When the time was almost up, Fu Zhiyie and Henry Hart entered through the VIP passage.
But before they even cleared security, his phone rang.
"Hello, President Foster... there's a problem over here."
It was Scarface on the other end, sounding more serious than his usual meek self.
Fu Zhiyie handed his documents to Henry Hart and walked to the side, near the barricade, to take the call.
"What happened?"
"Um, Vivian Belle went missing late last night. We always have someone watching her, but last night she took a customer—someone suspicious—he picked too many girls, and she slipped out in the chaos..."
Fu Zhiyie's brows furrowed tightly. He didn’t even listen to the rest; a bad feeling crept up inside him.
"Find whoever was supposed to be watching her. Now."
He hung up, muttered a curse under his breath, and after standing there for a moment, strode out.
Why today, of all days? On the day he was preparing to leave the country—not just him, but Charles Chase too. He couldn’t help but worry.
Henry Hart watched Fu Zhiyie stride away and quickly followed. "President, what’s wrong?"
"Give me the car keys. You board first."
Henry Hart wasn’t sure what was happening but handed the keys over nonetheless.
Fu Zhiyie pulled out his phone and called his bodyguards. He wanted to make sure nothing was wrong on Cecilia’s end.
Unfortunately, his premonition was about to come true.
...
Cecilia stayed at her mother’s bedside for a while; it was almost 10 a.m. Ye Jing waved her off—it was clear she hoped her daughter would head home early. Cecilia suddenly remembered something, made a heart shape with her thumb and forefinger, showed it to her mother, lingering for a last reluctant glance before quietly leaving the ward.
She took the elevator down from the 12th floor. It went as far as the basement level, but the driver was parked in the ground-level garage, so Cecilia pressed for the first floor.
When the elevator reached the fifth floor, it stopped, and two men entered. Cecilia stepped carefully back to make room, shrinking into the corner.
While she wasn’t looking, the man on the right reached out and tapped the '1' button twice, canceling the call, then pressed 'B1' instead.
His hand was rough, covered in scars, half hidden in his sleeve, and missing a pinky—a truly intimidating sight.
But since it was common to share elevators, Cecilia paid it no mind.
5...4...3...
She silently watched the numbers tick down. For some reason, the baby in her belly started stirring fiercely, and she tried to soothe it with a hand.
But when the elevator passed the first floor without stopping, her heart skipped a beat—she was sure she'd pressed for the ground floor.
Goosebumps shot up all over her. She shrank back, pressing herself into the elevator wall.
With a soft 'ding,' the elevator stopped at the basement. The doors slid open slowly.
Dim lighting bathed the space outside, and a car idled in front of the elevator.
The two men turned to her, grinned, and grabbed her arms.
Just as Cecilia Ye tried to scream, one man clamped a hand over her mouth and nose, cutting off any sound.
...
At the same time, the bodyguards had just received Fu Zhiyie’s call. They rushed over to the Chase family’s driver, who was half-bent out the window, and one of them barked,
"Which floor did Miss Ye get out on?"
The driver, engrossed in his phone, jumped when he saw two hulking men, dropping his phone in fright. "Wh-who are you?"
"No time for that! Answer!"
"T-twelfth floor."
Before the words were out, the bodyguards charged straight for the elevators. On the left, one elevator sat motionless at the basement level.
Exchanging a glance, the bodyguards split up—one heading to the 12th floor, one descending to the basement.
As the elevator doors slid open in the basement, one bodyguard caught a glimpse of Cecilia, being dragged into the car.
The car door slammed shut, the engine revved, and the vehicle sped away.
At once, he radioed his partner and sprinted back to the ground floor. The other bodyguard dashed down the emergency stairwell, both chasing the escaping car out of the garage.
"President Foster! Something's happened—Madam was taken from the hospital. We’re following the car now, heading towards Xilu Road by Lakeside. The plate number is..."
Fu Zhiyie clenched his jaw. "Stay on them. Don’t lose sight!"
Uncaring of the crowd’s eyes in the airport, Fu Zhiyie sprinted toward the parking lot.
Lakeside Xilu Road led out to the suburbs. Everything felt far too coincidental—once he heard Cecilia was missing, his mind buzzed with alarm.
As the car shot out of the airport, Fu Zhiyie rolled down his window, letting the cold wind slap his face, forcing himself to focus.
Vivian Belle was almost certainly behind this...
...
Cecilia Ye was bundled into the car. The two men sat on either side as she trembled, hands protectively cradling her belly.
"Who... who are you?"
She reminded herself: The baby’s here, stay calm, don’t be afraid—but her words came out trembling nonetheless.
Perhaps because she looked so young and harmless, the man on the left responded languidly, "Doesn’t matter who we are. Someone’s looking for you."
"Who... wants me?"
He just snorted, giving no answer.
Her phone was already discarded. If someone was after her, it meant she was valuable—for now, at least, she wouldn’t be in immediate danger.
Maybe it was for the baby’s sake, but she wasn't as panicked as she was when Theodore Zane abducted her before. She was only desperate to think of a way out.
She could only hope the driver realized she was missing soon. But—her brother was already on the flight. Any flicker of hope was instantly snuffed out.
What should she do...?
The Chen family driver, seeing those two intimidating men rush off, went up to the 12th floor. Not finding Cecilia Ye, he realized something had gone wrong and phoned Charles Chase.
Charles Chase, just about to board his flight—and still wondering why Fu Zhiyie hadn’t shown up—left the airport immediately upon hearing of Cecilia’s disappearance.
...
The car drove further and further out; the roads became muddy and rutted, and they slowed, jostling violently. After what felt like an eternity—an hour, maybe two—they finally stopped at a place that looked like a warehouse.
Cecilia Ye was dragged out silently, doing all she could to make herself small as she was marched forward between the men.
The hefty driver rapped on the warehouse door. "Brother Zheng, we’re here."
A rusty metal door scraped open from inside. Cecilia was shoved forward, staggering as she entered.
A dozen or so men lounged inside on battered sofas. When the door opened, they all stood, staring at the newcomer.
The leader—a bald, dark-skinned man with a fierce face and a cigarette dangling from his lips—looked her up and down.
So many men all staring at petite Cecilia Ye. She finally felt genuine fear, biting her lip hard to keep tears at bay.
The one called Brother Zheng raised his eyes and looked her over for half a minute, then laughed. "Yo, she’s a pretty one. No wonder that Bai woman couldn’t deal with her."
He turned to the man beside Cecilia. "Changmao, when’s Miss Bai arriving?"
"She said someone’s after her, so she’ll be delayed a bit, but should be here soon," the one called Changmao replied after checking his watch.
"Tie her up. Once Bai gets here, she can handle it herself. We’re just here for the money."