Chapter 170
Words Said in Anger.
Meanwhile, back in Rexam.
“Have you heard from them?” Celine asked. Her eyes were red from all the crying.
Sterling shook his head, embracing his wife. “Not yet. Last I heard, they were going to save Serena p>
Celine broke down in tears again, leaning toward him. “I can’t lose her again, I p>
“Shhh.” Sterling’s chest tightened. His eyes began to water as he soothed his wife. “Nothing will happen. Nathan promised to save her. He will p>
“He will find her. He has a way of finding her,” Bianca said as she approached, offering reassurance.
It was a rare moment for them to stay under one roof, but with the situation at hand, Bianca and the Vanders were one.
Even Norman Collins himself called to reassure Sterling that he sent the best tactical response team to recover Serena.
They had gathered at the Vanders’ estate.
The children were in their room, with Alice’s family keeping them busy. Even Xavier, who was still recuperating, came. Xavier was also with the children.
There were eight soldiers constantly on the lookout around the estate. One of them stayed inside to monitor their colleagues’ activity and receive any updates from Port Arcliff.
At the moment, they were in Sterling’s study.
When Bianca saw that Celine was struggling to breathe, she offered, “I’ll ask the maids for some water p>
Sterling just nodded.
After Bianca excused herself, Celine asked, “What if what if what Nathaniel said was true? What if”
He didn’t let Celine finish. Sterling simply hugged his wife tighter.
His jaw tightened as he thought about his brief argument with Nathaniel earlier. The moment Nathaniel learned that Serena had been taken, he suggested something… something that bothered him to the core.
Nathaniel had even dared to blame the kidnapping on him… in a way.
He had said, “The kidnapping was staged! And no one can stage a kidnapping if they didn’t know Serena’s itinerary. Think about it, Sterling. Serena has now been kidnapped twice under your watch p>
Then Nathaniel left with the soldiers in a fit of rage on a retrieval operation. He did not even tell Sterling how he intended to find Serena; he just said, “The fewer people who know, the better p>
No one. No one had ever spoken to him that way, but at the same time, Sterling understood his anger.
Sterling genuinely felt Nathaniel’s fear of losing Serena. He saw it in the desperate look in his eyes, the tension in his muscles, and the faint tremor in his hands- even in the way he had spoken to him.
It was Milo who reported the incident. Right now, he was at the hospital, attending to Melvin and the other soldier who was said to have been injected with a potent sedative.
“Here, Celine.” Bianca walked back in with a glass of water. “Take this p>
Celine’s hand shook as she took the glass of water. She drank it and sat with Sterling on the sofa.
“I can’t just sit here and wait,” Celine said. “I want to go to Port Arcliff p>
Sterling turned to Bianca, and the
latter said, “Go, I’ll take care of the
kids if you don’t mind me being
here And besides, Alice and Xavier
are here, plus the soldiers.
“Then Sterling got up. “I will leave the kids to you p>
Meanwhile, back in Port Arcliff,
Victor was feeling hungry. He had ordered one of his men to buy some
food and it had been an hour
since
he left. Why had he not returned?
“Where is Clive? What’s taking him so long?” Victor asked his men, and they shrugged.
Nasir, his trusted underling, offered, “I’ll call him p>
When Clive did not answer, Nasir said, “I’ll call Ricardo and Keanu p>
Keanu and Ricardo were the two men on watch at the gates, but strangely, Nasir
said, “They are not answering either. This is strange p>
“We will check the gates,” Nasir suggested.
Victor did not think much of it. Keanu and Ricardo simply did not pay attention to their phones.
They were on the 10th floor of the building. Nasir and two of their
companions made their way del net
However, just a minute after they left, Victor heard a muffled scream,
“”Mmmm!” but the voice died down.
“Nasir!” Victor called out. “Nasir p>
He briefly turned to Serena, who glared at him.
Victor ignored her and simply called out from the staircase, “Nasir! What’s going on down there p>
There was no answer.
It was at that point that he felt uneasy. He sent another pair downstairs. They
brought their weapons with them.
Victor paid close attention, along with the others.
Over a minute passed, and there was nothing at first. But suddenly, a loud bang
rang out.
Victor’s eyes widened just as one of his men screamed, “We’ve been found out p>
“Drop your weapons p>
“You are surrounded p>
“Release the hostage and come out with your hands up p>
The commands were followed by the cold, unmistakable sound of rifles being armed safeties snapping off, bolts sliding into place.
‘No,’ Victor thought. ‘That’s impossible p>
But Victor did not have time to analyze the situation. The only way he could get out
of this alive was through Serena.
He turned toward her with a dangerous intent, and Serena, seeing through his plan instantly, ran — the chair still bound to her body.
“Serena!” he screamed. “You are not getting away p>