Chapter 360



The servant earlier quickly stepped forward to help Belinda to her feet. Belinda looked at the servant, gratitude softening her features. “Thank you. If it weren’t for you, I might not have survived today.”

Her words hit Harold and Norma like a blow. The servant just shook her head. “You don’t have to thank me for that. Let me help you to your room.” Belinda silently nodded.

Once in her room, Belinda sank onto the bed. The day’s ordeal had drained her, and she lacked even the energy to take a shower. As her body relaxed, exhaustion overtook her. Within moments, she was fast asleep.

Meanwhile, at the Triumph Consortium, Lucas stood by his desk, his sharp gaze fixed on the reports in front of him. He had already dispatched a team to investigate Verena’s kidnapping.

Ryan sat nearby, his face drawn and anxious. Across from him, Verena’s friend sobbed loudly.

“It’s all my fault! If I hadn’t dragged Verena out shopping, none of this would have happened! She… She risked her life to hold off those men so that I could escape. I… I should’ve…”

“Enough!” Lucas’ irritated voice cut through the air, silencing her. His cold gaze pinned her in place. “Crying won’t help. Sit down and stay quiet.”

The woman’s sobbing ceased abruptly, her mouth ajar as if frozen mid-cry. After a silence that stretched painfully long, Lucas’ assistant, Gordon, entered the room.

“Mr. Clark, it was someone hired by Bradly who kidnapped Verena,” Gordon said, his voice measured but grim.

Lucas’ expression darkened when he heard that. Bradly Stanley. The name dredged up old memories. Bradly was a man bold enough to challenge Lucas’ authority, only to crumble beneath a mountain of debt in the aftermath. If Gordon hadn’t mentioned him now, Lucas might have forgotten him already.

“Bradly? The former chairman of the Stanley Corporation?” Ryan said.

Gordon nodded. “That’s him.”

Ryan fell silent. He was no stranger to Bradly, either.

“But why?” he asked in confusion after a moment. “Why did he kidnap Verena? What will he gain from this?”

Gordon shook his head. “We don’t know yet. We’ll need to catch Bradly to get answers for that,” he said.

“Have you found Verena?” Ryan asked.

“Not yet,” Gordon admitted.

Lucas’ voice was like ice. “Keep searching. And find Bradly, too.”

“Yes, Mr. Clark.” Gordon left swiftly to carry out the orders.

Time dragged, each second stretching into an eternity until the breakthrough finally came: Lucas’ men had located Verena.

Without delay, Lucas, Ryan, and the woman hurried to the location with a group of armed men. Their destination was an unfinished building on the outskirts of the city.

Inside the building, Verena lay bound on the cold, dusty floor, her wrists and ankles stretched tightly in a cruel, star-shaped position.

“Please! Let me go!” she sobbed, her voice shaking, her pleas echoing in the empty room.

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