At that thought, anger curled in my chest.
“At the very least, Nora truly likes you. How can you possibly use her to threaten me? Armond, you’re shameless beyond imagination,” I snarled as I tried to look for my phone in the pocket.
He sneered, “Truly likes me? What’s the use of that? If she isn’t the one I want, what’s the point of her true feelings? She’s still useless. Am I right?”
I was sure that the man was insane. To him, everything he did not like, did not want, and did not care about, was nothing but a burden. He would never cherish those things.
Has Holden realized that something is off? At that thought, I was about to call my father with the phone in my pocket.
However, before I could, a hand stopped me. A wide, emotionless smile was on Armond’s face as he leaned close to me. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Isn’t the sandalwood box useless to you? Why are you stubbornly holding on to it instead of giving it to me?”
Retracting my hand as I clenched my jaw, I then moved away from him and sneered, “Will you let them go if I give you the sandalwood box?”
He raised a brow. “Of course. You know my aim is a simple one. Furthermore, I don’t really want to hurt them. Scarlett, no one is born a villain.”
As I stared at him, I knitted my brows. “All you need is Nora if you want to threaten me. Why did you invite Sasha’s parents here? They’re old people who are useless to you. Why do you have to torment them?”
He lowered his gaze. “I’m not using them to threaten you. It’s a mere coincidence that they’re here. Shane owes me too much, so I’ll have to invite his parents over so that he’ll pay up soon.”
I pursed my lips. “Why don’t you just kill him?” He’s destroying someone’s family, but he won’t even stop at that. Why can someone like him continue to live in this world?
He shrugged and said instead, “Give me the box. You know I really need the things in it. If you give it to me, you can take the people away.”
I muttered, “Let them come down here first. The box isn’t with me right now. Also, you know that even if I want to take Nora away, she won’t come with me.”
He narrowed his eyes. “So what are you trying to tell me?”
“I’ll give you the box, but you have to let them go first. You know well that Sasha’s parents are useless to you. That b*stard Shane has no morals to speak of, so he won’t care about his parents. That’s why you should just let the two go and let them enjoy their last decades peacefully. Leave Shane to the police. Let them stop him from making society worse.”
However, he sneered, “These things are out of my control. Scarlett, honestly, I don’t trust you much. You’ve fooled me once, so no matter what happens this time, you have to give me the box. It’s fine even if you don’t have it with you now. I’ll give you a chance to go back and get it. Once you get it, give it to me, and I’ll let them go.”
My brows furrowed. Ashton had swapped the box once, and I had no idea where it was now. Looking at him, I confessed, “It’s not that I don’t want to give you the box, but that I don’t know where it is. When I gave you the box back then, I didn’t even know it had been swapped.”
He narrowed his eyes again, the upset evident on his face this time. “You mean, you don’t know where the box is?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
Immediately, a scowl grew on his face. “Then, I’m sorry. Since you don’t have the box, we’ll have to talk again when you find it. You might as well stay here for the next few days. Don’t worry; I will treat you well.”
I froze before frowning. “Armond, what do you mean? Are you trying to lock me up here?”
He shook his head before smirking at me. “No, of course not. How can this be considered as locking you up? I just want you to stay here for a few days. Ever since the villa was revamped, no one has come for a stay. It’s quite dead in here. Since you’re all here, it’s a good opportunity to liven up the place.
As he spoke, he reached out to press the call bell. Soon, someone came upstairs—a middle-aged man. When Armond saw him, he said, “Spencer, I’ll have to trouble you to take care of my friends for the next few days. Thank you.”
With that said, he stood up and walked out of the room.
I hastily stopped him. “Armond, this is illegal. Let us go.”
“We’ll talk again when you find the box. I’m tired now. Spencer will lead you to your room. You don’t need to think much about anything; you just need to stay here. I’m sure Ashton will help you with the box.”
