Chapter 326:
“Where is Lucas?” I asked again.
“Lucas has already been moved out of the city. I’ll send you a video of him tonight. He’s doing well—still as naughty and adorable as ever,” she replied, a mocking smile on her face.
I slowly released her shoulder, trying to control my frustration. At that moment, Caroline lifted her face toward me and said with a smile, “Herbert, if you want to see Lucas soon, you’ll need to prepare for our wedding. I promise, the night we get married, you can see Lucas.”
In that instant, Bella’s sad expression flashed in my mind, and my heart felt like it was being ripped apart.
I didn’t want to marry Caroline. I wanted to reject her. But when I thought about Lucas’s safety, I knew I had no choice but to compromise.
Lucas was my weakness.
“We can hold the wedding next week,” I said after a long pause. Caroline smiled, clearly pleased.
“Okay, I want a grand wedding,” she replied eagerly.
“Okay, I promise you. You can go now. I want to be alone.”
I looked away, not wanting to look at her any longer. Caroline had gotten what she wanted. She smiled at me before leaving the room. As soon as the door closed, I immediately lit a cigarette and stared out of the window.
I had been in a meeting that morning when I received a call from Caroline. I didn’t answer; I didn’t want to be entangled with her any longer. But soon after, she sent me a photo of Lucas. She told me that Lucas was in her hands.
When I saw the photo of Lucas, panic washed over me. I immediately ended the meeting and went to the place Caroline had designated for us to meet.
It turned out that after I saw her off last time, she never boarded the plane. She had stayed behind, and I had been deceived, which made me furious. But I was being threatened by her. I couldn’t do anything to stop her. All I could do was comply with her demands. So, I held a press conference to announce my marriage to her. Caroline wanted me to tell Bella that I couldn’t marry her and that I loved Caroline when she came to see me. Saying those words felt terrible, but I had no choice. I had to do what Caroline said to ensure Lucas’s safety. I knew Bella would be heartbroken, but she was safe for now. The only thing I could do was get Lucas back. Once everything was settled, I would go after Bella, explain everything, and hope that she would forgive me.
What I hadn’t expected was that Caroline had hired a professional security company, and Lucas had already been moved out of the city. This made things much more complicated. I lowered my head, lost in thought for a few minutes, then stubbed out the cigarette between my fingers and placed it in the ashtray. I grabbed my coat and walked out. As soon as I stepped outside, Caroline approached me.
“Where are you going?”
“There’s still a lot of work waiting for me at the company. Can I just ignore it?” I said angrily. I had never imagined that Caroline would do something like this.
“You can’t neglect my work. I’ll go with you,” she insisted.
She turned to grab her coat, clearly worried that I might go after Bella. I had to stay calm, at least until I found Lucas. I couldn’t look for Bella right now. If she knew that Lucas was missing, she would only become more anxious. If Caroline turned her attention to Bella and attacked her, things would only escalate. So, I didn’t stop her.
I left with Caroline.
