Chapter 158 Hand Over the Money, Hand Over the Person
Robert said, "First, clean up the blood on her and get her conscious."
Tom nodded frantically. "Yes..."
Robert asked again, "You said you were poisoned—what's that about?"
Tom replied, "I don't know..."
He had inexplicably started vomiting blood and having nosebleeds, feeling dizzy and disoriented—symptoms that seemed like poisoning.
Beside him, Jenny was also unconscious, blood steadily streaming from her nose. She appeared poisoned as well.
Robert asked, "Have you reached the location yet?"
"Not yet."
Robert commanded, "Call me back when you get there."
"Got it, boss."
Robert hung up and returned to the living room, sitting across from Alexander.
Alexander had a monitoring earpiece in his ear—he'd heard every word of Robert's conversation with his subordinate.
Robert said, "Mr. Hayes, I'm a man of my word. As soon as my men get the hostages to the safe house, I'll immediately video call you."
Alexander remained impassive.
The man had the audacity to claim he was "a man of his word." If Alexander hadn't overheard their conversation through surveillance, he might have believed it.
Alexander said, "Credibility is the first principle of doing business. You'd better understand that clearly."
Right now, with Grace's life hanging in the balance, he certainly couldn't risk confronting Robert directly.
This criminal had dared to strap explosives to himself and swagger into Hayes Manor, sitting face-to-face for negotiations with such bold confidence—which proved he was no ordinary man.
Regardless of whether the C4 strapped to his body was real or fake, the fact remained that he was currently inside Hayes Manor. Even if there was only a one-in-ten-thousand chance of detonation, it would be extremely dangerous.
Max and Liam were upstairs.
Destroying Hayes Manor would be a small matter, but he couldn't gamble with the children's lives.
This was a kidnapping and ransom case.
After the initial incident, hostages typically had only 72 hours of golden rescue time.
After 72 hours, kidnappers gradually lost patience.
However, if money could solve everything, then it wasn't really a problem.
Alexander said, "I've already instructed my people to prepare the cash. One hand gives money, one hand returns the person."
Robert chuckled, "Naturally! Mr. Hayes, I'm very sincere about this business. I also understand that such a large sum can't be withdrawn overnight, but I assume you have the five million deposit available?"
Alexander said, "Jeremy."
Jeremy nodded, stepped forward, placed a briefcase on the coffee table, and made a "please" gesture.
Robert looked at Alexander with some wariness, uncertain what exactly was in the briefcase.
Alexander said, "This contains ten million in cash." Hayes Manor always kept cash reserves—not much, not little, exactly ten million.
Robert hesitantly reached out, placing his hand on the briefcase, unlocking it and slowly opening it.
Inside was ten million in cash, stacked neatly and precisely.
Alexander said, "Video call to confirm she's still alive, you take this money, and tomorrow at this same time, I'll have all the remaining cash ready."
Jeremy said, "The money has been counted. Not a cent less—exactly ten million total."
Robert wasn't inexperienced, but he was encountering Alexander's decisive style of handling things for the first time.
The man was too calm.
So calm that Robert couldn't help but wonder if the woman they were holding was actually important to him.
Moreover, with explosives strapped to his body, Alexander's calm composure seemed completely unafraid, as if he had no fear whatsoever. Their meeting felt less like a threat and extortion and more like a peaceful negotiation.
Soon, his subordinate called.
Robert answered the phone, but it was a different subordinate calling.
He walked outside before answering. Panicked voices came through, "Boss, Tom seems to be dead."
"What..."
"Tom kept vomiting blood, and that woman somehow made him swallow something. He suddenly lost consciousness and doesn't seem to be breathing..."
Robert asked, "Where are you now?"
The subordinate replied, "We're temporarily holed up. We've cleaned the blood off the woman. Boss, what do we do about Tom?"
Robert said, "Can't worry about him now. Video call first."
The subordinate immediately initiated a video call.
City outskirts.
An abandoned chicken farm.
Grace was tied hand and foot to a chair, with an overhead fluorescent light swaying constantly while everything around remained pitch black.
In the dim lighting, shadows stretched lonely and long.
The musty smell mixed with a faint metallic scent of blood filled the air.
Grace kept her eyes open. In her blurred vision, a masked man positioned a phone in front of her, shining a flashlight on her face.
Under the harsh light, the surrounding environment became even less visible.
Robert returned to the living room and turned his phone's video screen toward Alexander.
On the video, Grace sat in the chair with her hands tied behind her back. Both her body and face showed traces where blood had been wiped away, with bruises around her eyes and at the corners of her mouth—a shocking sight.
His heart felt as if it had been stabbed.
Clearly, Grace had been injured—it looked like someone had beaten her severely.
She appeared somewhat disoriented, and from the looks of it, whoever hit her had been heavy-handed.
The camera zoomed in closer.
A man's voice, deliberately lowered, said, "See clearly? She's still alive."
He commanded Grace, "Say something to the camera!"
Grace opened her eyes in a daze, feeling dizzy and nauseous with everything spinning around her.
In her confusion, she heard Alexander's voice, "Grace?"
That gentle voice called back a trace of her consciousness.
"Alexander..."
Alexander said, "Don't be afraid. Everything's going to be okay." His voice carried an almost imperceptible trace of panic.
Grace said, "I'm fine..."
Before she could finish speaking, the video was cut off.
Compared to photographs, every frame of video was vivid and alive.
Therefore, when Alexander saw Grace covered in wounds, he felt his breathing become labored and irregular.
Robert said, "Confirmed? She's still alive."
Alexander said, "She's seriously injured. What did I tell you? Not to touch a hair on her head."
Robert said, "I can guarantee you that from now on, my men won't touch another hair on her head, as long as you honor your promise on time—don't call the police, don't try anything clever. One hand gives money, one hand returns the person."
He pocketed his phone and slowly stood up, casually picking up the briefcase full of cash from the table. "Mr. Hayes, tomorrow at the same time, I'll come to collect the ransom."
With that, he left carrying the briefcase