Chapter 143
My Mute Bride
After he closed the door, Justinâs face was clouded with gloom. He tossed Rachelâs phone to Frankie and said, âGive the phone to the private detective. Iâm sure the kidnappers will call again.â
âCertainly.â
âAlso, inform the project manager in Brookville and prepare to withdraw the bid.â
Frankie looked at Justin in amazement and disbelief. They had been discussing this project for a long time, in which the entire company knew its importance because it was not only reflected in the profit value, but also in the opportunities for long-term cooperation in the future.
However, Justin had ordered them to withdraw the bid.
Over at Riverdale the following afternoon, an argument was close to ensuing.
âMiss Hochmann, you canât enter now. Miss Hochmann!â
âJustin!â Gloria pushed open the door and barged into his office in a rage.
Justin had just finished his morning meeting and he was sitting behind the computer. Upon seeing her appearance, he frowned. âWhatâs wrong?â
âYouâre still asking me whatâs wrong? Where is Rachel?â
âShe has something to attend to and wonât be back for a while.â
âSheâs not coming back for a while?â Gloria nodded. âOkay. Then, Iâll ask, whereâs Rachelâs grandma?â
He frowned but did not reply.
âShe has been kidnapped; do you know about this?â
âYes.â
âYes?â Gloriaâs anger immediately rose and she raised her voice. âThen, how can you still sit here to leisurely drink coffee? That is Rachelâs only family member. Do you know that if anything happens to her grandma, Rachel will never forgive you?â
Justin asked, âWho told you this?â
âNever mind! Just tell me whether you care about this matter or not!â
âIâm not a police officer, so how can I resolve this?â
âThe kidnappers are obviously after you. What has Rachel and her grandmother done wrong? If they werenât involved with you, who would disturb them? I know that better than anyone!â
âWhat you mean by that is that you are blaming me for having endangered you all these years?â
Gloriaâs face stiffened as her anger froze at the corners of her mouth.
âGet out. I still have things to do.â Justin converged his gaze on her, his pair of cold eyes frosty.
She clenched her fist indignantly and shouted, âFine, Iâll leave!â
After she left the Burton Group, Victor stopped her at the entrance. âHow did it go? Did the talks fall apart?â
âYou saw that and youâre still asking?â Gloria glared at him. âI really didnât expect Justin to be so stone hearted. Is Rachelâs grandmaâs life less important than money? If the kidnappers want money, just give it to them! How is he short of money?â
He only knew that Rachelâs grandmother was kidnapped and Rachel had suddenly lost contact with the world, so he could only come to look for Gloria. It had already been two days, but Justin was drinking coffee in the office leisurely like nothing was wrong. When Gloria saw this, she lost her temper..
âAll business is treacherous. I have already said that before. Anyway, do you know where Rachel is?
Did you find out?â
She was taken aback as she replied sheepishly, âI forgot.â
Victor stared at her. âSo, you just went to quarrel with him?â
âWhen I am angry, I forget everything!â
âYouâre really something! I might as well not look for you!â
âWait for me!â Gloria caught up with him and said analytically, âI probably know where she is! They went to Brookville; itâs a place where Justin and I have been before. He always stays in the same hotel!â
âYou mean we should go directly to Brookville to find Rachel?â
âYeah, letâs do so!â
Once Gloria left, Frankie cautiously entered the office. âPresident Burton, the coffee is cold. Shall I get you another cup?â
âNo need. How are things going?â
âThereâs progress. Itâs as you expected-it was Jason Burton who had people do the deed. Although the surveillance cameras in the area did not capture the suspect, it caught the suspectâs vehicle cruising around that day and the license plate number belonged to one of his men.â
Justinâs expression slowly fell. âHe is too hasty and intends to go all out.â
âIâm afraid that in his view, he is intending to fight to the death. If we withdraw the bid, he can take advantage of Golden Growth Corporation and seize the opportunity to work with them to establish another business.â
âThatâs not the issue right now.â
Frankie returned to his senses and replied, âYes, I understand. The private detective is already following up on the address of Jasonâs hideout. There should be news soon. By the way, the private detective also added that on the day your second aunt died in that car accident, Amber visited the hospital morgue, where Jason was also present. However, she did not leave the hospital that day.â
âAmber?â Justin suddenly raised his eyebrow. âLetâs go to the Hudson Residence then.â
Brookville was a long way from Belleview, so in order to save time, Gloria and Victor had boarded the high speed train, saving half the time on their journey if they had driven.
âThis is the hotel.â She pointed at the doors. âJustin will only stay at this hotel when he comes to Brookville. Iâm 99% sure of it.â
âThen, how about the remaining 1%?â
âDonât jinx it!â
Gloria glared at Victor and went into the lobby, going straight to the reception to ask about Rachelâs stay there âRachel Hudson, right?â The receptionist carefully checked the records and suddenly had a strange look. âSorry, but we donât have this guest in this hotel. You and your friend may have come to the wrong place.â
âWrong place? Thatâs not possible.â
âHow is it impossible?â Victor rolled his eyes. âBrookville is a large place with many hotels. Are you confident that Justin will definitely come and stay here? Youâve been cocksure. I think Iâm out of my mind to come here with you. I might as well head home and go to the market to find out who kidnapped her grandma!â
However, Gloria was extremely stubborn as she asked the employee, âIf Rachel Hudson did not stay here, then what about Justin Burton? He is your VIP guest here.â
âSorry, thereâs no such guest too.â This time, the receptionist didnât even check the guest list.
Upon seeing this, Gloria understood what was going on.
As Victor argued to return to Riverdale, she pulled him toward the hotelâs employee room before they sneaked inside.
âWhat are you doing?â
âShh.â She covered his mouth. âKeep your voice down or theyâll discover that you did not leave.â
âWhat the hell are you doing?â
âWearing a disguise to save someone.â
âSave who? Didnât they tell you that Rachel is not here?â
âYou believe what they said? Whereâs your brain?â Gloria snorted before continuing, âI donât even have to thil ⦠to know that the employee was lying. He first looked at Rachelâs information and he must have stumbled upon something because his expression changed. When I mentioned Justin, he did not even check and simply denied it.â
âSo what? Even if Rachel is in this hotel, how can we find her? Do we have to check one room at a time?â
âWho said we have to do so?â
She handed a couple of employeeâs uniform to Victor. âJustin only lives in suites and there are only two of each per floor. Itâs not much trouble at all.â
He suddenly felt that the blonde girl in front of him was actually intelligent. âSo, what are we going to do now?â
Gloria responded with a straight face, âGo to each suite and knock on the door to clean the room!â