“Is no one on top of this?” Baz asked.Shelly shook her head and sighed. “People here can’t even take care of themselves. Why would they care about things that aren’t important?”Ever since she moved to this place, Shelly shed her status as the daughter of a wealthy family and dwelled at the lowest level of society. She saw a lot of stuff and learned to let go of things too.Baz nodded, but he felt a massive sense of relief. “It’s a good thing I got you out of here.”She caught the relief in his tone and smiled faintly. “If I didn’t let you get on the car today, would you still have come here, Baz?”“Certainly.” Baz responded without any hesitation, “I’d even ask for Mr. Cedric’s help. I’m going to get you out of here, even if it means I have to tie you up.”“Do you love me that much, Baz?” She winked flirtatiously.“That’s not the only reason. I was worried your mother would marry you off to secure wealth for herself again. It wasn’t easy for you to crawl out of that hellhole,
Maia remembered that Beverly Manor was always filled with different kinds of plants. However, she did not know what plants he was most fond of. She could always ask Fernando, then it would not be a surprise anymore. He answered, “You could give him a Philodendron plant.” “Are you sure about this?”“Yeah. I think Grandpa will love it.”Maia nodded her head and replied, “Got it!” Cedric was slightly surprised at how obedient Maia was. It looked like she had something else in mind. When the couple ended their video call, Maia quickly called Fisher to send her to a florist nearby. The service provided by the florist was top-notched. Maia just had to tell her that she wanted a bouquet to celebrate someone being discharged from the hospital, and then they would arrange those flowers that were suitable into a beautiful bouquet. When Maia arrived at the florist, she immediately got her order and paid. Before leaving, she asked the store assistant, “Do you happen to have some philod
After the car was parked, Maia quickly entered the hospital building. “Grandpa! Look at the bouquet I got you! I hope that you’ll always be healthy and safe!” Maia handed the bouquet to Hans. “Thank you. I love them very much!” Hans smiled happily as he accepted the flowers. “Ms. Maia, to Mr. Hans your flowers are worth more than those expensive gifts!” Fernando said as he smiled joyfully as well.“Fernando, do you need any help with the discharge procedures?”“Nope, everything is done.” Maia looked at her watch in disappointment and apologized. “I’m sorry. Was I too late?”“Not at all! We’ve just finished checking out of the hospital. We wanted to wait for you, but you’ve arrived within seconds. You came at the right time!” Hans did not want Maia to feel bad. Hans looked behind Maia as he asked, “Where’s the boy? Is he at the office?”“He left for a business trip.” Maia clarified.“Business trip? When will he be back?”Maia nodded. “He’ll probably need some time.” “C
Hans smiled gently and gave Maia a pat on the back of her hand. “Looks like Nigel has something to say to you. In the meantime, I’ll take a few selfies with the beautiful bouquet while we wait for you.” Hans tapped Maia’s elbow and pulled her closer to him before whispering, “I don’t know what exactly happened between the two of you, but you should tell him officially why you’re rejecting him once and for all.”Maia nodded. “Got it. You watch your step when you get into the car, grandpa!” “Don’t worry about me.” Hans nodded as Fernando helped while directing him to where the car was parked. Maia watched as Hans left before turning back to Nigel. “So, how can I help you, Mr. Nigel?” “Maia.”“I think it’s best if you call me Ms. Maia. After all, we’re just business partners.” “Must you treat me like a stranger? I know I’ve made a mistake but-”“Mr. Nigel, if you want to start explaining yourself, I don’t think this conversation is necessary at all.” Maia interrupted him as s
“Grandpa, Cedric left a comment for you.”Hans stole a glance over Maia’s shoulder before huffing, “I’m his grandfather, I don’t need to reply to his comment!” Maia just smiled at Hans’ childish behavior. When she finally noticed that Fischer still did not start driving, she asked, “Fischer, is something wrong?”Fischer was not in the right state. When he heard Maia calling his name, he finally snapped out of it and apologized. “Sorry, Ms. Maia. I’ll start driving now.” The car pulled out of the parking lot and started moving toward Prismara Hill. Maia took one last glance at Fischer before she looked out the window. She had an uneasy feeling of being watched, but she could not tell where it was coming from.Was it just her being sensitive? For some reason, Maia could not help but feel that something was not right as she felt restless. …Prismara’s weather was unpredictable, as the clear skies were soon covered in grey clouds. The manor on Prismara Hill looked like it was shi
Maia reminded herself to stay calm. She needed to pretend that she had not seen anything and try to inform Fischer about this. She retreated to the dining room as if nothing had happened.What was she supposed to do now? How could she call for help? She tried to reach into her pocket. Just as her hands touched her phone, she heard footsteps coming from behind her. “Grandpa, Fernando, run!” Maia shouted with all her might as she placed her hands on her tummy and ran toward the dining room. When she got to the dining room, she was horrified to see them lying on the table, unconscious. “Grandpa, Fernando!” Maia turned around to see a man dressed in a black raincoat with a hat tugged low, covering the top half of his face. He walked out of the kitchen with a gun in his hand as he approached her. Maia’s eyes widened in fear as she stepped backward. She dragged one of the chairs with force, and it fell to the floor with a loud thud. “Fischer! Fischer!” Maia looked at the entrance,
“Maia?”She heard his deep voice from the other end of the phone. She couldn’t possibly hold back her tears when she heard his voice, but she was in so much pain that she couldn’t even muster up the strength to cry.The downpour rained down on her. She was both cold and in pain, but even her senses were becoming duller. ‘It is agonizing, Cedric,’ she thought to herself. ‘The pain is so excruciating. Grandpa and Fernando tried to protect me and I’m not even sure if they are alive. Please come back soon. We need you.‘Save me. Save Grandpa and Fernando. Save our baby…’There were a lot of things that she wanted to tell him, but there was blood in her throat. The rain also assailed her relentlessly. The pain she was experiencing now was sapping her energy bit by bit.Maia was in a hopeless situation, but the man wore a cold, aloof expression. “Cedric truly cherishes you. Look at it. You merely rang him for a few seconds, and he already picked up your video call.” There was a hint o
Baz nodded, “Somebody kidnapped Ms. Maia.”“What?” Shelly was shocked, “Was the kidnapper waiting for this moment? He made his moves and snatched Maia when Cedric was in Nordic City… What an opportunistic punk! However, Cedric’s bodyguards are extremely capable. How did he pull it off?”“There’s a mole.”She looked at Baz and guessed, “Is it the guy you once told me about? The guy who you were quite close with?”He nodded. “Correct. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why he’d do this. We’ve stared down the barrel many times, and his mother has cared for Mr. Cedric since he was young. I’m sure you can imagine how much Mr. Cedric cared about him…”“It could be any number of reasons, but we’ll have to ask Fischer about it. You can keep guessing, but it wouldn’t help the situation.”“Yeah.” He nodded. “I’ve arranged for Mr. Cedric’s private plane. It’ll take off in twenty minutes.”“Take me with you!” Looking at him, she said firmly, “I know I might not be able to help, but I wo