"Yes, our part here is finished," Patricia said, her expression turning somber.She knew their business in San Joto was concluded, but Lawrence had cunningly fled San Joto before everything was fully settled, even taking Nicole with him."What about Nicole?" Lulu asked with a hint of tension, not knowing Nicole had run into trouble. She observed Patricia's demeanor, suspecting Patricia knew something.Patricia's face paled slightly. She hesitated before responding, "Ms. Riddle might not return for a few days."These were just her guesses; she wasn't sure of the specifics. If things had gone smoothly here, she hoped Jared and Nicole's situation would also be positive.Seeing Patricia's reluctance to share more about Nicole's situation, Lulu frowned. "How many days are we talking about?" She wanted to know whether it would be three days, five, or seven.It seemed Patricia wasn't certain either.Patricia sighed. "I really don't know how long it'll take. It depends on whether things
"Zane will help us out," Jared said seriously.He had already contacted Zane. For this roundup, Zane would personally lead people to crackdown Lawrence's force. Jared could leave the subsequent matters entirely to Zane. After all, Zane needed to investigate many things connected to Lawrence, including incidents from the past.Knock, knock, knock.When Jared heard the knock, he said in a deep voice, "Come in."The door opened.Seeing the visitor, Jared said, "You got here fast.""I was already watching Lawrence, so I rushed over when I heard what happened," Zane replied.With Zane came Doretta, who mentioned, "No news from Nicole yet.""It's fine, we can start planning," Zane said, and they all sat down.Zane spread out a map and shared, "This shows Lawrence's place. It has one way in and out, but we've found out he's got a hidden tunnel too. Nicole might have gone in there herself.""If we don't know where this tunnel is, Lawrence could easily escape," Charlie added, thinking
A deep darkness lingered in Jared's eyes as he thought, 'Indeed, all is ready except for the right moment.'Meanwhile, Nicole looked coldly at Lawrence and said, "You should know, I won't give the Crests to you.""It doesn't matter, then forget it," Lawrence suddenly became magnanimous. He felt that with Nicole in his hands, it didn't matter if he didn't have the Fire Crest and Water Crest. Once he dealt with Jared, he wouldn't have to worry about anything anymore."Sir." Someone called from outside the door, standing there with a rather solemn expression without entering.Lawrence frowned and then stood up to go to the door. "What is it?""It seems we've been discovered. There are suspicious people moving around outside," his subordinate whispered.Lawrence's pupils suddenly contracted, and he said with a dark expression, "Arrange another place, we're leaving here immediately."He guessed that Jared's people had already found this place. He couldn't keep Nicole here any longer;
Apart from Lawrence, nobody knew about those things, and now it was time to bring them out. He was eager to see how Zane and Jared would react with those in play.Ian said joyfully, "That's great." Thinking to himself that Lawrence had a card up his sleeve, it's no wonder he was willing to abandon everything at San Joto so readily. If they succeeded this time, it would be easy to reclaim what they lost.He then asked Lawrence, "Where are those things?" He was curious to see them for himself."No hurry, you'll know when it's needed," Lawrence said calmly.Ian's expression stiffened, and he quickly responded respectfully, "Yes." He had momentarily forgotten his place, carried away by the moment."Go and make arrangements. We still need to strengthen the defenses here at the base," Lawrence instructed Ian."Yes," Ian replied, immediately turning to leave.Lawrence's pupils narrowed slightly. 'Jared is searching everywhere for Nicole, and it seems he already knows where I keep her.
Doretta and Charlie both hoped the situation would quickly come to an end to avoid any complications. Any unexpected turn of events could put Nicole at risk."That should be the case." Seeing Doretta's smile, Charlie also cracked a smile.Suddenly, a fierce wind blew, carrying sand and howling as it passed."Be careful." Charlie instinctively pulled Doretta into his arms to shield her from the gust.Leaning against Charlie's chest, Doretta felt her heartbeat uncontrollably quicken, a strange sensation for her.After the wind passed, everything returned to calm.Charlie released Doretta, looking down to ask, "Are you okay?""I'm fine," Doretta replied, stepping back awkwardly to put some distance between them.The sudden nervousness made her feel uneasy, even unable to look directly at Charlie.Charlie paused, only then realizing what he had just done.Rubbing his hands together awkwardly, Charlie also looked away.****In San Joto, Ellar came to pick up Patricia from work.
"Please come back safely," Ellar murmured softly, silently praying in his heart that everyone would return unharmed."Mr. Riddle, it's getting late. We should head back," his assistant quietly reminded him.The plane was already in the air, and Ellar knew staying wouldn't change anything. With a heavy sigh, he said, "Let's head back."He didn't like the idea of Patricia facing danger, but after seeing her worry and stress these last few days, he felt he had to support her decision.He understood what she needed and made the tough choice, despite his feelings.He loved her too much to hold her back. He wanted to be her biggest supporter as she followed her heart.Once in the car, Ellar nervously sent a text to Charlie.[Charlie, Patricia's on her way to you. Please look out for her.]He waited anxiously for a response, but none came for a while, making him worry even more. 'What's happening? Why hasn't he answered? Is everything okay?'Finally, his phone beeped with a reply.[
"Can't believe he thought of that. Such a cunning person, yet he has his foolish moments," Doretta said through gritted teeth. "But Nicole would never agree to it.""Or maybe he has a way to make Nicole agree," Patricia said with a grave expression.She was sure that if Lawrence had such plans, he must have prepared well. Fortunately, his plan to abduct Nolan and Lana failed, so he must be more cautious now."Mr. Johnston, could Ms. Riddle be in danger?" Patricia asked worriedly.Jared's gaze darkened as he replied, "Not for the time being," though how long this would hold was uncertain.He knew Lawrence's focus was likely on monitoring his movements, planning how to deal with him, and might not pay attention to Nicole for the moment. As long as Nicole acts quickly and successfully finds the secret passage, they could act at any time."So, we need to buy time now," Patricia said, biting her lip slightly. "When are we planning to act?""We're waiting for a message from Nicole," D
Nicole's curiosity piqued. 'If it's not an exit, then what are they doing?' The more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed. In a moment of decision right before the two men were about to close the door, she suddenly appeared and knocked them unconscious.She had a hunch that even if this wasn't the secret passage, it must be hiding some secret, so she had to find out.Glancing at the two men lying on the ground, Nicole quickly entered through the stone wall door.What's all this?" Nicole asked, amazed at what she saw.Before her, about a dozen round, heavy objects had been carried out by two men. These objects were made of steel, with no fancy details, leaving Nicole puzzled about what they could be for.She went up to one, touching it, hoping to find a switch or button that might show what it did.But after trying everything she could think of and nothing happening, Nicole looked puzzled and said, "What are these? They can't just be big chunks of metal."As she looked mo