Female Novel
Chapter 686
Watching his father's car parked by the side of the road and the post-battle mess, Zeke reached outand punched at the empty air before him. novelbin
D*mn it! I was still too late.
Not only had they failed to intercept Zoey, but now even his father had been kidnapped.
That old fool is too easily deceived. How can he naively believe when Sofie claims that she holdsevidence proving that Bailey is the leader of the Saviors? That vile woman would have threatenedBailey and Artemis instead of the Shurmer family if that were the case.
“Mr. Shurmer, they split into eight different directions when they fled. We don't know which route is theright one—”
Before the bodyguard could finish, Zeke interrupted him with a wave of his hand. “Then send a team tosearch each route and stop everyone you find.”
“Yes, Mr. Shurmer.”
At that moment, a black sedan stopped in front of Zeke.
The door opened, and Artemis emerged from the car.
“Oh? Has that old fellow been captured too?”
Zeke looked somewhat helpless. “Initially, we had the upper hand in this situation. But who would have
thought that the old man would stir up such trouble? Now we've lost all our advantages and havebecome the ones being threatened.”
Artemis scanned the surroundings and sighed. “We realized the situation too late. If we had known tenminutes earlier, we could have caught them in the act.”
“Sofie must be planning to use the old man as leverage to force us to let her leave the country. Whatshould we do? She's been building up her forces in Hallsbay in secret. Even though we'll eventuallyfind her hiding place, it will be useless now that she has something to hold over us. It seems we haveno choice but to give in,” Zeke lamented.
As Artemis walked toward his car, he said, “Let's call back all the search teams. Don't waste any moretime on this. My guess is she'll contact us of her own accord in the next few days.”
“All right. Let's call them back then.”
After speaking, Zeke followed him. “I'll ride with you, and we can have a good heart-to-heart talk.”
Artemis raised an eyebrow and did not object.
Once inside the car, Zeke buckled his seatbelt and asked, “Do you really plan to keep hiding from Bay?She doesn't blame you. In fact, she thinks meeting you is the fortune of several lifetimes. I admit, I thinkshe's quite foolish too, but isn't every woman in love somewhat foolish?”
As Artemis started the car, he spoke softly. “Without me, she might have a better life. At least beforemeeting me, she lived a carefree life without any worries or danger. But after meeting me, she seems
to be getting hurt every day.”
“So, you plan to keep avoiding her?”
Artemis tilted his head slightly, gazing into Zeke's eyes, and enunciated each word, “I have seenEdmund's leg injury through the window, and even I, as a man, found it hard to bear. Now, he enduresthe pain every day, and perhaps only Bailey's company can alleviate the heart-wrenching agony. If Iwere to cling to Bailey at every moment, she would have less time to accompany Edmund. After muchconsideration, I decided to let this period pass first. At least, I'll allow her to keep Edmund companythrough his most difficult days.”
A pang of realization hit Zeke.
Ah, I see.
He had wondered how Artemis could possibly behave like a child and be at odds with Bailey.
It turned out he was considering Edmund's situation.
“Aren't you afraid that Edmund will steal your woman? They're together day and night, and with Bayfeeling guilty toward him, who knows if sparks will fly?” Zeke asked.
Artemis smiled lightly. “My love with Bailey has withstood the test of time and won't fade so easily. I'mnot worried about that. But you... I heard that Huntley had his tendons severed by the Hoffman family tosave Juliana, and perhaps her heart might ache for the man, and she'll end up falling for him instead.”
Zeke was taken aback.
He quickly turned his head, narrowing his eyes at Artemis. Through gritted teeth, he asked, “Where didyou get this information? Were Huntley's tendons really severed by the Hoffman family?”
Artemis nodded. “Yes, Tarragon has planted spies in the Hoffman family. One of them reported to methat Huntley was tortured. Both his hands and feet's tendons were severed.”
Zeke pursed his thin lips. “What a despicable family. To appease my anger, they threatened Julianawith Huntley's life and forced her to call me, admitting that she got rid of the baby herself. Despite doingas they asked, they still didn't let Huntley go.”
Artemis sneered. “What do you expect from a family of thugs? To deal with such people, one must beatthem into submission. I've been putting up with this family for a long time. When the time comes, let'sjoin forces and destroy them.”
“Agreed.”
In a ward at the medical base, Waverly stood by the bed and told Bailey about how Sofie threatenedthem.
“Bay, your father and I didn't compromise out of love for Zoey. We initially planned to kick her out of theShurmer family and send her to prison. However, that woman called and threatened us, and your fatherfeared the exposure of your identity as the leader of the Saviors would bring danger, so we relented.”
Bailey chuckled softly with a hint of mockery in her smile.
Did they truly believe such nonsense merely from a single phone call?
She couldn't fathom how they had managed the family for decades as its head and matriarch, evenexpanding the Shurmer family to its present grandeur.
Waverly continued when she noticed that Bailey had said nothing. “Your brother sensed somethingunusual, so he went home to confront me. I was worried about your father, so I told your brother thetruth. He's gone to intercept them.”
Intercept them? They're probably too late.
“Bay... Can you forgive us this once, considering that we meant well but did wrong?”
Bailey sighed and said impassively, “Sofie has no leverage over me. If she truly had something on me,she would be blackmailing me and Artemis instead of you two. Given your age, why couldn't youunderstand such a simple truth? Well, there's no use in talking about it now. Let's wait for Zeke toreturn, but be prepared, for he might not bring your husband back. Sofie, in her eagerness to leaveHallsbay, would probably seize your husband as her passport.”
Waverly grimaced and asked with a trembling voice, “Y-You're saying that Sofie might kidnap yourfather to blackmail you and Zeke?”
“Do you think such a malicious woman will let a chance like this slip away?” Bailey asked rhetorically.
As her words fell, the door to the ward was pushed open, and Zeke strode in.
“You're spot on. She didn't let the opportunity pass and successfully captured our father,” heannounced.
Having expected the outcome, Bailey was not at all surprised.
However, Waverly's legs gave way, and she collapsed to the floor.