Chapter 205 - Clues from the Computer

Chapter 205 Clues from the Computer

Olivia stared at the red dot on the computer screen, hope reigniting in her eyes. She immediately called Matthew to share the discovery.

"Honey, this has to be Jasper giving us a clue. We have to check it out."

Matthew gripped his phone, his brow furrowed deeply. "We never put any tracking device on Jasper. That red dot on the computer could be malware, or maybe you're so desperate to find him that you're seeing things that aren't there."

"It's not my imagination!" Olivia raised her voice, her eyes blazing with determination. "This is Jasper's regular laptop. Maybe this really is some kind of location tracker."

Hearing the stubborn resolve in her voice, Matthew knew there was no talking her out of it. He could only sigh. "I'll send someone to check it out right now. I'll let you know if we find anything."

Olivia hung up and waited anxiously in her hospital room. Half an hour later, Matthew called back, reporting that his men had found no trace of Jasper in the area.

"That's impossible. He has to be nearby. Your people just didn't search thoroughly enough," Olivia refused to believe it.

The red dot on the computer might be her last chance. Finally, she made up her mind to go look for herself, without relying on anyone else.

"Zack, get the car. We're going to check it out."

Olivia jumped out of bed and dragged Zack out of the hospital.

Zack had no choice but to report the situation first, then drive Olivia to the location marked on the map.

The car left the hospital and headed toward the suburbs where the red dot was located. Along the way, Olivia clutched her phone tightly, her heart filled with both hope and worry.

"Zack, do you think we'll really find Jasper?"

Zack gripped the steering wheel, his voice steady. "Mrs. Howard, let's see what we find first. If there really are clues, the boss will send backup right away."

Zack knew he couldn't say anything discouraging, or Olivia might lose hope entirely and do something reckless.

An hour later, the car stopped in front of a suburban villa. The house looked abandoned—weeds had overgrown the yard, and the front gate was weathered and deteriorating.

This was where the signal had last disappeared. There were traces in the overgrown grass showing that people had been here recently. Clearly, Matthew's men had found this place earlier, searched inside, and left when they didn't find Jasper.

Looking at the villa, Olivia became even more convinced this was where Jasper was being held. She pushed open the car door and hurried to the front entrance, only to find it locked.

"What do we do? The door won't open."

Olivia turned her attention to the windows.

Before Zack could speak, he watched Olivia pick up a rock from the ground and hurl it at one of the villa's windows. Glass shattered everywhere as Olivia reached through to unlatch the window and climbed inside.

Zack was startled and quickly followed. "Mrs. Howard, the window probably could have been opened normally. What you're doing is breaking—it's dangerous."

"I don't care. As long as I can find Jasper, I'm not afraid of anything."

Olivia began searching around the living room as she spoke.

The living room was covered in dust, and the furniture was worn and dilapidated.

Finding no clues on the first floor, Olivia was about to head upstairs when she heard some kind of noise coming from near the staircase.

Olivia walked to the foot of the stairs, where she noticed a shoe cabinet with several old leather shoes inside. But she keenly observed that the dust on the floor showed drag marks. The shoe cabinet appeared to be movable.

Meanwhile, in the basement, Jasper was hiding behind a broken cabinet, his heart pounding with fear. The two thugs had just taken a phone call, and after hanging up, they said they were going to kill him.

"Boss says keeping you alive is pointless. Today's your last day."

One thug held a rope in his hands, walking toward where Jasper was hiding.

Jasper held his breath and slowly backed away, accidentally bumping into a box beside him, making a noise.

"There he is!"

The thug immediately rushed toward the cabinet and yanked open the door.

Jasper turned to run but was grabbed by the other thug. He struggled desperately, but he was too weak and was pinned to the ground.

The thug crouched down and grabbed Jasper's throat, his voice ice-cold. "Don't blame us. If you see God, remember to tell him we're just hired muscle. The real mastermind is someone else."

Jasper felt his breathing becoming more and more difficult, his vision gradually darkening.

Just then, Zack suddenly burst in and kicked the thug hard in the back.

The thug cried out in pain and released his grip.

Jasper gasped for air and quickly crawled up, hiding behind Zack.

"Olivia, you finally came to save me."

Olivia saw Jasper and pulled him into her arms with heartache.

"You two get out of here. Leave this to me," Zack said while fighting the two thugs.

Olivia nodded, knowing that she and Jasper would only be a burden here, so she pulled Jasper and ran out of the basement.

But they had barely left the basement when they heard footsteps outside. More than a dozen men in black clothing burst in, carrying knives and guns.

"Think you can leave? Not so fast!"

The leader sneered and charged toward them.

Olivia and Jasper were terrified, but suddenly an axe flew from behind them, striking the man in the head. He screamed and collapsed.

Zack had dealt with the two thugs in the basement and came out to regroup. The axe was something he'd taken from one of them.

"You two go upstairs and find somewhere to hide."

Seeing the large number of criminals, Zack's heart tightened. He shielded Olivia and Jasper behind him and began fighting the group.

His movements were agile as he dodged their knives and punched one man in the face. The man fell to the ground, but two more immediately rushed forward.

Olivia pulled Jasper up to a second-floor bedroom, quickly shutting the door and barricading it with a dresser.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?" Olivia looked at Jasper, her eyes full of concern.

Jasper shook his head, his voice trembling. "Olivia, I'm fine. They kidnapped me and said they were going to kill me."

The sounds of fighting and screaming came from outside. Olivia knew Zack was still battling those men, and she was very worried.

"Zack can't handle that many people alone. We need to find a way to help him."

As she spoke, Olivia searched around the bedroom, hoping to find some kind of weapon.

She spotted a table lamp on the nightstand and quickly grabbed it.

Meanwhile, outside the door, Zack's arm was bleeding and his face was pale, but his eyes remained determined.

"If you want to get through that door behind me, you'll have to step over my dead body."

The thugs looked at Zack's bloodied, crazed appearance and felt intimidated, hesitating to advance.

"Bunch of cowards," Zack spat on the ground, looking at the hired muscle with contempt.

Suddenly, a gunshot shattered the silence of the villa.