After she hung up, Abigail turned toward James and asked, “Did you get anything?”
James shook his head. “He probably expected us to track him and prepared accordingly. There’s no fix on his position, and he knew enough to pick a time when Mr. Althoff isn’t around.”
“Get in the mansion for now,” Abigail told them. “Think of something as fast as you can.”
“What about you?” James asked.
“He told me to get in an MPV with the registration plate 90026. I’ll turn on the GPS on my phone once I get in, so that you can track me…”
“No.” James refused squarely. “That’s too dangerous, and I won’t be able to explain myself to Mr. Althoff if anything happens to you!”
Abigail held his gaze as she told him, “Ian Althoff has Tommy, and he’s not afraid to get killed or reprisals at all. What if he hurts my mom and Tommy if I refuse him? Do you think I can bear losing them. both? And do you really think Diarmuid won’t blame you if we lose Tommy?!”
James was stumped, whereas Abigail understood the risk-she would be in danger if she played along to lan’s whims, but it would buy them precious time.
“Look, I’ll do my best to delay him while you look for my mother and Tommy and save them,” she said determinedly. “We don’t have a choice because he has two of my loved ones. I’d never risk my mom or Tommy’s safety, so just do what I say.”
James certainly had no alternatives, so she went along.
Abigail put her phone on silent mode while turning on the tracker just as the MPV in question drove into Bernstein Mansion’s front porch.
James and the rest of Abigail’s protection detail had already hidden in the mansion, so that no one would know that she had help and would presume that she was isolated.
Abigail took a deep breath, strode over to the MPV, and got into it.
Inside the mansion, James divided his team between tracking Abigail and searching for where lan was holding Tommy and Sheryl.
Outside, the MPV had driven off, with Abigail leaning against the window, her palms clenched and sweating.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked the driver, but he kept his eyes up front.
“Ian Althoff sent you, right?” Abigail kept trying, but her response was silence.
“Did he even tell you where you’re supposed to take me? Does he not trust you or something?”
The driver finally reacted and glanced at her through the rearview mirror. “Don’t bother. I’m not falling for anything you say.”
Abigail giggled. “You’re so smart.”
The chauffeur rolled his eyes-was she trying to flatter him like he was a kid? Did he look like a kid to her?
Soon, the car stopped beside the road, but it was not exactly isolated.
Still, she got off since the driver told her to do so and drove off. She stood there for a while and two men soon approached her!
Neither of the two men spoke, and they started to search her.
Abigail moved out of their reach. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Both men leered at her pretty face, unfriendly ideas occurring to them right then. “Searching for trackers.”
Abigail shook her head right then. “I don’t have anything of the sort.”
“That’s not up to you to decide, we’ll only believe you after we search you and find nothing,” they said, though they seemed eager to cop a feel while they did.
Abigail kept backing away. “I said I don’t have anything of the sort-”
“You should listen if you want your mother and baby to be safe from harm,” another voice said just then.
Abigail turned to find lan looking at her in amusement from within a silver sedan, having wound down his window.
She was left clenching her fist at his threat, but had to stay calm in appearance.
“I promise you that I didn’t bring any trackers, and aren’t I your relative? Having men grope my body will be an insult to you and your family. And are you sure they won’t run around telling everyone that they molested lan Althoff’s cousin–in–law?”
lan’s expression changed slightly but said, “You’re Diarmuid’s wife. He’s going to be humiliated, not me.”
“We’re all Althoffs. Don’t you think you’d get caught in it?” Abigail countered.
“Get over here.” lan suddenly beckoned.
Abigail hesitated for a moment, but did so eventually–she had no choice anyway.
As she stood by his car, lan studied her from head to toe, and said casually, “Not bad. I guess that’s why Diarmuid cares so much about you.”
Opening the door, he said, “Get in.”
Abigail refused. “Where do you think you are taking me?”
“Did you think this is over already?” lan laughed. “I spent so much time coming up with an elaborate plan for this very day, and you expect me to let you off already?”
“Fine, I’ll come with you, but my mother and child-”
“Get in. Anything else can wait–patience is a virtue.” lan grinned.
Abigail’s face fell. His malice was almost tangible, but she got into his car anyway–she had to, for the sake of her child and mother.
After she got in, however, lan extended a hand and said, “You don’t have a tracker, but your phone has a tracking function, right? Give it to me.”
Abigail started to protest. “I don’t-”
“Do you want me to search you? I wouldn’t mind, though you can’t complain when I touch you where you don’t like…”
“Here.” Abigail simply threw her phone at him, knowing that he was either going to resort to force or some humiliating way to make her give it up.
Having no choice, she would rather do it herself than be humiliated.
lan held up her phone, but did not break it or throw it away. He was not surprised when he turned on the screen and saw that the tracking function was turned on either, as if he had expected that from the start. He simply handed it to one of the two men outside and said, “Take this and keep heading south.”
“Yes, sir,” the man said and left with Abigail’s phone.
Turning back to Abigail, lan asked, “I wonder if the person tracking you would realize that?’
Abigail could only pray that James did, even as lan kept laughing, “I knew it–everything goes smoothly for me once Diarmuid is gone. All my patience for this moment was worth it.”
He had certainly waited for Diarmuid to leave before making his move, and it paid off in spades.
No matter how competent Diarmuid’s lap dogs were, they only amounted to that much without him around. “Drive,” he told his chauffeur.
“You already have me,” Abigail said then. “I won’t run away. Can you release my mother and child already?” “When did I ever say I was going to do that?” lan asked in return.
Abigail bellowed, “You’re a liar!”
“So what if I am? What can you do about it? Hmm?” lan asked smugly.
Abigail leveled her eyes squarely on lan’s right temple even as her hand balled into a fist.
She then moved so quickly lan did not even have time to react!
“What-”
lan felt something pressing against his skin!
What was that?
lan frowned–it felt sharp as it dug into his skin.
Abigail was glaring at him calmly. “A little push, and you will be in a world of pain.”
The temple is a vital spot for humans as it is a node where various nerves are connected, and any trauma leaves the victim vulnerable to injury..
Abigail did not have time to prepare when she came and could not bring anything lethal. All she had was the key she grabbed from a table–but even if she could not kill lan, she could threaten him.
lan, however, did not think that she would hurt him. “Don’t forget that I have your mother and child. Hurt me, and they die.”
“Take me to them,” Abigail demanded. “And I promise I won’t hurt you.”
“No.” lan stared at her sideways. “But if you hurt me, they die.”
To no surprise, she did not dare to get rough with him–not when her baby had not been rescued.
Taking her hand off himself, he chuckled when he finally saw what she was holding. “A key? You threatened me with that?”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
Leave a Reply