Chapter 224

Chapter 224 The One Kidnapped Was Samuel “When Rachel and I were married, was I a monster to her?” At those words, Frankie’s heart skipped a beat as he warily quizzed, “That’s… out of nowhere.”

“I was, wasn’t I? Although I can’t remember those times clearly, Julian has no reason to lie to me about them.” Justin tensed his eyebrows, attempting to figure out what it was that made him so upset with a woman. Even if Rachel, a trick sent over by the Hudsons, wasn’t the person he wanted to marry, what did she do so wrong to deserve his ill treatment?

As he held the documents in hand, Frankie paused at the door and muttered, “Don’t overthink it, President Burton. Things must have happened for a reason.”

“What happened to Rachel’s grandmother later on?”

After hesitating for a while, the assistant answered, “She was kidnapped, and her health failed her afterward.”

“Did they find out who the kidnappers were?”

“Yes…” Frankie had a hard time speaking up, but he forcefully answered, “They were some desperate lackeys who had bad blood with our company. They couldn’t catch anyone, so they targeted her grandmother. Actually, you went to negotiate right away, but it was already too late by then.”

“And that’s the reason for our divorce?”

Upon seeing how Frankie stayed silent, Justin confirmed his assumption and his eyes darkened. “You may leave.”

“Yes, Sir.”

After changing her clothes in her office, Rachel went to look for Justin.

Since he was the one who decided to switch to a new supplier, it was only natural to let him settle the issue. After all, Burton Pharmaceuticals was his blood and sweat, so who would take care of it if not him?

“Come in.”

The office door was pushed open after a series of knocks, and the sound of Rachel’s heels tapping on the floor echoed in the room. When Justin looked up from his computer, he was stunned when the woman fell into his vision. “Why are you here?”

“There’s nothing weird here, though. I haven’t resigned, have I?”

Placing a file on his table, Rachel stated, “This morning, I received news regarding Mr. Howard’s refusal to renew our partnership contract. Mr. Howard, who has been the supplier of Burton Pharmaceuticals, must have heard something and assumed that we intend to work with Mr. Wayne.”

“You rushed to work from the hospital just because of this?”

“How did you know I came from the hospital?”

Although she was slightly baffled, she didn’t give it much thought. Before Justin could answer her, she steered off from his question and continued, “Anyway, Mr. Howard is definitely not the only one who has heard about it. If this were to spread, the rest of our suppliers would want to cut ties with us, and our upcoming line of distribution will surely fail.”

“I’ll manage it. Take a couple days off and get some rest.”

“What’s that? Are you firing me?”

Justin glowered as he said, “What are you saying?”

Is he not going to fire me?

Rachel’s first instinct was getting fired. After all, other than the issue with Mr. Howard, the other suppliers were rather troublesome as well, and all of these happened only after she took over the company.

All of a sudden, a thundering ringtone interrupted their conversation.

Justin answered his phone right in front of Rachel and said, “Hello?”

From the other side of the phone, a man’s voice was heard. “Justin Burton, your son is in my hands. If you still wish to see him breathing, come to the abandoned theater in Eastown at once!”

When he glanced at the screen, he saw a fabricated number and hung up right away.

For God’s sake, when will these scammers ever learn?

They didn’t even try to find out that he only had one daughter, yet they had the audacity to threaten him.

After ending the call, Justin then said to Rachel, “I’m saying that since you’re sick, you should go home and rest for a couple days. It’s just sick leave and not a dismissal, okay?”

Rachel asked in a dazed manner, “You’re allowing me to take some days off?”

She was thoroughly confused by Justin’s kind-heartedness.

“Do you think I’m a maniacal boss who wouldn’t let his sick employees off?”

“I didn’t mean it like that…”

Before she could complete her sentence, Justin’s phone rang again.

After accepting the call, he impatiently said, “What son? I don’t have a son. You’ve gotten the wrong man, dude.”

“D*mn it, Justin, can’t you even recognize your own son?”

Before the caller could finish, he was already listening to the sound of a disconnected call.

“Piece of sh*t!”

As he stared at his phone’s screen, the man instantly frowned. “How can the man not care about his own son? No wonder he’s such a successful businessman.”

“I told you calling Justin was no use. He doesn’t like me one bit.”

A child’s voice was heard from behind.

It was Samuel, who had his limbs tied and tossed onto a broken couch. Despite the horrible situation, the boy, who was unusually calm, then said, “It’s not like I like him anyway. He’s never treated me as his own son, and I don’t care if he isn’t my dad!”

“Bullsh*t. He’s outright acknowledged that you’re his son. With you being the only son of the Burtons, there’s no way he’d ignore you.”

“Your belief is up to you. Either way, he won’t come regardless of your petty attempts, and I’d rather be released. Besides, kidnapping is a crime. If the police know you did this, they’ll surely catch you!”

“Shut it, kid!”

“It’s a cliche drama, and the bad guys always get caught. Do you think you can run away from this? If you let me go now, I’ll let this pass.”

Although Samuel was only a young boy, his sense of reason was pretty sharp.

The kidnapper was surprised after seeing how the victim was so composed. Moreover, since the kid was barely ten, the kidnapper couldn’t bear to lay a finger even if he wanted to. Thus, he viciously warned, “One more word and I’ll stuff your mouth. How’s that?”

Upon hearing that, Samuel reluctantly shut his mouth.

The kidnapper gazed at his phone and claimed, “Daddy doesn’t care about you, but I’m sure mommy does!”

After saying that, he dialed another number.

Meanwhile, in Burton Group, Rachel had just exited Justin’s office after being escorted out by Frankie.

“Miss Hudson, do not be worried about our suppliers. President Burton has it all under control, and these trivial matters will be dealt with very shortly.”

“He’s prepared for it?”

“To be frank, Mr. Wayne isn’t a suitable partner, or he wouldn’t have made it in the company’s blacklist back then. We’re only using him for other reasons.”

“Other reasons?”

Before she could ask more, her phone suddenly rang.

“I’m sorry. Let me get this.”

“Please do.”

Upon tapping on her phone, she heard a man’s malicious tone. “Your son is in my hands. If you wish to see him alive, have Justin Burton come to the abandoned theater in Eastown. Do not call the cops, or you’ll get to see the lifeless body of this boy!”

Rachel’s expression changed, and she quickly questioned, “Who the hell are you?”

Nevertheless, the kidnapper didn’t care to explain to her. Out of the blue, Samuel’s voice could be heard from the phone. “Save me, Mommy!”