sent out the message she had typed to Christopher.Having turned off her phone screen, she eyed Xavier. âAre you sure you donât want to lodge a police report?ââLodging a police report will easily anger the kidnappers, making it more likely that the hostage will be killed. I donât like such a possibility.âWinnie snickered derisively. âThatâs true. How could you possibly bear to see Ms.
White die when sheâs as pretty as a picture? How ironic that you just declared having a wife a while ago, Mr. Fairchild.ââWhat are you trying to say? Get one thing clearâeven if itâs a dog belonging to me, I wonât allow it to be harmed by someone else!ââYeah, not to mention your first love,â Winnie added with a smirk.That had Xavier flying into a rage. âYouâd best stop while youâre ahead!âWinnie was utterly amused. He isnât even allowing me to speak the truth now?Just when she was about to riposte, her phone dinged.It was Christopher having replied to her message.Sweeping a gaze over her phone screen, Xavier glimpsed Christopherâs name.âWho are you texting? You didnât lodge a police report, did you?â he questioned coldly.âOf course not. Have you ever seen someone lodging a police report by texting, Mr. Fairchild? Never, yes? Iâm just chatting with my husband about trivial stuff. Do you want to have a look?âA sneer tugged at Xavierâs lips. âNo, itâs okay. Iâm not interested in your private life. I donât care what you do, but watch your boundaries. Donât affect my plans.âTruth be told, Yulissaâs kidnapping was extremely fishy.Earlier, she said in the video that she went to the bar to drown her sorrows after they fought that she ended up kidnapped.But in reality, Xavier knew that she never went to the bar that night. Instead, she went back to her place after throwing a fit there.She didnât go to the bar, yet the kidnapper claimed to have abducted her from the bar. Despite being the victim, her testimony aligned with the kidnapperâs statement. It was as though they had gotten their stories straight beforehand.However, if they were co-conspirators and colluded to blackmail him, twenty million was a pittance. Furthermore, she even paid the price of a finger.That didnât make sense.Winnie had no idea of the perplexity within and merely texted Christopher about the general situation.Christopher told her to share her location while she drove and to be careful. That aside, he promised to make all preparations to back her up.One and a half hours later, Louis appeared with a massive suitcase in hand.It was filled with gold bars, weighing more than a hundred pounds.âWeâve installed a tracker in one of the semi-
hollow gold bars, Mr. Xavier. The bodyguards in Teams 1 and 2 are ready to set out anytime. Hereâs a bulletproof vest. Do put it on.âLouis had some conscience in the least, for he also prepared a bulletproof vest for Winnie.When Xavier and Winnie were all geared up, the kidnapper also called right on the dot.It was still a mechanical voice that had been processed through a voice changer. âWe have a car in the underground parking lot, Mr. Fairchild. Itâs a Volkswagen with a license plate of XXXX.
Drive our car over. Thereâs a walkie-talkie in the car. After getting into the car, weâll contact you through the walkie-talkie. Do you understand me?âAt that, Xavier sneered. Well, heâs the first person who dares speak to me in such a tone.Ignoring the kidnapper, he said to Winnie beside him, âLetâs go! Bring the gold bars along.âThen, he hung up the phone.Winnie was rendered speechless, her jaw dropping.Iâve watched quite a number of police shows in the past and heard of many kidnapping cases around me, but heâs probably the first person in the world to hang up on a kidnapper. Besides, he doesnât look as though heâs going to pay a ransom. Instead, he appears as though heâs going to raid them.Shortly after, they reached the underground parking lot and found the car mentioned by the kidnapper.Before getting into the car, Winnie checked the car over. Soon, she discovered two things.âThere are surveillance cameras and electronic jammers in the car. We probably wonât be able to use our phones, and theyâll be monitoring every single move of ours.âHer phone had been specially modified, however, so that pathetic interference had no effect on it.Xavier wasnât surprised by all that. He merely complimented her with a half-smile.âYou look very professional, Ms. Houghton. Iâm all the more curious as to who exactly you are. Are you a police officer?ââHaha, youâve got a rich imagination, Mr. Fairchild. Do get into the car.âWhile saying that, Winnie circled over and climbed into the driverâs seat. Meanwhile, Xavier sat in the backseat.In no time, the car drove out of the residential area, as per the kidnapperâs instructions.Due to the presence of surveillance cameras, neither of them spoke a single word during the drive.The car made three or four rounds in the city and suburbs before finally heading toward its true destination.It was an abandoned quarry on the riverbank in the suburbs. The kidnappers were hiding in an abandoned wreck after abducting Yulissa.No sooner had Winnie driven in than someone locked the iron fence outside the quarry.In the blink of an eye, four masked kidnappers surrounded them.One of them held a gun and used it to force Winnie and Xavier out of the car.The other three eagerly opened the trunk and dragged out the suitcase containing the gold bars.Just when they were about to open it, Xavier drawled, âShouldnât you be handing me the hostage as I hand you the money when Iâve shown such sincerity?âOne of the kidnappersâ eyes glinted with greed as he stared at the suitcase, and he bellowed, âI want to inspect the goods first!âHowever, the kidnapper holding the gun pointed it at him. âDonât touch it first. Take them in to talk to Boss.âHaving no other recourse with the gun pointed at his head, the lackey could only yield.Thus, Winnie and Xavier were promptly brought onto the wreck.It was a wrecked ship that ran aground. The instant they stepped into the wreck, two kidnappers locked the hatch.The cabin was terribly dark, only illuminated by a lamp on the ceiling and the sunlight streaming through a broken window.There was a chair under the lamp, on which a person was bound. It was none other than Yulissa.Her right hand had been simply bandaged. Her face was pale, and her hair was damp, sticking to her cheeks. Her mouth had also been taped. On the whole, she appeared to be in bad shape.Nonetheless, her chest was still rising and falling, proving that she was still breathing and was merely unconscious.With a grim face, Xavier scrutinized Yulissa for a long moment before stating, âIâve brought the gold bars, so you can let her go now.âThe leader of that group of kidnappers wore a pig mask.He personally opened the suitcase and inspected the gold bars. Then, he stood up.âWhat if I were to say that I want both the gold and your life?â