Chapter 399

Chapter 399

"When did Robert get connected with people from BOC Gene Tech?"

Emily frowned in confusion. "The Baker Group has never had any business dealings with pharmaceutical companies. How did he even meet them... when did this happen..."

I explained, "Mom, Sawyer probably already told you—back when you were pregnant, Robert tampered with your body, which caused both James and me to have different degrees of physical defects. The truth is, he was already working with people from BOC Gene Tech back then."

"Over twenty years ago?" Emily's eyes widened. She stood there in stunned silence for a long moment.

Sawyer stood quietly to the side, his face ashen, not saying a word.

I knew why he was reacting this way. Years ago, when his business venture abroad failed and he ended up destitute and homeless, Jerry had taken him in because of their similar appearance. Though they didn't interact much, Sawyer had always considered Jerry his savior.

Later, Jerry manipulated Sawyer, convincing him that I had killed the original Alice and taken her place.

That made Sawyer see me as the target of his revenge.

Now that the misunderstanding had been cleared up, he finally understood he'd been treating his enemy as a benefactor all along—and had even listened to that enemy's lies and tried to kill me.

Just thinking about all of it made Sawyer so guilt-ridden he couldn't speak.

If he opened his mouth now, it would only be to apologize to me. But with James's safety being the priority, he couldn't bring himself to say something so irrelevant.

"Mom, I don't have time to explain everything right now. I'm flying to Novaria immediately to find James. Don't worry—I'll bring him back safe and sound."

"I'm coming too!" Sawyer blurted out.

I glanced at him.

He lowered his eyes. "Sorry, Alice. I got impulsive again. Never mind, I won't go with you. If I did, I'd just slow you down. I'm just... worried about you."

"I understand. If you really want to help me, stay home and look after Mom. Make sure no one bullies her."

"Okay. I will."

Sawyer nodded firmly.

"Wait for my good news."

I said.

……

After finishing work, Robert had no intention of going home.

Even though he'd seen through the home security cameras that Alice wasn't there, he still didn't dare return. Once he went back, he'd have to face Emily and Sawyer's accusations.

With that thought, he decided to just spend the night in the company's break room. The more he thought about it—how he couldn't go back to his own house, a house 'he' had bought—the angrier he got.

Robert slammed his fist down on the desk. All it did was hurt like hell. It accomplished nothing else. He felt even more miserable.

He picked up his phone to check the time and saw that Ava had called him nearly a hundred times. Almost one call per minute. When he didn't pick up, she'd bombarded him with text messages.

He knew why Ava was so desperate to reach him—she'd found out that Alice had locked up Alex. She was calling and texting to make him negotiate with Alice and get Alex released. But Alex was just being held in Alice's villa at Silver Creek. Nothing serious should happen. If something did, the police would handle it!

He didn't understand what Ava was so worried about.

As for all those messages she'd sent, he wasn't going to read a single one. No matter how much Ava begged, he wasn't going to give in to Alice. After all, he still wanted to stay alive.

As for whether Alex lived or died—at this point, he honestly couldn't afford to care. Right now, all he wanted was to save his own skin.

As for everyone else—whether it was Olivia or Alex—he couldn't worry about them!

He just wanted to survive. Whether other people lived or died had nothing to do with him!

Right. Nothing to do with him!

He was just trying to save his own life. What was wrong with that?

Alice was the one in the wrong—wanting to kill her own father.

Sure, he'd made some mistakes in the past, but couldn't she forgive him? Give him one chance to turn over a new leaf?

For the rest of his life, he'd be willing to do everything in his power to make up for the twenty-plus years of suffering Emily had endured.

But the problem was, Alice wasn't willing to give him that chance to make amends!

If anyone was to blame, it was Alice. She was the one who'd forced him to this point!

The more Robert thought about it, the angrier and more aggrieved he felt. His eyes turned red.

Even though he was alone in the break room, he didn't dare curse Alice out loud. He was terrified she might have installed listening devices in the office. If Alice heard him badmouthing her, that would be the end...

After locking the break room door and even moving a cabinet over to barricade it, Robert still felt no sense of security. It was as if Alice was everywhere. No matter how many precautions he took, she could still burst through the door at any moment. So he just sat on the bed in the break room, not daring to close his eyes even once, staring at the door the entire time.

He tried to reassure himself—James was under his control now, and Alice still had feelings for James, so she wouldn't be reckless enough to ignore James's safety and actually kill him.

He just didn't know if Alice truly believed he wasn't joking around. If he ended up crippled or dead, James wouldn't have a good life either—or any life at all!

As for hiding James, that was something Sophia had handled for him. He hadn't done it himself, but he trusted that Sophia, now married to Beck, would definitely be able to keep James hidden.

Alice shouldn't be able to find James anytime soon.

Robert kept reassuring himself.

His eyes stayed fixed on the door, constantly on guard. But the truth was, he was exhausted now. Still, he didn't dare close his eyes, afraid he'd wake up to Alice strangling him.

No, this wouldn't work. If he kept going like this, Alice wouldn't even need to kill him—he'd scare himself to death first.

He hadn't done anything, yet his heart was racing out of control. Something was seriously wrong.

He thought to himself—if he was too restless to sleep in the break room, he might as well go out for a drive. Yeah, get in the car and drive around!

Robert made up his mind instantly. He got up and headed down to the underground parking garage. The whole way, he kept glancing around nervously, terrified Alice would jump out from some corner and beat him up again.

Trembling, he finally reached the garage and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He pulled out his car keys, hands shaking as he tried to unlock the door. The moment the door opened, his hand jerked and the keys fell to the ground.

He cursed under his breath and bent down shakily to pick up the keys.

Suddenly, a figure appeared behind him and lunged forward, wrapping their arms around his waist.