Anita’s stomach twisted in knots. She knew what Lilian was asking would ruin her—everything she had worked for, her career, her dreams, would all be gone. But with the bomb ticking under her seat, she didn’t have any choice. Lilian smirked at the distraught expression on Anita’s face. Leaning in close, she whispered, "The bomb is ticking, Anita. What’s it going to be? Your career…or your life?" Anita’s sobs grew louder, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably. The room seemed to become smaller by the second as the weight of Lilian’s impossible condition crashed down on her. Lilian, however, laughed out loud, her eyes glistening with malicious glee as she savored every moment of Anita's torment. Anita tightened her fists on the wooden arm of the chair, the rope used to restrain her now digging into her wrists, making it sting. But the pain caused by this rope, was nothing compared to the pain blooming in her chest. She decided to stall Lilian a bit by trying to plead with her, ho
Adrian pulled to a stop a few meters away from the bunker where Anita was being held captive within minutes, and thanked the driver for his patience before jumping out of the car. Just as he climbed out of the car, a black bulletproof van bearing the logo of Fortgate Security Services pulled up beside him. The van came to a stop, and several bodyguards in combat gear filed out, each falling on one knee before Adrian in respect. Adrian barely spared them a glance. He didn’t have the time for that. "Get up," he snapped, his voice commanding and urgent as his gaze swept over all the bodyguards. "Who's in charge?" A towering man with huge biceps stepped forward, his expression stoic and ready for action. "I am, sir." Adrian wasted no time in voicing out his orders. “We’re storming that bunker.” He pointed toward the desolate building that stood a few meters away from them. “I want those men at the entrance neutralized, and I want my wife out of there alive. Understood?” The leade
Lilian’s eyes flickered with panic as she processed the weight of Adrian’s words. Hades Prison. The name alone sent chills down her spine. “I… I can’t go there,” she whispered, her voice trembling with fear. There was no way she’d survive in such a place. This realization made tears well up in her eyes, the earlier confidence she sported now completely diminished. Her mind raced with thoughts of how she could escape this punishment, but as her gaze met with the unwavering gazes of Adrian and the bodyguards, she knew that her attempts would be futile. The smirk never left Adrian’s face as he watched Lilian break down, but this was just the beginning of her suffering. He shifted his attention to the leader of the bodyguards. “Take her to Hades Prison,” he ordered in a tone of finality. “And inform your uncle that the young master of the Young family has commanded that she be kept in solitary confinement. Under no condition should she be released until I say otherwise.” The leader
Adrian stepped out of the Fortgate Security van immediately it pulled over in front of Lifemate hospital. He made his way inside, and saw the bodyguard he had told to take Anita to the hospital, sitting patiently at a waiting room.When the guard saw him approaching, he instantly rose to his feet and bowed his head in respect. Adrian nodded at him in acknowledgment then asked, “Has Doctor Arnold examined my wife? Which ward is she in?”The guard nodded in response. “Yes sir, the doctor examined her and confirmed she was alright immediately I brought her in. She's in the last ward by the right of this hallway,” he finished, gesturing to the hallway adjacent to him. “Good work,” Adrian commended him. “You are dismissed, you may leave.” The guard bowed once more before taking his leave. Meanwhile, Adrian headed towards the narrow hallway where Anita’s ward was. When he reached Anita's room, he gently pushed open the door and the tension in his chest eased when he stepped in and saw An
Adrian blinked, completely taken aback by Regina’s absurd accusation. “What? No, I would never—”“Stop lying!” Regina sharply cut him off then reared her hand back to slap him, but Anita firmly caught her wrist mid-air.“Stop this, mom!” Anita snapped, her eyes flashing with annoyance as she dropped Regina’s hand to the side. “Adrian didn’t do anything to me. Those marks on my wrist are as a result of an allergic reaction to jewelry. Please, stop jumping to conclusions!”“Don’t you dare defend him, Anita!” Regina shot back, folding her arms as she glared daggers at Adrian. “You have no idea how much I loathe this useless husband of yours! All my friends have sons-in-law who are worth something. They even got them invitations to the Mayor’s daughter’s wedding happening tomorrow. Something this good-for nothing can never afford to do!” As soon as Adrian heard Regina’s words about the wedding, his memory jogged, and he remembered the mayor had given him invitations to his daughter’s wed
The man named Peyton, frowned as he moved away from the truck driver and turned his attention to Adrian. “And who the hell do you think you are to ask me such a question?” He retorted, his voice sharp and dripping with disdain.Unfazed by Peyton’s attempt at intimidation, Adrian repeated, pronouncing each word slowly this time, “Where did you get this car?”Peyton scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “I bought it with my money. Why? Do you want to know the price? I bet you can't afford a car like this,” he taunted, his eyes scanning Adrian from head to toe as if judging his worth based on his appearance.Adrian remained silent for a moment, then a smirk tugged at his lips as he pulled out his phone from his pocket and swiped open the tracker app he had installed for the tracking device in Anita’s car. He held the phone up for Peyton to see the screen which flashed a blinking dot that indicated the location of Anita’s car, and the dot was blinking right where they stood. Adrian
Peyton’s face paled as he watched Rhea address Adrian with so much respect. The doubt and confusion he felt earlier was now replaced with fear as he realized that Adrian really hadn’t been bluffing. Adrian remained calm as he met Rhea’s gaze. “That car,” he began, pointing to the car behind Peyton, “belongs to my wife, Anita. It broke down last night on the side of the road. And this app.” He raised his phone, showing her the tracking app on the screen. “is connected to the tracking device which was placed in her car for security measures. The app clearly says that her car is here, but your brother-in-law claims it’s his. How is that possible?”Rhea’s gaze remained on Adrian’s phone screen for a moment, then her expression tightened as she now understood the situation. She nodded, and without needing further explanation, she turned towards Peyton’s direction, a glint of annoyance flickering in her eyes. Peyton, who noticed the disapproving look Rhea was giving him, blurted out defen
Before joining the truck driver, Adrian first placed a call to one of Anita’s bodyguards, instructing him to come and pick up Anita’s car and drive it back to her apartment. Then, rolling up his sleeves, he crouched next to the truck driver, who was already carefully gathering the fallen antiques and loading them back into the truck.Adrian began helping out and as he picked up the pieces of a broken Ming Dynasty vase, an ancient looking scroll fell out suddenly, and the momentary distraction caused Adrian to prick his finger against a sharp edge of the vase. He hissed slightly, as he dropped the broken pieces and inspected the cut.While he was doing this, some blood from his finger dropped on the scroll, and Adrian was about to ignore it until something strange happened—The blood, instead of staining the scroll, absorbed into it and vaporized.“What the—” A crease formed on Adrian’s brow as he picked up the scroll which had ancient Chinese inscriptions and drawings written on the re