Chapter 156 The 1 Billion Ransom
The man walked inside, surveying the surroundings. Throughout the vast estate, security was tight—even in the most remote corners, several bodyguards stood hidden on watch.
Alexander stood on the staircase, his gaze falling on the intruder with scrutiny and suspicion.
The man smiled and boldly strode forward several steps. At the same time—
The bodyguards surrounding Alexander raised their firearms in unison, aiming directly at him.
With a single command from Alexander, the man's body would be riddled with countless bullet holes in an instant.
Facing those dark gun barrels, the man showed no fear. His steps never faltered as he casually strolled to the couch and slowly sat down.
"Mr. Hayes..." The personal bodyguard, seeing the man's arrogance—swaggering in and completely ignoring their security force—felt irritated.
But Alexander had yet to give any orders, so they dared not fire without permission.
Alexander said, "Don't shoot. He's wearing a bomb."
He felt this man looked familiar somehow, as if he'd seen him somewhere before, but couldn't quite place him.
The man looked up at Alexander, apparently having heard his words. "Mr. Hayes, please allow me a simple introduction. My name is Cooper, and this visit is rather presumptuous."
Alexander slowly walked toward him. "Any visitor is a guest." He sat down across from the man, slightly frowning.
Upstairs in the room.
Max had directly hacked into the Hayes Manor's surveillance system, accessing the living room feed to see the man sitting across from Alexander.
He captured the man's facial features and ran them through the dark web system search, quickly pulling up complete background information.
Robert Cooper.
Fugitive on the run with a multi-million-dollar bounty. He was not only involved in multiple kidnapping cases but also connected to numerous dark web organizations.
Among them was an organization called Black Mass—a global underground network that trafficked people and organs, smuggled drugs and weapons, committing every evil imaginable.
Robert was a member of this organization.
Max couldn't help but speculate that Grace's involvement in this kidnapping wasn't coincidental—perhaps it was connected to the events seven years ago.
That Jenny must be linked to Robert's dark web organization. Perhaps seven years ago, his brother hadn't died but was sold by Jenny to the dark web organization and disappeared without a trace.
This organization didn't just traffic people—they also sold human organs, colluding with various private hospitals to harvest organs for high profits.
Some organs were shipped overseas.
The entire criminal syndicate formed a complete supply chain.
If they could investigate this dark web organization thoroughly, the truth from seven years ago would finally be revealed!
Max felt a surge of excitement. With one hand he investigated Robert, while with the other he continued tracking the other vehicle's route, only to discover the car had vanished.
In the living room.
Robert muttered, "I'm a guest after all. Since I'm a guest, don't I even get the courtesy of a cup of tea?"
Alexander said, "Bring tea."
Jeremy exhaled slowly and walked to the tea service to pour.
Robert spoke again, "This visit was rather rushed—I didn't have time to prepare any proper gifts, but I did manage to bring something special."
As he spoke, he slowly reached into his jacket.
Alexander frowned slightly. The bodyguards behind him once again aimed their guns at Robert. This movement made them extremely vigilant—they suspected Robert was concealing a weapon inside his jacket and commanded, "Put your hands down!"
Robert smiled lightly, "Don't be so tense! Look how calm your boss is—why are you getting worked up?"
Alexander said, "Lower your weapons."
His words left the men momentarily confused—was he telling Robert to "lower his weapon" or...
Alexander seemed to notice their confusion and turned around, commanding again, "I'm talking to you—lower your weapons."
"But... Mr. Hayes..."
Alexander said, "He won't dare shoot."
Robert laughed twice and raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Hayes, I'm not carrying a gun."
He lifted his shirt and pulled out something small from inside, slowly placing it on the table. "This is a small gift I specially prepared for Mr. Hayes. I hope you'll accept it."
Alexander looked closely, his expression changing dramatically.
It was the tracking device he had secretly placed on Grace. How did it end up in his hands?
Alexander looked at Robert suspiciously.
Was Grace in his hands?
Or...
Had he discovered the tracking device on Grace early on and secretly removed it?
Robert said slowly, "I wonder if Mr. Hayes is satisfied with this gift?"
Alexander asked coldly, "Where is she now?"
Robert replied, "Rest assured, she's fine—safe and sound."
Alexander said, "How can I verify the truth of your words?"
Robert said, "Mr. Hayes, let's lay our cards on the table. Ms. Foster is currently in our custody. She seems to have discovered something she shouldn't have, and we originally intended to silence her permanently. But we didn't expect... Ms. Foster to have such a close relationship with Mr. Hayes."
He paused, then asked thoughtfully, "So I came to discuss a business proposition with Mr. Hayes. What do you think Ms. Foster's life is worth?"
These words clearly indicated kidnapping and ransom.
Alexander said, "Why dress it up in pretty words? Business? Is this what you call business? Why don't you just name your price—how much ransom do you want?"
Robert laughed again. "Mr. Hayes, if we don't speak nicely, should we speak harshly instead?"
Alexander said, "You said to lay our cards on the table, so there's no need for such high-sounding rhetoric."
Robert nodded and sat up straight.
Jeremy approached with two cups of tea. Robert picked up his cup, took a sip, and his voice suddenly turned cold. "That woman is currently being held by my men in a location. Mr. Hayes, allow me to give you some friendly advice—don't call the police, and don't try to track down that woman's whereabouts. I've always maintained excellent professional ethics. I only want money, not lives. Within two days, give me one hundred million in cash, and I'll personally come to collect it."
He paused, then looked up to meet Alexander's gaze, "And don't waste your energy trying to make moves against me. I think you've noticed—I'm wearing a bomb. If your men shoot me, I might die on the spot, but do you want to bet whether I'll have enough breath left to detonate this bomb before I die?"
Alexander remained silent.
Jeremy couldn't help but say, "Are you suicidal?"
Robert continued, "People in our line of work value money over life. However, Mr. Hayes, I don't think you'd easily make a move against me, would you? After all, if I die, your woman will be killed immediately. That woman must be very important to you—you surely wouldn't bear to see your woman in mortal danger."