Chapter 202 Begging for Forgiveness

Chapter 202 Begging for Forgiveness

Stanley's voice turned sharper on the other end of the line. "Matthew, I'm your elder. Watch your tone."

Olivia, listening from the side, couldn't contain her anxiety. She grabbed the phone from Matthew's hand, her voice trembling with emotion. "Stanley, release Jasper right now, or I swear I'll make you pay!"

Stanley's cold laughter echoed through the phone, dripping with disdain. "You? Make me pay? I told you I didn't kidnap him. Believe it or not, I don't care."

Stanley hung up abruptly.

Olivia nearly fainted with rage, ready to call back when Matthew stopped her.

"Fighting with him won't help right now. We need to go home and find Mother. Stanley always listens to her; she's the only one who can convince him to seriously look for Jasper."

Olivia nodded, wiping tears from the corner of her eyes. They rushed back home, grabbed Sweetie, and drove straight to Howard Manor.

The atmosphere in the car was suffocating. Olivia kept glancing out the window, her mind consumed with worry for Jasper. Matthew pressed the accelerator, speeding through the streets.

At Howard Manor, they jumped out and rushed into the mansion.

Celeste sat on the sofa sipping coffee while Molly stood beside her, slowly peeling an apple with deliberate precision.

When they entered, Celeste set down her cup, her gaze immediately turning cold as it fell on the Chihuahua in Olivia's arms.

"Are you here to apologize?"

Olivia hurried forward, carefully placing Sweetie in front of Celeste, her voice dropped to a pleading whisper.

"Mother, I've brought Sweetie back to you. Could you please call Stanley and ask him to release Jasper? I was wrong before. I shouldn't have taken your dog. I'm sorry. You can punish me however you want, just please make sure Jasper comes home safely."

Celeste accepted the Chihuahua, gently stroking its head as the little dog nuzzled her palm with soft whimpers. She looked up at Olivia, her expression unmoved.

"I pride myself on having dignity and status. I don't stoop to kidnapping people for leverage."

Celeste picked up her phone from the coffee table and dialed Stanley's number. He answered within seconds.

"Stanley, did you kidnap Jasper?"

Stanley's voice came through tired and somewhat defensive. "Celeste, I swear I didn't grab him! I just sent my guys to the hospital to have him pass along a message to Olivia. Who knew he'd panic and run? We still haven't found him."

Celeste frowned, her gaze sweeping over Olivia with scrutiny. "You're certain you didn't take him? You're not lying to me?"

"Celeste, don't tell me you don't trust me either?" Stanley's voice carried genuine hurt. "I have no reason to lie to you about something like this."

"Fine. I believe you."

Celeste hung up and looked at Olivia, her eyes filled with strong disapproval.

Molly immediately stepped forward, offering the peeled apple to Celeste with a voice laced with provocation.

"Mother, I think Olivia deliberately hid Jasper herself! She's trying to create conflict between you and Uncle Stanley, while making Matthew think the Howard family is bullying her, so he'll side with her against us. Her scheming is disgusting—she has no respect for you whatsoever."

Celeste took the apple and bit into it, nodding in agreement with Molly's assessment.

Listening to this mother-daughter duo, Olivia clenched her fists so tightly that her nails nearly broke skin.

"You're both going too far! I would never use Jasper for something so despicable!" Olivia's voice cracked as she screamed.

Molly sneered, tossing the apple core into the trash. "Uncle Stanley just confirmed he didn't take Jasper. If you didn't hide him, then who did? For all we know, you hired someone to stage this whole drama to manipulate our sympathy."

Celeste stood, smoothing her clothes with an air of finality. "Enough. Stop this bickering, it's ruining my mood. Matthew, take your wife and leave."

Olivia looked at Celeste's ice-cold expression, then at Molly's smug satisfaction. She felt as if a boulder was crushing her chest, making it impossible to breathe. Her vision darkened, and she collapsed.

Matthew caught her just in time, his expression darkening like a thundercloud.

"I will get to the bottom of this. Whoever's responsible will pay the price, and I mean anyone."

He scooped Olivia into his arms and strode toward the door.

Celeste said nothing, simply stroking the Chihuahua in her arms, her brow slightly furrowed in thought. Molly watched them leave with a satisfied smirk playing at the corners of her mouth.

Twenty minutes later.

In the hospital room at Evergreen, Matthew sat beside the bed watching Olivia's pale face, his heart aching. He pulled out his phone and called Red Fox.

"Red Fox, any progress on finding Jasper? Do we have any leads?"

"Sir, we checked the hospital's surrounding surveillance footage. After Mr. Smith ran from the hospital, he got into a black sedan, but the license plate was obscured. We're tracking the vehicle registration and checking other cameras along that route. We should have results soon."

"Good. Update me the moment you find anything. Whatever it costs, we have to find him."

After hanging up, Matthew took Olivia's hand—it was ice cold. He gently rubbed her fingers, filled with guilt and tenderness.

Meanwhile, in a dim basement, Jasper slowly opened his eyes, his head pounding. He tried to lift his hand to rub his temples, but discovered his wrists were bound to a chair with rope, his ankles tied as well, the bindings cutting painfully into his skin. When he shifted, the chair creaked softly.

He looked around and saw a burly man in black clothes sitting by the door, playing on his phone while holding a club. Another large man leaned against the opposite wall, arms crossed, yawning with boredom.

Jasper's voice trembled as he spoke carefully. "Who are you? Why am I tied up here? Do you want money? I can pay you—whatever amount you want."

The man at the door glanced up briefly, then returned to his phone without responding. The one against the wall just stared at him with a cold smile, clearly having no intention of speaking.

Jasper's heart sank. These didn't look like ordinary kidnappers after ransom money. They'd taken him for some other purpose entirely.