Chapter 270: Isabella's Disappearance

Chapter 270: Isabella's Disappearance

When Isabella regained consciousness, she found herself in an unfamiliar environment.

Her eyes were blindfolded, her mouth gagged, and her ears filled with nothing but an eerie, white-noise-like silence.

She had no way of determining her current location based on her surroundings.

The only thing she knew for certain was that she had stopped moving.

"Boss, this woman's pretty hot. Seems like a waste to just ship her off, don't you think?"

Suddenly, Isabella heard a voice with an incredibly thick accent.

The speaker seemed to be wrestling with his own tongue, his words coming out strange and awkward.

Isabella heard a heavy thud, as if someone had slapped something hard.

"Idiot! You trying to hand the cops evidence on a silver platter?"

"Don't you know how advanced DNA testing is these days? One careless touch and you'll leave enough evidence to put you away for life."

From their conversation, Isabella immediately understood that someone had specifically hired these men.

Their level of education was clearly limited. If given the opportunity, she might be able to turn one of them against the others.

Isabella's mind raced as she calculated how to approach the situation.

"Anyway, they already wired us the deposit. Once we traffic this woman to some remote mountain village, we pocket a clean fifty grand. Beats breaking our backs with day jobs, doesn't it?"

Isabella quickly caught another crucial detail in their conversation.

Fifty thousand.

Someone with very deep pockets was behind this.

Isabella didn't rush to cry for help. Instead, she remained as calm as possible, listening carefully to the kidnappers' dialogue, mentally profiling them and trying to deduce their preferences and weaknesses.

 

Richard landed in Seaside City from Luminous City, and the first thing he did was call Isabella.

The factory site was finalized, and they'd even confirmed the first batch of workers. Richard couldn't wait to share the good news with her.

However, he was greeted by a cold, mechanical female voice.

[The number you have dialed is currently unavailable. Please try again later.]

Richard assumed Isabella was working and hadn't noticed her phone, so he tried again half an hour later.

Once again, he was met with the same cold, mechanical response.

The sound hammered against his eardrums, triggering a vague sense of unease.

Unable to reach Isabella, anxiety began fermenting in Richard's chest like rising dough, making it impossible not to imagine the worst.

He then called Mary.

In the background, he could hear Olivia's laughter.

Mary sounded surprised to receive Richard's call.

"Ms. Capulet came back to Seaside City, but William called her back to the hospital to stay with him. She only came home this afternoon to shower and change before heading out again. She hasn't sent a single message since."

Mary recounted everything that had happened in careful detail.

The drive from Isabella's house to the hospital was ten minutes at most. Even by public transit, it shouldn't take more than half an hour.

According to Mary's timeline, Isabella should have reached the hospital long ago.

There was no reason she couldn't even make a phone call.

William certainly wouldn't kidnap Isabella.

Richard felt deeply unsettled, but forced himself to remain patient and continue investigating.

"Take me to the hospital," Richard commanded the driver in a low voice.

His heartbeat quickened, and that sense of foreboding drove his imagination into darker territory.

He hoped his suspicions were wrong. Isabella had to be fine.

Richard arrived at the hospital quickly. After asking for William's room number at the information desk, he headed straight there.

The VIP single rooms were arranged at the far end of a corridor.

Richard's timing was perfect—he'd taken the staircase adjacent to William's room, and one turn brought him directly to the door he sought.

Taking a deep breath, Richard pushed open the hospital room door.

"Young people need more exercise to strengthen their recovery! Most young folks these days lack physical activity…"

A nagging, somewhat grating voice drifted out from inside.

Had Richard not also heard a man's voice, he would have thought he'd entered the wrong room.

Stepping inside, Richard immediately spotted William standing in the middle of the room, his face written all over with existential despair.

Beside him stood a tall, robust middle-aged woman.

She appeared to be a hired caregiver.

"What are you doing here?" William's expression instantly soured.

He could tolerate being played by Isabella. He could even follow Brenda's recovery exercise instructions.

What he couldn't stand was Richard looking at him like he was watching a circus act.

"Nothing… this is great, actually. She's right—young people need more training to boost their immune systems. Otherwise, the slightest illness knocks you flat."

Richard had almost forgotten why he'd come, struggling to suppress his laughter as he patted William's shoulder.

William bristled with irritation, shrugging off the touch and refusing to let Richard near him.

"You came here just to watch me suffer?" William snapped.

"Is Isabella here?" Richard's expression shifted to dead seriousness in an instant.

William looked confused. "She left this afternoon and hasn't come back yet."

Hearing William's answer, Richard reached a conclusion immediately.

His Adam's apple bobbed as his expression grew heavy and grave.

Richard turned to leave. His sudden movement clearly alarmed William.

"What's wrong with Isabella?" he asked sharply.

Richard saw no reason to hide the truth, so he answered honestly.

"Isabella's missing. According to her last known movements, the last place she was seen was here."

"What?!" William couldn't control his voice, which rose involuntarily.

"How far have you gotten in the search?" William demanded.

"I've already been to Isabella's house. She's not there, and the housekeeper said she hasn't seen her since she left this afternoon. There aren't many other places left to check."

William's face filled with disappointment.

"Call the police."

It was the only option left. If they kept searching like this, God only knew when they'd find her.

Just as they were about to dial emergency services, they heard noise outside the door.

The closed hospital room door suddenly swung open.

Sophia walked in, chatting with someone beside her.

"William, look who's here!" Sophia said with a smile.