Chapter 604 This Friend is Worth Having
Chapter 604 This Friend is Worth Having
Melinda opened her bleary eyes and yawned, pretending to be sleepy.
"Hugo, what are you doing here in the middle of the night?"
"Couldn't sleep. Thought I'd come chat with you."
Melinda didn't buy it for a second. "Sorry, I'm wiped out from today. I really don't have the energy to talk."
Hugo stepped closer and crouched by her bed, his eyes boring into her, making Melinda's scalp tingle. She instinctively sat up.
"What do you want to talk about?"
Hugo stood up, hands on his hips, and sighed. "Ever since I saw your brother last time, I can't stop thinking about him. I wonder how he's doing now."
Melinda's heart skipped a beat. Could this creep still be fixated on Jonathan?
"I haven't been in touch with him. I don't know."
"Do you think if I called him in your name, he'd come?"
Melinda quickly responded, "Don't do anything crazy. Jonathan isn't like you."
Hugo chuckled coldly. "In all these years, I've never failed to get what I want. Jonathan was an exception. If it weren't for you meddling, he'd have been mine long ago."
Melinda wanted to curse him out but held back, trying to stay calm to avoid provoking him.
Seeing her silence, Hugo suggested, "What if I let you go in exchange for him? Would you agree?"
Melinda's eyes widened. She hadn't expected him to say that.
"Are you serious?"
"Of course. If he truly wants to be with me, I'll let you go."
Melinda scrutinized him, noticing the smirk on his face. He was just testing her.
"I don't agree!"
"I heard you two almost became enemies. For someone so insignificant, you should be happy to trade him for your freedom."
Melinda retorted, "Stop talking nonsense. What do you really want?"
Hugo wouldn't let her go until he got what he wanted—money, not Jonathan. He was just trying to confuse her.
"It's simple. I'm worried you'll get bored here alone. I thought you might want some company."
So that's it. He didn't want to trade her for Jonathan; he wanted her to lure him here.
What a despicable man.
"No need. I'm fine alone."
Hugo suddenly grabbed her neck, "You're smart. You should understand what I mean. If you don't want me bothering you every day, transfer the trouble to someone else."
He wanted to use Jonathan as a plaything. Melinda would never agree.
"Then just strangle me. Elmwood will come for revenge."
"Still threatening me? I'll make you taste suffocation."
Hugo's grip tightened. No matter how Melinda pushed, she couldn't break free.
Outside, a few people were anxiously pacing, but they didn't dare intervene.
Melinda's face turned from white to purple, and Hugo still didn't let go.
"I'll ask one more time. Will you call him?"
Melinda stubbornly shook her head. "No..."
Hugo was furious. No one had ever defied him like this. Melinda, a mere prisoner, should obey him.
"Disobedience means death!"
An assistant outside couldn't stand it anymore and called for help. Several people rushed in and pulled Hugo away.
Hugo turned and punched one of them. "Who told you to interfere?"
The assistant reminded him, "Mr. Graves, look, she's about to pass out. She's pregnant and weak. If you strangle her to death, you'll ruin your plan."
"Yeah, don't be so harsh. We have plenty of ways to make her talk. Don't kill her and lose that valuable asset," another henchman added.
Hugo saw reason. He couldn't kill her in a fit of rage; she was his ticket to wealth.
He watched Melinda struggle to breathe. He had used a lot of force, enough to scare her.
"I'll give you one night to think. If you don't satisfy me tomorrow, you'll regret it."
Melinda coughed, struggling to breathe. She had been close to passing out. If it weren't for those people intervening, Hugo might have killed her in his anger.
He was more dangerous than she had thought. She needed to be more cautious.
He wanted to use her to lure Jonathan. That would never happen.
Hugo was still fixated on Jonathan. After she escaped, she had to find a way to stop him from targeting Jonathan.
The rest of the night passed quietly. As dawn broke, Melinda had survived another perilous day.
She wondered what new tricks Hugo would play after sunrise. He had ignored Elmwood for a day; today, he would surely contact him.
In the morning, a henchman brought her some simple food. At this point, Melinda wasn't picky. She just needed to fill her stomach.
Hugo hadn't come to see her, which made Melinda uneasy.
It's not the demands of a villain that are scary, but their secret schemes.
Today, they hadn't tied her up. Melinda behaved herself, only peeking out the door occasionally without making any excessive demands.
Meanwhile, Elmwood and his team had spent the night searching the industrial area, finding no signs of anyone.
Elmwood looked at the rows of abandoned factories and asked, "Why are all these factories closed?"
"A few years ago, the economy was bad. This industrial city was abandoned. The factories moved overseas, and this place has been waiting for redevelopment, but no one has taken charge," Stanley explained.
Stanley had once considered taking over this industrial city, but it was too large to manage easily.
Who would have thought that one day, these damn criminals would bring Melinda here?
"There are at least twenty factories here, and some places we haven't checked. Where could Mel be?"
Stanley was at a loss. They couldn't search openly, and even driving around had to be discreet. Finding her was proving difficult.
"We'll have to split up. I'll take Beckett and search the left side. You go right. Keep in touch if you find anything."
Elmwood frowned heavily. There was no better plan.
"Alright, be careful. If you find anything, don't act rashly. Wait for me."
"Don't worry, I'm not stupid."
Elmwood had Leander stop the car and assigned two bodyguards to Stanley for safety.
Even in this situation, he was concerned for Stanley's safety, showing he was a true friend.
They split up as planned. Elmwood carefully observed both sides, looking for any signs of life. But after searching for a while, he found nothing. He had no idea where they could be hiding.