"Where is Deanna?" Lance asked, his face tense as he looked at Gunner, the unease in his heart almost overflowing.
Gunner's expression was equally grim. "Deanna is not in their hands. We'll need to interrogate further to get specifics."
Hearing this, Lance's suppressed anger erupted uncontrollably. He pulled out the gun from Xavier's waistband and pointed it at Duncan, his voice full of murderous intent. "Tell me, where are you hiding her?"
Duncan, however, showed no fear as he stared at the dark barrel of the gun. "If you have the guts, kill me. But let me remind you, if you kill me, you'll never know where your woman is."
He looked at Lance with a smug expression, confident that Lance wouldn't shoot him because of Deanna.
Brent, standing quietly nearby, understood the situation. While Duncan was right that they wouldn't dare kill them without knowing Deanna's whereabouts, they would certainly make their lives miserable. He remained silent, conserving his energy to find a way to escape from Lance and Gunner.
Just then, two gunshots rang out. Duncan's scream echoed through the air. He fell to the ground, blood gushing from his thigh, his face pale with pain.
Lance stared at him coldly. "Now, will you talk?"
Gunner watched with disapproval but did not intervene. He understood Lance's urgency. Looking at the half-dead Duncan on the ground and then at Brent, he said coolly, "You guys have dealt with me long enough to know my steady nature. But Mr. Mercer here is different. I can't stop him. If you want to live, you'd better listen to him."
Lance then pointed the gun at Brent. Brent's heart sank. "Deanna is really not with us. We captured her that day, but within an hour, an unknown force attacked and took her away."
"You expect me to believe that?" Lance sneered.
Brent remained calm. "I have surveillance footage that proves Deanna is not with us. If you don't believe me, come with me to get it."
Lance stared at him, contemplating the truth of his words. After a moment, he lowered the gun. "Take us to the surveillance footage."
That evening, Lance and his team, led by Brent, arrived at a secluded villa in a neighboring city. The guards there initially tried to resist but were quickly subdued by Lance's men.
In the living room, following Brent's instructions, Xavier retrieved the surveillance footage from the villa. The video indeed showed someone taking Deanna away.
Gunner frowned at the foreign men in the video. "Who are these people?"
"We don't know," Brent explained hurriedly. "Duncan and I sent people to investigate, but these men seemed to appear and disappear without a trace."
Gunner's face darkened. "If that's the case, it will be hard to track them down."
Lance's face was filled with rage. "No need to investigate. I know who they are."
"You know?" Gunner looked at him in surprise.
Lance didn't elaborate. He instructed Xavier, "Book the earliest flight back home and inform Randall to start reeling it in."
Xavier nodded and went to make arrangements.
Lance turned to Gunner. "I need to return home first. My parents and Deanna's grandmother are staying with the Martinez family for now. Please protect them for me."
Gunner's expression was serious as he met Lance's gaze. "Tell me first, who took Deanna?"
Lance had no choice but to reveal, "It's someone you know-Eula."
"It's her!" Gunner was momentarily stunned but quickly understood. His eyes filled with disapproval as he looked at Lance.
Without saying a word, Lance could sense Gunner's meaning and felt guilty. "I didn't expect her to do this. I thought..."
"Don't give me that," Gunner interrupted angrily. "They say beauty brings disaster; in your case, it's a handsome face causing trouble. Deanna has suffered enough because of your entanglements. If you don't bring her back safe and sound this time, I won't allow her to marry you!"
With that harsh warning, Gunner turned and left.
Lance's expression grew serious as well. He knew Gunner wasn't joking.