Chapter 17 Thalia was kidnapped.....
Thalia's cough echoed through the underground parking lot. What a jerk, William.
He had actually blown smoke right in her face.
Thalia clutched her waist, pointing at William, coughing so hard she couldn’t get a word out.
"William...you...”
William casually held his cigarette, taking a step back, looking pristine as he watched Thalia struggle to catch her breath.
He looked like a god gazing down at mortals in their final throes.
Thalia suddenly remembered something her friend once said: "He's just a rich kid from an average family. What do you see in him?"
"His looks? Or his body?"
"Guys like William, no amount of money can fill the void in their souls. It just makes them more ruthless and arrogant."
"Ms. Smith, a smart person knows when to quit."
Thalia wiped her lips with the back of her hand. "If I quit, you’ll just go after Chase?"
"Watch your words," William said, annoyed. What did she mean by "go after Chase"? He wasn’t gay.
"William, you know, your personality is tougher than anything below the belt."
William flicked his cigarette ash, waiting for Thalia’s next words.
Who was Thalia? The princess of Emerald City. As long as Hayden lived, she would always be a princess.
Could she tolerate William repeatedly humiliating her?
Anger surged through Thalia as she walked up to William and slapped him hard across the face, warning him with a pointed finger, "That’s the price for sleeping with me.”
William didn’t get angry. Instead, he laughed, holding his cigarette, and mockingly said, "Ms. Smith, this punishment makes me want to sleep with you a few more times.”
"Should I spread the word around Emerald City? Sleep with Thalia once for a slap? You think there wouldn’t be a line of men waiting to get slapped to death by you?”
"You...” Thalia was furious, her anger boiling over.
Feeling it was not the day to match wits with William, she turned on her heel and walked away with her bag.
...
In his penthouse, William stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, cigarette in hand, with a fat, healthy cat crouching at his feet.
Amara’s cat, which she had for years. Recently, Harper was found to be allergic to cat fur. Amara wanted to give it away but couldn’t bear to, so William took it in, keeping it on the top floor balcony, letting it ponder its life while staring at the multi-billion-dollar view of Emerald City.
Thinking of Thalia made William’s head hurt.
Thalia was hard to deal with.
His previously simple life of exploiting the wealthy had been thrown into chaos by Thalia. Now, wherever he went, people asked about their encounter.
William sighed heavily, stubbed out his cigarette, and headed for a shower. "Troublemaker!”
"Meow.”
"Not you,” William said, looking down at the fat cat, thinking if Thalia were a cat, she’d probably be a troublemaker and a chatterbox too.
At ten-thirty, William came out of the shower.
Daniel showed up with a bottle of liquor.
"I heard some noise upstairs and figured you were back. Want a drink?”
"You’ve got time for that?”
"Well, I thought my good buddy was going through a rough patch. Had to check in!”
William: ... "You’ve got a way with words.”
"Of course...”
The two hadn’t finished their first drink when the doorbell rang, surprising William.
In this high-end apartment, you needed a fingerprint or an access card to use the elevator. Who was ringing the bell? The Brown family?
Shouldn’t be...
William glanced at the screen and saw the building manager and Ethan standing at the door. He paused for a moment.
As soon as he opened the door, Ethan smelled the expensive liquor on William. "Drinking already?”
"Starting the celebration early?”
William frowned. "What are you doing here?”
"I didn’t want to come. Every time I visit, I feel like society’s beating me down. We graduated from the same school, same class, same age, and you’re living in Emerald City’s most luxurious penthouse, while I’m stuck in a tiny old place...”
William was annoyed. Everyone he encountered lately was too talkative, all in Thalia mode.
"Speak plainly.”
Ethan’s expression turned serious. "Thalia’s been kidnapped. You were the last person to see her. We need to investigate.”
William: ... Less than two hours apart, and she got kidnapped that quickly.
"We checked the building’s security footage. We saw you two had a physical altercation followed by a heated argument, so...”
Daniel came out of the room at this. "What do you mean by ‘physical altercation’?”
William: ... "So?”
Ethan coughed, knowing the kidnapping had nothing to do with William. "I’ll cut you some slack. Skip the investigation and help us find her! I know you’ve got the means.”
"Then you should investigate!” William was relieved. Finding Thalia would only bring more trouble for him.
He should thank the kidnappers!
"Could you live with yourself if she died?” Ethan asked.
William: ...
"I’m telling you, Thalia’s unlucky. Her dad’s on his deathbed, and before outsiders could take her down, her siblings made a move. She didn’t even get to inherit anything! Now she’s missing.”
"That’s not all. She’s a celebrity. If the public finds out, I can kiss my bonus goodbye this year.”
Ethan sighed as he drove. Thalia was both rich and unlucky.
"Stop sitting there! Use your skills.”
Ethan nudged William.
"What skills?” William retorted.
"No one else is here. Stop pretending. Get moving. If Thalia dies, she dies. But if she doesn’t and gets assaulted...think about it. She’d blame you for not taking her in tonight, leading to her kidnapping. She’d hound you every day...”
William: ... "Shut up.”
He didn’t want to hear it.
Half an hour later, William got word that Thalia had been kidnapped and taken away in a van, which disappeared in the wheat fields on the city’s west side. The van was empty.
When William sped to the scene, he saw only motorcycle tracks.
"Boss, the kidnappers are live-streaming.”
William snatched the phone.
The live stream showed the kidnappers adjusting the camera. Thalia was tied to a chair, unconscious.
She was still wearing that black V-neck dress.
"No wonder she’s a star. Such delicate skin. Should we have some fun first?”
"I think we should.”
Hearing this, William’s anger flared. "Ethan, the live stream...”
"Already on it, stopping it now,” Ethan said, hands shaking. William’s murderous tone scared him.
"Boss, we got the IP address.”
"Get the team and follow me...”
William’s complex network of connections was well-known.
In the gray areas, he had not just connections but a team. He had once taken down an entire base after being double-crossed during a major case.