Chapter 276

Chapter 276

"Stay close to Uncle Michael — Nina, you listen to your dad too. No wandering off, don't leave the adults' sight, behave yourselves, and stay safe."

Both little girls nodded obediently and answered in unison.

Olivia's gaze drifted briefly to the bodyguards standing behind Michael. They looked well-trained and sharp, and her worry eased just a little.

"I'll leave them in your hands then."

"Don't worry."

Michael replied simply.

He took Zara and Nina out of the store and headed to the nearby outdoor children's playground.

The moment the two girls spotted the carousel, their eyes lit up. They held hands and bounced over, climbing on together. As the ride started up, they spun around on their horses with the biggest smiles on their faces, each one brighter than the other.

Michael stood just outside the railing when an urgent work call came in — a pressing matter from senior management that couldn't wait.

He glanced over at the two kids, who were sitting steady on the carousel, completely absorbed in the ride. The bodyguards were right there beside them. It should be fine.

Michael stepped aside and walked to a quiet corner nearby to take the call. His voice was low and efficient as he worked through the issue.

It took no more than two or three minutes.

But when he hung up and turned back toward the play area, his expression changed instantly.

The two horses where the girls had been sitting were empty.

Zara was gone.

Nina was gone.

The noise and crowd around him hadn't changed at all, but Michael felt his heart drop like a stone.

"Everyone spread out now — search the whole area!"

The bodyguards scattered immediately, fanning out in every direction from the playground.

Michael stood where he was, his eyes turning cold and sharp.

The two of them disappearing together — someone had almost certainly lured them away on purpose.

He pulled up the nearby security camera feeds right away and at the same time had his people lock down every entrance and exit in the shopping complex, cutting off any chance of someone leaving with the children.

When none of the cameras picked anything up, Michael already had a suspicion forming in the back of his mind.

Only one person had both the means to slip away undetected in a situation like this and a reason to do it — Holden.

Meanwhile.

Back in the store, Olivia was focused on checking inventory records and going over work with the staff. She had no idea that a few minutes of inattention had put both children in danger.

Michael's fingers went cold. He pulled out his phone and called Andrew immediately, his voice low and tight, carrying a weight it had never had before.

"Andrew, something's happened."

"Nina and Zara are missing."

Andrew was in the middle of going through documents. When Michael's tense voice hit him through the phone, the pen in his hand snapped clean in two with a sharp crack.

"I'm on my way."

Four words, delivered in a tone as cold as ice.

He hung up, dropped everything, and drove back at full speed. On the way, he mobilized every security personnel from the Anderson Group and ordered all entrances and exits to the playground sealed off — no one in or out.

By then, Michael had already found the footage.

On screen, a man in a temporary worker's uniform was crouching down, holding out candy and cartoon figurines to coax the two girls. He deliberately dropped Olivia's name to lower their guard.

"Find out everything about this man. Pull all the parking garage footage and lock down every exit in the mall — nobody leaves."

Michael stood in the security room, the tension around him dropping to freezing point.

His team came back quickly with an answer. The man posing as a temp worker was just a hired nobody. The one who paid him and gave the orders was Holden — who should have been under close watch by the Edwards family.

They traced the route through the underground passage and eventually tracked it to an unused storage room.

The heavy metal door was rammed open by the security team, crashing loudly as everyone rushed in.

In the small, dim room, Zara was huddled alone in the corner by a shelf. There was no sign of Nina anywhere.

"Zara!"

Andrew's chest tightened the moment he saw her. He crossed the room quickly and pulled the frightened girl into his arms, speaking softly to calm her down.

His eyes immediately swept every corner of the room — the empty storage space had nowhere for another child to hide.

Zara buried her face against him and spoke between sobs, her words coming out in broken pieces.

"That man... he took Nina away halfway... he told me to stay here and wait for you..."

Michael went rigid. His fingertips turned ice cold, and a wave of panic hit him hard.

Holden, pinned to the floor by a bodyguard, saw this and broke into a wild, unhinged grin. His voice dripped with vengeful satisfaction.

"Looking for your daughter? Too late for that. I've taken her somewhere else. You want her back, come talk to me on my terms."

Andrew held the trembling Zara and looked down at Holden sprawled on the floor, still running his mouth. The look in Andrew's eyes was glacial.

"Holden. Do you have any idea what's coming for you?"

Michael stepped forward, barely keeping his fury in check, and said in a low, controlled voice,

"Hand Nina over, and I'll let the Edwards family off the hook. That's the deal."

Holden turned his head away and refused to budge, throwing out one unreasonable demand after another, completely ignoring the pressure closing in on him from both sides.

Then Olivia arrived, having rushed over after getting the news. She walked in and saw only Zara — no Nina. The color drained from her face and her steps faltered.

The moment Zara saw Olivia, everything she'd been holding back came flooding out. She burst into tears and threw herself into Olivia's arms.

Watching this, Andrew's hands clenched tight at his sides, his knuckles going pale from the force.

He slowly crouched down, his gaze locking directly onto Holden on the floor. Those usually calm eyes were now filled with a bone-deep coldness, completely empty of warmth.

Just that one look was enough to send a sudden, inexplicable fear crawling through Holden. A chill ran down his spine and he instinctively shrank back.

Even so, he was still holding onto hope.

He believed Nina was his only leverage. No matter what Andrew threatened or offered, he refused to say a single word, dead set on using the child as a bargaining chip.

Nearby, Michael was already burning with urgency. Every minute Nina stayed missing was another minute she was in danger.

Watching Holden still acting like he had the upper hand, Michael's anger finally broke through.

"Why are we wasting time talking to this guy? Just beat it out of him!"

The words had barely left his mouth before a bodyguard stepped forward, rolling up his sleeves, ready to get to work.

Holden's face went pale. He kept up his tough act, but the panic in his voice was impossible to hide.

"You touch me and the Edwards family will make you pay for it! I'm not saying a word about where Nina is — not one word!"

Andrew raised a hand to hold the bodyguard back. He calmly wiped down a golf club nearby and spoke without looking up.

"You're overestimating the Edwards family. They can't protect you. Talking now is your only way out — I'd think carefully if I were you."

Holden looked at the cold, unmasked ruthlessness in both their eyes. The fear inside him was slowly spreading. But then the memory of everything he'd been through surged up, and he snapped his head to the side, jaw set, still refusing to say a word.