Chapter 131 Chapter 131
"You've got the wrong person!" Grace snapped coldly.
She sidestepped the man's large hand, pressed herself against the wall, and rushed forward to escape as quickly as possible. But the man wouldn't let her go. He chased after her, grabbed her arm, and pulled her back forcibly. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and laughed. "How could I possibly mistake you? I miss you, Ms. Hill. Ms. Hill, don't turn your back on me!”
Grace's face paled. She struggled fiercely and snapped, "Let go of me, or I'll scream for help."
The commotion was considerable and drew the attention of others. The nearest private room opened, and a couple of men emerged. Unexpectedly, they were part of the same group as the man clinging to Grace. They surrounded her seamlessly, grinning as they asked, "What's the game, Clarence?"
Clarence held Grace tightly and chuckled, "Ran into an old friend. Thought I'd bring her over for everyone to meet." These men were no saints. Hearing this, they started to cheer and some stepped forward to help Clarence pull Grace toward them, grinning maliciously. "Since she's your friend, let's all join in the fun!"
Grace was both terrified and furious. She refused to go into the room with them. Seeing their numbers, she quickly raised her voice to call for help.
The commotion quickly drew the attention of the club staff. Clarence and his crew just waved them off, laughing. "We're all friends here, just messing around. No need for you to get involved.”
Fearing the staff might ignore her, Grace cried out, "I don't know these people! They're harassing me! Please call the police!"
This club was relatively reputable and clean; otherwise, Vania wouldn't have brought Grace here. The manager recognized Clarence and quickly grasped the situation. Not wanting to deal with trouble on his turf or antagonize Clarence, he merely said, "Let's talk this out calmly. Everyone, please cool down. We don't want any misunderstandings."
The men turned to look at Clarence, waiting for his signal. Though domineering, Clarence wasn't entirely unreasonable. He knew the club's owner had powerful connections and didn't want to cause a scene. He signaled his men to release Grace. He chuckled, "Misunderstanding. All misunderstandings. Since Ms. Hill has business to attend to, let her go first. We'll grab dinner together another time.” Grace hurriedly hid behind the manager and said coldly, "I don't know them!"
Seeing that Clarence and his crew were backing down, the manager didn't want to make things worse by defending Grace. He turned back and tried to smooth things over with a smile. "Ma'am, since it's all a misunderstanding, I think we should just let it go."
Grace knew this incident would have to end here. Even calling the police wouldn't guarantee a resolution. She gave a faint, bitter smile, glanced up at the group, and, without another word, grabbed her purse and strode toward the exit. She had driven Benjamin's car and was unfamiliar with the parking lot layout. After fumbling around in the darkness for a while, she finally spotted her vehicle. As she fumbled for her keys in her purse while walking toward the car, she unlocked the door and reached to pull it open—only to have her mouth and nose suddenly covered from behind.
Startled, she instinctively stomped her heel into the man's foot. He yelped in pain and swung a heavy blow at the back of her neck. Grace felt darkness wash over her eyes, and she instantly lost consciousness. When she came to, she found herself in a windowless bedroom. The lavishly decorated room had padded walls, and even the door facing the bed was covered in thick, soft leather.
Her head still felt dizzy, but she forced herself out of bed and pulled on the door. As expected, it was locked from the outside. It had to be Clarence! No one else would have kidnapped her to such a place at this hour. Panic surged through her, and her body trembled uncontrollably. She remembered that Clarence was a sadist. Last time, she’d escaped by throwing her pride to the wind and using her wits. This time, she had no idea what fate awaited her.
At that moment, Benjamin felt inexplicably restless. He glanced at the clock; the hour hand had already reached nine, yet Grace still hadn't returned. He considered calling her but lowered his phone again. By ten o'clock, he could no longer contain himself. His expression hardened as he dialed her number. It was his spare phone, which she had borrowed just before leaving to stay in touch with Vania.
The call went straight to voicemail. A sense of foreboding crept into Benjamin's heart. After a moment's thought, he dialed Vania's number. The phone rang for what seemed like an eternity before Vania finally answered. A few rings later, the line went busy. Only then did Benjamin realize that something was terribly wrong. He jumped in his car and sped straight to Vania's place.
Vania had blocked his number, so she was furious that he had tracked her down. Ignoring her family's shocked reactions, she shoved Benjamin and stormed outside. Only when they were alone did she turn back to him, her voice icy. "Benjamin, what do you want?"
"Where's Grace?" he demanded. "Where is she?"
Vania froze at his question, then became angry. "Benjamin, are you out of your mind? How should I know where she is? You have her number. Why didn't you call her? Why did you come looking for me?"
Benjamin suppressed his rage. "I can't get through to her phone."
"Unreachable?" Vania sneered, exaggerating her disbelief and deliberately provoking him. "Oh dear, has she run off again? Aren't you two always playing this chase-and-run game? You'd better hurry and find her before she slips away unnoticed and flees overseas again.”
This remark struck at Benjamin's deepest fear—that Grace might escape again. His voice turned cold. Ignoring Vania's mockery, he demanded, "When did you two part ways? Where?"
In the darkness, Vania couldn't see his expression, yet she lifted her chin defiantly. "Why should I tell you? Benjamin, you—"
Suddenly, Benjamin seized her throat, lifting her entire body off the ground. Ignoring her struggles and flailing, he ground out each word through clenched teeth: "I'll ask you once more. Where is Grace?"
Vania witnessed his ruthless ferocity for the first time—his ironclad hands and bloodthirsty predator's gaze. She froze in terror, tears welling up uncontrollably. When he released his grip, she collapsed backward onto the ground. As he bent toward her, she recoiled in fear, stammering, "I don't know! I really don't know! We weren't at the club long. I got angry and left first."
No sooner had she finished speaking than Benjamin's phone rang. It was his henchman, Glasses, reporting: "Boss, the car's in the club parking lot. It's unlocked. Ms. Hill's handbag is just lying inside.”
Benjamin's face darkened. Without glancing at Vania on the floor, he turned and rushed to the car, heading back to the club. By the time he arrived, the backroom boss of the club had also heard the news and hurried over. As soon as they met, the boss said to Benjamin, "Mr. Norman, I've already had them pull up the parking lot surveillance. We'll definitely find out what happened."
He led Benjamin to the surveillance room, where several people were already reviewing the footage from the parking lot. The nighttime recording was grainy, and blind spots made the search difficult. After staring intently at the screen for a while, they finally spotted Grace walking across it. The club manager, standing nearby, recognized her instantly, his expression shifting subtly.
Benjamin stared intently at the screen, completely absorbed and oblivious to the manager's reaction. His boss, however, noticed and discreetly signaled to the manager. The two slipped outside before Benjamin could ask, "What's going on?"
Sweat beaded on the manager's forehead as he recounted Grace's earlier altercation with Clarence and the others.
Upon hearing this, the club owner sucked in a sharp breath and whispered to the manager, "You suspect Clarence kidnapped her?"
Before the words could leave his mouth, Benjamin's harsh voice boomed from inside the room: "Check it! Run this license plate!"
The two hurried back inside. The manager glanced at the license plate number and his legs went weak. He looked at his boss, whose face had turned ashen. His boss' face darkened, too. Gritting his teeth, he stepped forward and whispered to Benjamin, "That's Clarence's car."
Benjamin's body visibly stiffened. He slowly turned his head to look at the boss.
The boss had also been involved with gangs, but at that moment, his gaze made the man's heart skip a beat. The words on the tip of his tongue died in his throat.
Seeing this, the manager beside him plucked up the courage to speak for his boss. He explained, "Ms. Hill ran into Clarence here tonight. Clarence said he knew her, and tried to drag her to dinner. Ms. Hill refused, almost causing a scene. She said she didn't know him.”
Before the manager could finish, Benjamin kicked him in the face. He slammed into the wall of the surveillance room and tumbled down. Too pained to scream, he curled up on the floor, moaning in agony.
"Find Clarence! Find him now!" The club owner, too preoccupied to check on his fallen subordinate, barked the order at those nearby.
Benjamin's face turned ashen. He stood there, slowly closing his eyes, before storming out. Without orders, his men, Glasses and Zach, began tracking Clarence's location. News came back swiftly. After drinking at the club, Clarence had returned to his riverside villa.
"His assistant is trying to reach him, but the phone keeps going unanswered."
The subordinate turned from the front seat and cautiously reported to Benjamin, not daring to meet his gaze.
Benjamin's face was a mask of ice; his jaw was clenched and his lips were pressed into a tight line. He sat in the backseat with his eyes slightly lowered and remained silent.
The subordinate hesitated, then gritted his teeth. "This might blow up big. Clarence's men are heading this way, too. No matter what, boss, you have to hold out through tonight. If you want him dead, we'll have plenty of chances later."
Benjamin remained silent, his lips pressed together. Yet his clenched fists trembled faintly at his sides.