Chapter 262 Your Safety Always Comes First
Although Stefan had said he would not let Cecilia know, when he came home that evening, his troubled expression was immediately noticed by her.
After dinner, Cecilia used the excuse of wanting a glass of warm milk to send her parents away, then took Stefan’s hand and led him straight to the bedroom.
The door closed behind them.
"What happened?" she asked, meeting his gaze directly.
Stefan looked into her clear eyes and knew any attempt to hide the truth would be pointless. He sighed, pulled her gently into his arms, and rested his chin lightly on her head.
"Anna contacted me."
He gave her a brief account of the situation, carefully omitting the detail about the so-called secret concerning her, and instead saying that Anna wanted to trade some of the Clark family’s past business secrets for a chance to escape Harmony City.
Cecilia’s body stiffened instantly in his arms.
"She asked to meet you?"
"Yes."
"And you agreed?" Her voice sharpened.
Stefan held her hand, gently rubbing the back of it with his thumb in an effort to calm her.
"Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. The meeting is at the Hyatt Hotel—that’s our territory. I’ve already had Garth position people there. Once she shows up, she won’t be able to run away again."
But this explanation did not ease Cecilia’s mind. Instead, it set off alarm bells.
"Stefan, something is not right about this."
Her expression was serious to the point of urgency.
"We both know what kind of person Anna is. She wants me dead—why would she contact you just to trade for her freedom? She just got out of the detention center with nothing to her name. Who gave her the nerve and the means to contact you?"
Stefan’s eyes darkened. "Rufus."
"So you thought of that too." Cecilia’s expression grew grave. "If you know Rufus is behind this, you need to be even more careful. He’s a complete lunatic—his thinking is nothing like a normal person’s."
"If he’s bold enough to send Anna, a useless pawn, to meet you, then he has definitely set a huge trap waiting for you to fall into."
"The Hyatt Hotel is your territory, sure, and everyone knows it. But that’s exactly why it’s easy to let your guard down. I’m not afraid of Anna—I’m afraid of Rufus’s real backup plan."
Her urgency made Stefan’s resolve soften.
He held her tighter, his low voice sounding in her ear.
"I know it’s a trap."
"Then why are you still going?" Cecilia asked.
"Because some flies keep buzzing around me, and it’s annoying," Stefan replied calmly, though his tone carried a chilling coldness. "Rather than wait for him to make his move, I’d rather go myself and turn the whole situation on its head. I don’t just want to catch Anna—I want to see what kind of trick Rufus is trying to pull."
His confidence calmed Cecilia somewhat.
"Then you have to promise me," she said seriously, "no matter what happens, your safety comes first. If you’re in any danger, I..."
She left the sentence unfinished, but the worry in her eyes said it all.
"Okay, I promise you, darling."
Stefan lowered his head and pressed a gentle kiss on her lips, easing away her anxiety.
The next afternoon, 2:50 PM.
The rooftop sky garden of the Hyatt Hotel was unnervingly quiet.
The area had been completely cleared, with the usual chatting guests nowhere in sight.
Stefan sat alone at a cafe table in the center of the garden, his gaze fixed on the distant skyline as if admiring the view.
Only he knew that an invisible net covering the entire garden had already tightened.
Garth had brought dozens of the Hensley family’s top security personnel, disguised as waiters, gardeners, and maintenance workers, positioned at every corner of the garden and at all elevator and stairway entrances to the top floor.
Through the silent earpiece came reports from various positions.
"Area A, all clear."
"Area B, all clear."
"All passages secured. Once the target enters, escape will be impossible."
A silent trap had been laid.
Time ticked by, second by second.
The second hand was about to reach three o’clock, but Anna still had not appeared.
Stefan’s brow furrowed slightly.
Was she scared?
Or was this just a decoy?
Just then, his phone on the table vibrated sharply.
The caller ID showed an anonymous number.
Stefan swiped to answer, his voice carrying a hint of icy questioning. "Where are you?"
"Stefan! You liar!"
From the other end came a panicked, high-pitched cry.
"I sincerely wanted to negotiate with you, but you brought so many people to catch me! Do you want me dead that badly? Will you only be satisfied when I’m destroyed?"
Stefan’s heart sank.
How did she know he had brought people?
He scanned his surroundings. His people were perfectly disguised—there was no way they could be easily spotted.
A mole?
The thought flashed through his mind but was quickly dismissed. These were people who had been with him for years—their loyalty was beyond question.
"My people just got to the hotel entrance and noticed something was off—your people were sneaking around everywhere, lying in ambush!"
Anna’s voice trembled, as if she had narrowly escaped.
"I barely managed to get away! I don’t dare go to the hotel now! This meeting is canceled!"
She seemed about to hang up.
"Wait! What do you want?" Stefan coldly stopped her.
If he let her slip away now, it would be much harder to lure her out again.
"You scared me!" Anna’s voice was still trembling. "I want to change locations! Somewhere absolutely safe, where you definitely won’t have an ambush! If you really want to know that secret, come alone! Remember—you alone!"
Her voice suddenly sharpened.
"If you dare play any more tricks, I’ll disappear from this city immediately, and you’ll never find me, never learn that secret!"
Stefan’s expression turned cold.
He had been outmaneuvered.
This was a crude but effective scheme.
They deliberately exposed the Hyatt Hotel ambush, then offered a new location, aiming to draw him out from his carefully arranged encirclement and leave him alone.
"What location?" he asked, his voice flat.
"On the street behind the Hyatt Hotel, there’s an apartment complex called Blue Bay. I’m waiting for you in room 1503, Building 18, Tower A."
Anna quickly gave the address.
"From the hotel’s back entrance, it’s only a five-minute walk. I’m giving you fifteen minutes. If you’re not here in fifteen minutes, I’m leaving! It’s up to you!"
With that, the call ended.
Stefan gripped his phone, his eyes cold.
Garth quickly approached from behind a nearby ornamental tree, his expression grave. "Mr. Hensley, what happened?"
"Change of plans. She switched locations."
Stefan told Garth the new address, his voice icy.
"Go there immediately with your people and surround that apartment building. Move fast, and don’t alert anyone inside. Wait for my signal."
"Mr. Hensley, this is too dangerous!" Garth objected. "They’re clearly targeting you. There’s definitely an ambush there! You can’t risk going alone!"
Stefan’s eyes were frighteningly cold.
"But if I don’t go, the fish won’t bite. I want to see with my own eyes what kind of show Rufus has prepared."
He took off his casual jacket, and Garth pulled a lightweight bulletproof vest from his bag, helping him put it on.
Stefan put the jacket back on.
"Take half the people and secure all exits of the apartment. The other half should infiltrate the building through the fire escape. After I enter the room, within one minute, you must control the entire building’s surveillance and elevator systems."
He made the arrangements quickly.
"I’ll go in for five minutes."
Stefan checked his watch.
"If after five minutes I haven’t come out and haven’t given any instructions, storm in immediately."
"Yes, Mr. Hensley!"