Brother Zheng stood up from the sofa, tossed aside his half-smoked cigarette, crushed it out beneath his shoe, and strode out the door.
Everyone in the warehouse followed Brother Zheng as he left. Two men who’d only just arrived grabbed a rope and tied up Cecilia Ye’s hands, then locked the warehouse door behind them.
Her wrists quickly reddened from the tight bindings. Judging by the sounds, one of them remained seated just outside—Cecilia Ye could hear a chair being dragged across the ground.
This place seemed to be a granary, poorly kept up. All four windows were boarded, and the wind howled in through the gaps between the planks.
Her bound wrists throbbed in pain. Shivering, Cecilia huddled beside a pile of burlap sacks filled with who knows what. At last, her tears fell, cold wind stinging her face and making her shudder.
She wiped her tears away with her sleeve, the tip of her nose raw and red.
She wasn’t afraid something might happen to her—but what about her baby? Her little one was just over four months along, only just starting to kick.
Almost as if sensing her mother’s fear, the baby in her belly gave a sharp little kick. Cecilia gently laid her tied hands over her stomach, sniffled softly, and whispered, “Don’t be afraid, baby. Mommy’s right here.”
Brother Zheng had mentioned a woman with the surname Bai. Of all the Bai’s she knew, there was only one: Vivian Belle.
So it was her. Ever since that incident at the old house, Cecilia Ye hadn’t heard a word about Vivian Belle. She thought she’d left the capital city for good—so she’d been hiding here all along?
Not only was she still around, she’d been waiting, biding her time for revenge.
How could someone be so vicious?
Suddenly alarmed, Cecilia looked down at her stomach, pulling her loose sweater even further over her belly, desperate to hide the child as best she could.
She remembered: Vivian Belle couldn’t have children. If she found out Cecilia was pregnant—especially with Zhiyeno’s baby—she couldn’t even imagine what Vivian Belle might do.
Thinking of Xavier Fosterno, Cecilia bit her lip. Would he come?
Impossible, she thought. How would Xavier Fosterno even know she’d been kidnapped? He wasn’t coming.
A wave of sadness washed over Cecilia Ye.
But then she remembered: afterwards, Henry Hart had told her that when she’d been snatched away by Theodore Zane, Zhiyeno had shown up—even if he was just a little too late.
Maybe when someone’s trapped and desperate, all their sweetest memories come to the surface.
She thought back to their years of marriage, how carefully Xavier Fosterno had looked after her, how those days had truly been good, truly beautiful.
So beautiful that she’d wished, more than once, that Vivian Belle would just vanish and never come back.
A little while later, the iron door screeched as it swung open. The sharp click of high heels echoed at the threshold.
Cecilia looked up. Vivian Belle stepped inside.
She was changed—no longer the woman Cecilia remembered. Vivian Belle had always worn heavy makeup, but never so gaudy, never so brazenly harsh. Her lips were painted a glaring crimson, her eyelids ablaze with violet shadow, and malice radiated from her in waves.
Vivian Belle gazed down from above, sneering at Cecilia slumped on a sack of grain. She sauntered over, swaying, folding her arms to show off her blood-red polished nails.
“Long time no see, Cecilia Ye.”
Her voice was slick as a snake, freezing cold and full of venom.
Cecilia didn’t respond. She understood that Vivian Belle only wanted to torment her. She had to conserve her strength, protect the child in her belly at all costs—panic would solve nothing.
She curled her body inward, pulling her knees close.
But her calm, her refusal to engage, only made Vivian Belle gnash her teeth in hatred.
Why?
Why was Cecilia Ye still living so well, after everything?
She’d seen the news conference: Xavier Fosterno had chased after her in front of everyone.
She even had a brother now, from the Chase family—good fortune after good fortune, falling into her lap.
Why was Vivian Belle always the one left lacking?
She crouched down, glaring at Cecilia with disdain, grasped her chin, and hissed through clenched teeth: “Why won’t you beg me for mercy?”
Cecilia shot her a frosty look. “Would it make a difference? If I begged, would you let me go?”
“Ha.” As if she’d just heard the funniest joke, Vivian Belle burst out laughing. “Let you go? In your dreams.”
She leaned in, a wave of cheap perfume making Cecilia’s nausea flare again, sharp as before.
“Not only am I not letting you go, but I’m going to take my time, really enjoy tormenting you.”
Cecilia shut her eyes, lips pressed into a firm line—she refused to give Vivian Belle any more satisfaction.
Vivian Belle glared at her pale, delicate face, so furious she nearly trembled. One hand flew out, striking Cecilia hard across the cheek. The pain was blinding, but in her twisted heart, Vivian Belle felt nothing but savage delight.
This, she thought, is how Cecilia Ye should be treated—beaten, humiliated, beaten down like a dog.
The blow snapped Cecilia’s head sideways, a crimson handprint blooming across her skin, flesh swelling instantly. She gritted her teeth, refusing even to cry out. Let her strike, she thought—just so long as she let her anger burn out and left Cecilia alone afterwards.
Vivian Belle stared at the blood on Cecilia’s lip, at her battered, miserable face—so different from her usual poise. A vicious thrill sparkled in her eyes.
She patted Cecilia’s cheek. “You know, Cecilia Ye, I hate you—hate you more than anything. If it weren’t for you, I’d have become mistress of the Fu family long ago.”
“It’s all your fault! Because you existed, I spent years tricking A’Ye (Zhiyeno) and it was all ruined! Because of you, he grew to dislike me more and more!”
“He started searching for the truth, over and over—all because of you!”
“Because of you, A’Ye never once touched me!”
“Why? Why you, Cecilia Ye? What are you, really? Nothing but trash abandoned to an orphanage, a plaything for Theodore Zane... Hahaha!”
Vivian Belle had sunk into madness now, her voice scraping the bottom of her soul, each word crueler than the last.
Cecilia raised her head, eyes glinting with icy defiance. “You’re wrong, Vivian Belle. I have a mother now. I’ve even found a brother—people who love me.”
She wasn’t some piece of garbage tossed in an orphanage anymore. She had family.
“And they’ll come. They’ll come and take me home.”
…
The airport was out on the edge of town, close to Lake City West Road. It didn’t take Xavier Fosterno long to get there, following the GPS location shared by his bodyguards. He pushed his car to its limits.
The thought that Cecilia was pregnant only made his face grow darker. He was on the phone, mobilizing every resource the Fu family had, converging on Lake City West Road.
His phone rang again. Annoyed, Xavier Fosterno picked up.
“Xavier Fosterno, Cecilia’s in trouble! Where are you?” Charles Chase’s voice came urgently down the line.
Normally he’d have ignored him, but this wasn’t the time for pride. One more person meant one more chance.
“Follow me,” he said coldly, hung up, and shared his location with Charles Chase, then stepped even harder on the gas.
Luckily, traffic was light out on the edge of the city. Soon, the red dot marking the bodyguard’s location stopped, and he was drawing closer and closer.
Cecilia must be terrified, he thought. If he was any later, if he hadn’t arranged for bodyguards to tail her… Xavier Fosterno dared not imagine how this might have ended.
The road grew rough, full of potholes and ruts, but he pressed on. After twenty more minutes, he finally spotted the car his bodyguard had parked by the roadside.
He swung the door open and jumped out. Only one bodyguard was in the driver’s seat. When the bodyguard saw him, he quickly got out.
“President Foster, the warehouse up ahead—there are about a dozen people inside. Lao San’s already gone to scout it out. Should we wait for reinforcements?”
Xavier Fosterno’s brow furrowed. They were still more than three hundred meters from the warehouse. He couldn’t wait, and had no patience left to wait for backup.