“Ellie is already sick. Things will be really bad if anything else were to exacerbate her illness,” murmured Spencer, who was worried sick.
“Ms. Lindberg is going all out to look for the kid, and Mr. Nacht is leading his team to investigate the matter as well. I’m sure everything will be fine,” said Raina to offer some comfort. After that, she suggested, “But perhaps you can help by thinking back. Does Ms. Zara have any allies that had slipped through the system and fled?”
“I don’t think so,” replied Spencer as he frowned deeply, “Ms. Zara’s men were all unreliable, and she had always been too proud to mingle with others. I think Shirley was the only one who was ever close to Ms. Zara.”
“Shirley died some time ago,” reminded Raina.
“I know, but I simply can’t come up with anyone else,” said Spencer as he murmured, “A powerful figure who is on Ms. Zara’s side… Unless…”
Spencer suddenly thought of someone. That got him to stiffen instantly. “N-No. That shouldn’t be possible,” muttered Spencer.
“Who are you talking about?”
“I’m sure Mr. Zachary has already thought of the person I am thinking about…”
“Are you talking about Mr. Broid?”
In the car, Ben was flabbergasted after hearing Zachary’s analysis. The former pointed out, “No way! He has always been a playboy and has never been interested in power or money. Why would he kidnap Ellie?”
“I pray that it isn’t him either,” replied Zachary while frowning deeply and looking grim, “We’re close friends, after all. My fight against Aunt Zara had been intense, but it never affected him. I just hope that he isn’t blinded by his emotions and did something stupid.”
“That’s true. Mr. Broid and you are close friends,” commented Ben sadly, “If Zara isn’t that stubborn, the two of you would still be great pals.
“Your hypothesis truly made sense, though. Zara never had anybody close to her, and the allies she had were basically useless.
“He is the only one who is powerful enough to fake being a part of the Nacht family’s convoy and take Ellie away. “Still… Mr. Broid doesn’t seem like he is the kind of person who would scheme like that. I feel like he couldn’t have done this.”
“For now, let’s see if Chris had entered the city lately,” instructed Zachary.
“Understood,” replied Ben before he made the call to investigate the matter. It didn’t take him long before he replied, “The airport had confirmed that Mr. Broid never entered the city.”
“Maybe I am overthinking it, and this has nothing to do with Chris,” muttered Zachary as the burden in his heart lightened a little, “Maybe the culprit never used our cars. Maybe the Lindberg family’s bodyguards messed up…
“Call Bruce again and find out if he has located Sharon.”
“He just reported in and said that he and his men are checking the airport. For now, he found nothing out of the ordinary. Do you think that the two matters are related?” asked Ben.
“The Blackwood family had fallen, so how could Sharon have fled prison on her own? Someone must’ve helped her,” deduced Zachary, “And the timing is too convenient. She just escaped prison, and the next thing we know, Olivia and Ellie are kidnapped.”
“Speaking of, do you think that there is something off with Olivia?” asked Ben carefully as he tested the water, “The Lindberg family’s bodyguards are all highly trained, so they would not have let the kid go if Olivia didn’t give them the thumbs up.”
“Yes, and that is why I asked you to investigate Peter,” replied Zachary before he asked, “Did you receive any news?”
“Let me follow up,” informed Ben before he called his subordinate. The answer Ben received prompted him to report to Zachary immediately. The former said, “Turns out, Peter has been missing for quite some time now, but we don’t know why or how. All we know is that he went to look for Olivia just before he disappeared.”
“He was probably kidnapped when he went to look for Olivia. Someone is threatening his life and forcing Olivia to get close to Charlotte. They were bidding their time and were waiting for the opportunity to strike,” guessed Zachary.
“But… why would she kidnap Ellie?” asked Ben in confusion.
“They probably want to hold her hostage,” replied Zachary, “We won’t dare to hurt a hair of their head if they have Ellie with them.”
“Then Sharon must’ve been the one who ordered Olivia to kidnap Ellie,” blurted Ben as realization hit him, “And they did that because a mastermind is helping Sharon out from behind the scenes.”
“Exactly,” said Zachary, who finally managed to see the whole picture, “Our first priority is to find them as quickly as possible. The airport is the most crucial location. If I am right, Sharon will keep Ellie hostage until after they left H City because Sharon cannot survive in the city.”
