Chapter 1080 Where Did You Hide It His eyes glinting, Bastien questioned coldly, âWhy arenât you answering the call, Major General Sutton?â
Jerome glanced at his phone. âPlease excuse me while I take this call, Prince Jonathan.â
Toying with the pen in his hand, Bastien queried solemnly, âWhy are you excusing yourself? If you continue dragging your feet, the call will be disconnected soon, Major General Sutton. Just answer the call here. I donât mind.â
Despite his seemingly nonchalant words, his tone carried an inexplicable hint of coercion. âPrince Jonathanââ
âAre you suspecting that Iâll eavesdrop on your military intelligence?â Bastien placed the pen in his hand down, his countenance turning flinty in a flash.
âOf course not.â âIn that case, answer the call in front of me.â Left with no other recourse, Jerome could only take the call before Bastien. âHello, Natalie.â
Natalieâs voice promptly drifted out of the phone.
âJerome, Yumi was kidnapped by a woman at the kindergarten. When the woman entered the kindergarten, Sophia was with Yumi, but she let Sophia go and took Yumi away. Iâve pondered for a long time, but I canât think of anyone whoâd do such a thing.
I donât have any leads at the moment, so Iâd like to seek your help to investigate this matter.â
Knowing Yumiâs importance to her all too well, Jerome hastily promised in all solemnity, âDonât worry. Iâll help you.â âThank you.â
Subsequently, the call was disconnected. Jerome put his phone away and said to Bastien, âPrince Jonathan, please excuse me as Iâve got some personal matters to handle.â
In response, Bastien nodded. âYou may be dismissed.â Shortly after Jerome had left, Bastien got to his feet.
âSend someone to keep an eye on him and see what exactly Natalie wanted him to investigate,â he instructed Joseph beside him.
Aware that the man still couldnât forget Natalie after she declined his offer of marriage, Joseph could only answer with a dip of his head, âUnderstood.â
Then, he left.
Bastien, on the other hand, couldnât help walking over to the window. As he gazed out at the darkening sky, his long and slender fingers clutched at the window frame.
Never had I expected Natalie to be so familiar with Jerome. Sure enough, there are too many things about her that go beyond my expectations. Anyhow, Iâve already made up my mind to bag her! No matter her past or the reprehensible means Iâve got to stoop to in order to have her, Iâll never change my mind!
Meanwhile, Yumi was jolted awake by cold water that was thrown right into her face with a splash.
Splash!
Her thick eyelashes fluttered as she slowly roused.
As soon as she opened her eyes, she was greeted by the sight of Zophieâs grim and icy face. Such fear struck her that her heart lurched.
âI-Itâs you...â
Upon seeing that she was awake, Zophie pinched her chin and sneered, âYouâre awake?â
âWhat do you want... with me? Let go of me... Let me go!â Yumiâs chin hurt from the womanâs grip, and tears escaped her eyes unbidden.
Conversely, Zophie shot daggers at her.
âSpit it out! Where did you hide that jade key?â
Jade key?
Yumiâs pupils abruptly constricted, and her eyes brimmed with panic.
Ever since she escaped to the orphanage and was taken in, no one hunted her down anymore. Even after Natalie adopted her later, no similar incident transpired.
She thought they had given up pursuing her, so she was finally safe, but she never expected to be caught in Loang in the end.
âI... I donât know what youâre saying! What key are you going on about? Keys are only ever iron. How could there be a jade key?â
Yumi countered stubbornly.
She wanted to play dumb to fool Zophie, but the latter had long since seen her picture at Galeâs residence and knew that she couldnât have gotten the wrong person. Sneering, she continued tightening her grip.
âYouâre still playing dumb with me and lying to me?â
Terror inundated Yumi, but she knew that she could only keep herself alive by holding firm to that lie.
âJ-Jade key? I really donât know what youâre talking about!â
âBrat, it seems that youâre not going to speak the truth without me forcing it out of you. The jade key is exceedingly crucial, yet I didnât find it even after searching you from head to toe earlier. Where exactly did you put it? Or... did you entrust it to Natalie for safekeeping?â