Smack!
A loud slap echoed in the room.
Natalie didn’t expect it.She screamed and stumbled back,half her face already swelling.
“Jenna!How dare you hit me!”
Seeing this,Ethan finally lost his temper.He lunged at me,furious.
The bodyguards moved instantly,blocking him and holding him back.“What are you doing?Let me go!How dare you do this to me?”
His face was twisted with rage as he struggled and roared.However,the bodyguards’faces remained expressionless.Their grips were iron-cold and steady.
I went to the dazed Natalie,crouched down and grabbed her by the hair,forcing her chin up.
“Natalie,”I called,looking straight into her terrified eyes,“you said my daughter would suffer in the mountains.Is that true?”
She trembled,eyes darting away.“I…I was only saying things…I don’t know anything…”
“Only saying things?”I tightened my grip until her scalp burned.“Then tell me,what mountain?What village?Who bought her?Tell me now!”
“Ah!It hurts!”she wailed,tears and snot streaking her face.“Ethan!Ethan,help me!”
“Jenna,let her go!”Ethan shouted hoarsely from the side.“How dare you!Come get me.Don’t attack a woman!”
I turned to him,calm and wild at once.His voice died in an instant.“Ethan,don’t rush.You won’t get away.”
Slow and cold,I said,“You’d better pray not a single hair on my daughter’s head is harmed.Or else…”
I left the rest unsaid,yet the chill in my voice froze the room.
Then,I let go of Natalie,stood up and told the nearest bodyguard,“Come with me.Drive.”
“Yes,miss.”
I glanced at Ethan’s pale face and at Natalie,who was still shaking,then walked out of that filthy place.
Outside,I pulled out my phone.Over a dozen missed calls and several messages filled the screen.It was all from my father and the special team.
The latest message read,[Miss,target vehicle located on the national highway toward the neighboring province’s mountains.Rescue team in pursuit.Please provide further instructions.]
I typed back,[Capture them alive.I’ll be there immediately.]
After replying,I put the phone in my pocket as I climbed into the car.
Ethan Lorrimer,Natalie Adams,your reckoning has come.
The car sped out of the city into the night.
I gripped my phone so hard my knuckles ached,watching the red dot crawl along the map.The interception team was streaming the real-time location of the shabby van carrying my daughter.
My heart hammered like it would burst.Every breath stabbed my chest.I kept praying in silence.Emma…please hold on.Mommy’s coming…
The driver kept his face set and pushed the car to the limit.Just as the dot showed we were closing in,a black SUV shot out from a fork in the road and cut across our lane.We had to brake hard.
I wasn’t ready and slammed forward into the seat.
“What’s happening?”I gasped,still terrified.
The driver’s eyes went cold as he stared at the SUV and said sternly,"Miss,that is Ethan’s car."
I was stunned,speechless.
Ethan?Here?
Wasn’t he supposed to be in that apartment?
I looked up and saw the car door suddenly open.Ethan stepped out of the driver’s seat,followed by Natalie right behind him.Her cheek still showed the red mark from my slap,but she walked arm in arm with him,smiling like winning a prize.
Ethan came up and knocked on our window.The driver rolled it down just enough to look.
In the dim light,Ethan’s face was dark.He didn’t spare the driver a look.Instead,his eyes were fixed on me.
“Very bold,Jenna Sinclair.You even came prepared with bodyguards.What now?You want to put me in jail?”
Looking at his face,I thought of my missing child and felt my anger flare hot in my chest.
“Ethan,where is my daughter?What did you do with Emma?Is she hurt?Give her back to me!”
Natalie scoffed from the side.
“Jenna,why are you still so stubborn?I told you I was sending her to a summer camp and you didn’t believe me.Do you need to see it with your own eyes before you stop?”
“Shut up!”I snapped,eyes burning,teeth clenched.“You have no right to speak here.”
Ethan shoved Natalie behind him and barked like a child,“Jenna,who are you yelling at?If you insult Natalie again,don’t blame me for not respecting our past favors!”
I let out a bitter laugh.Past favors?There was nothing noble between us.
“Ethan,I’m asking you one last time,what did you do with my daughter?”
My voice broke into a raw roar.“My team found the van.What else have you done?”
A flicker crossed his eyes.
“So what?Jenna,tell your father and his people to pull back now.Or you’ll never see your daughter again.”
He knew.He was threatening me with my child and rage shook me.“Ethan,how can you—stop being so disgusting.She’s your own daughter!”
"My daughter?"
Hearing this,Ethan sneered,“How do I know she’s mine?”
“If she weren’t in the way,I’d be happy with Natalie.Your family used their money to help me rise and I’m done being stepped on.Just do what I say,or…”
He cut himself off,pulled out his phone and put it on speaker.The video call connected with a shaky image and a rough voice.
A male voice rang from the other end,yelling over road noise.
"Hello?Mr.Lorrimer?What's going on here?There's a car behind us."
Ethan barked orders into the phone,“Scarface Seven,listen—if those cars won’t stop,just toss the girl out.Do you hear me?”
A tiny,terrified voice came through the screen,“Mommy!Mommy,I want my Mommy…”
