Chapter 71
My Mute Bride
âMiss Burton, weâre going to kill her if we continue doing this.â
âWhy should we be worried? If she dies in this situation, weâll just feed her body to the fishes in the sea.
I want her to pay for Henryâs death with her life!â
âMiss Burton, I wouldnât say anything if itâd someone else, but she is Young Master Justinâs wife after all.â
Tina was rendered speechless before she warned, âRachel, you better learn your lesson this time. Our game has only just started!â Then, she left with her men after making her point clear.
Then, Rachel crawled back to shore in a drenched state. The sea breeze concurrently blew and sent a cold chill down her spine, making her slouch as she frantically looked around her. A few moments had gone by as she failed to spot a single soul. Soon, she knew why she was alone after she realized that she was on a sea coast that was under development.
It was already after dark when Justin left the company and returned to Burton Residence. As soon as he stepped into the house, Sue quickly approached and greeted, âYouâre back just in time. Wash your hands and get ready for dinner.â
He removed his vest and asked, âIs Rachel back?â
âNope, whatâs wrong? Didnât you pick her up from work?â she probed even though she was happy to see him return without Rachel.
He frowned and looked at the time, thinking that Rachel should have been back by now because it was already considered late by the time he had finished his meeting. Thus, he took off his vest and walked toward the living room while making a phone call. âIâm sorry. The number youâve dialed is currently unavailable. Please try again later.â An intercept message was heard.
Sue added, âShe is an adult, so what could possibly happen to her? Donât worry, Justin. Why donât you sit down and enjoy your dinner? Sheâs probably returned to her maiden home or something.â
Nevertheless, Justin seemed like he didnât hear Sueâs words as he proceeded to make another phone call. âHello? Itâs me. Is Rachel home?â
It was after hearing the other partyâs answer that he hung up the call and grabbed his vest before leaving.
Sue quickly gave chase and asked, âWhere are you going late at night, Justin?â
A few moments later, he sped in his black sedan on the highway in Riverdale while Frankieâs voice was heard from the earpiece. âI just asked the people from the library and they said Tina had a meeting about expanding their project there, in which she appointed Young Mistress Rachel to be the person in charge.â
âGo on.â
âAfter that, Young Mistress Rachel went to the Burton Group in the afternoon, but she was never seen again. Then, I requested the security department to show me the security footage, so Iâm sure she was taken by someone from the engineering department.â
âWhat about Tina then?â
âShe was not in the office the whole day and it also appears that she canât be reached at the moment.â
âWho took Rachel away?â The manâs growl intimidated Frankie.
âIâll wait for you in front of Burton Groupâs entrance in twenty minutes. Bring our men with you!â Justin ordered with a glacial voice. Upon finishing his sentence, he removed his earpiece and tossed it onto the passenger seat next to him with a darkened expression.
Deep down in his heart, he reckoned Tina had a role in Rachelâs disappearance, considering how lightly Tina regarded a personâs life. After all, she had been spoiled until salt wouldnât save her since she was a little girl. In fact, his initial plan was to have Frankie oversee the City Council Libraryâs construction project that was funded by Burton Group as he wanted to avoid any unwanted attention and interference.
Justin thought that Tina would go easy on Rachel since she was his wife, only to realize he was wrong after the fact Twenty minutes later, he arrived at Burton Group when Frankie came with Director Roland. Moments after alighting from his car, Justin shut the door behind him and took big strides toward them.
âPresident-âBefore Director Roland could finish his sentence, a heavy kick landed on his chest, whereupon it sent him staggering backward before he toppled over with a painful scream.
âYou kidnapped her, didnât you?â Justinâs rage was uncontrollable.
âPresident Burton, it wasnât Director Roland who took her away. It was his secretary instead.â As he was scared by what he saw and heard, it took Frankie a while to make sense of what was happening before he anxiously explained, âSince Sandy lives out of the way from here, I donât think weâre going to make it on time.â
Justin fixed his gaze on Director Roland. âYour secretary?â
At this moment, Director Roland was frightened out of his wits. âPresident Burton, I swear I donât know anything about that! I really donât know whatâs going on.â
âIs that so?â Justin walked closer to him and asked, âSo, are you saying your secretary did all this behind your back?â
Director Roland repeatedly nodded. âI was in a meeting for the entire afternoon, so I have no idea what has been going on.â As soon as he finished his words, Justin grabbed him by his collar, towering over the director like a huge mountain and suffocating him with the intimidating aura.
âIâm going to ask you one more time. Where did Tina tell you to take her to?â Justinâs glacial eyes seemed as if he had the intent to kill.
Frankie, who was standing beside him, answered, âDirector Roland, do you know who Tina kidnapped?
Itâs President Burtonâs wife! Do you have any idea what youâve done?â
As soon as Director Roland heard that, his face paled. âWhat? She is⦠President Burtonâsâ¦â The moment the man stammered, he had accidentally given himself away that he was in fact aware of Rachelâs disappearance..
âIâll talk!â He decided to cooperate, knowing he couldnât get away with his mistake. âIâll give Sandy a call right now and ask her where she took Rachel to.â Then, he rummaged through his pocket for his phone in front of Justin and Frankie before dialing his secretaryâs number. Once the call was connected, he desperately asked, âWhere did you take President Burtonâs wife?â
A few moments later, Director Roland turned on the loudspeaker, whereupon Sandyâs trembling voice was heard. âEast Coast. I took her to the East Coast, but I didnât know sheâs the presidentâs wife! You need to save me, Director Roland!â
Save you? Heâll need to save himself first from the way I see it! Frankie thought.
After learning the exact location, Justin immediately entered his black car to start the engine before driving across Riverdale at lightning speed in the night.
On the other hand, Rachel was walking barefoot on the highway for what seemed like an eternity. Her phone was also out of battery as she simply couldnât switch it on. Then, she tried to flag a car down for help, but her sorry state had only scared every driver who approached her away. Because of that, she was forced to continue walking amidst the chilly wind as her entire body shook while she hugged her arms.
Not knowing how long she had been walking, her legs began to feel numb as she struggled to take a step forward. Soon, she felt so overwhelmingly dizzy that she had to stop and hold onto the railing by the roadside to take a rest. However, as soon as her hand came into contact with the railing, she felt as if the whole world was spinning around her shortly before she collapsed onto the ground.
In that instant, Rachel wondered how good it would be if she had just died there and then. After all, her death wouldnât need to be faked and she no longer needed to worry about her grandmaâs safety either.
While Rachel was absorbed in her thoughts, she was suddenly distracted by a carâs glaring headlight that forced her to raise her arms with the last bit of energy to cover her eyes. Soon, the car pulled over by the roadside at a distance not far away from her, whereupon a tall silhouette emerged in the light and ran toward her.
The man anxiously called out, âRae!â
Am I dreaming?