Upon hearing Jagger's words, Gunner felt something was very wrong.
"How could that courtyard be separated?"
"Mr. Martinez, now is not the time to investigate this. Since we know where those people took Deanna, the priority is to send someone to chase after them," Lance interrupted Gunner, his face grim.
Gunner glanced at him and said coldly, "I understand the importance of the matter. I just found the division of that courtyard odd and asked casually."
At this moment, Jagger seemed to remember something and suddenly looked over, saying, "Master Gunner, I recall that ten years ago, during the maintenance of the old house, Brent took a design plan, saying you wanted to re-plan the area of the old house. Some places that were too outdated were no longer included in the old house's range. Because of this, some old courtyards had their surveillance removed."
Unsurprisingly, Gunner's face turned extremely grim upon hearing this.
Clearly, this was a backup plan Brent had set up long ago.
"Damn it, it seems Brent is the one who took Deanna."
He gritted his teeth and immediately ordered, "Send out all the guards. We must find Miss Deanna. Also, contact the traffic police and have them seal off all exits of Mount Great City."
Despite these efforts, by the afternoon, there was still no trace of Deanna.
Seeing that the apprenticeship ceremony was about to start, Gunner had no choice but to have someone notify everyone of a postponement.
This news left the guests who came to attend in shock.
"What happened? Why was it suddenly postponed?"
"Could something have gone wrong?"
"I think so. Just not sure what happened."
The crowd buzzed with speculation.
Julia and Old Ashley also found it very strange when they received the news.
"Why was it suddenly canceled?" Julia propped her chin up, looking puzzled at her boyfriend.
Lionel shook his head uncertainly. "Why don't you call Deanna and ask?"
As soon as he said this, Old Ashley and the two kids looked at Julia.
Meeting their gazes, Julia blinked and said, "I'll make a call then."
She took out her phone and dialed Deanna's number.
However, the call couldn't get through.
"No one is answering. Maybe she's busy," Julia guessed as she put down her phone.
At this moment, Lance's deep voice sounded above them, "No need to call. Something happened to Deanna."
Almost immediately, Julia and the others were startled.
"What happened to Deanna?"
"Daddy, what happened to Mommy?" The two kids ran over to Lance anxiously, their faces full of worry.
Lance raised his hand to pat their heads and said coldly, "Brent took Deanna. He probably wants to ruin today's apprenticeship ceremony."
"How could this happen? Is Deanna in danger?" Old Ashley tried to stay calm as she looked over.
Seeing her forced composure, Lance didn't dare tell the truth and ambiguously said, "There shouldn't be any danger. Brent took Deanna to use her as a bargaining chip with Mr. Martinez."
In fact, that was indeed the case.
It wasn't just Brent who took Deanna; Duncan was involved too.
Both men had been pushed to the brink by Gunner and Lance and had no choice but to cooperate again for a chance at survival.
"Gunner should have realized Deanna is missing by now. They will definitely lock down the entire Mount Great City and seek official help. For now, let's stay put for a couple of days before contacting them," Duncan discussed their next steps with Brent in the living room.
Brent didn't object but reminded him, "Make sure someone keeps an eye on Deanna. Don't let her escape."
Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, an alarm sounded in the living room.
Duncan's trusted aide rushed in hurriedly.
"Master, we need to leave quickly. We've been exposed."
"What?" Duncan and Brent's faces changed drastically.
They exchanged glances and heard sounds of fighting outside. Knowing it wasn't the time for questions, they made a quick decision.
Duncan ordered, "Bring down the woman locked on the second floor. We'll leave together."
The aide nodded and immediately went upstairs.
However, he was a step too late.
As soon as he entered the room, he saw Deanna being carried over an invader's shoulder as they jumped out of the second-floor window.
By the time he reached the window, he saw those invaders starting to retreat.
It was clear they were after Deanna.
Without delay, he went downstairs to report what he had seen.
"Damn it! How did they find us so quickly?" Duncan angrily pounded the sofa armrest, his eyes full of resentment.
Brent remained calm and frowned. "Those people probably weren't sent by Gunner. If they were from Gunner, they wouldn't just take Deanna; they would capture us too."
Hearing this, Duncan also sensed something was off.
Indeed, if they were Gunner and Lance's people, they wouldn't have let them go so easily.
At this moment, Brent suddenly gritted his teeth and said darkly, "Damn it! We've done all the work only for others to reap the rewards."