Chapter 430 Retribution for Evil
Chapter 430 Retribution for Evil
Sophie's eyes were bloodshot as she stared at the plummeting green line on her computer screen, her whole body trembling.
The phone on her desk wouldn't stop ringing, each call a death knell.
"Ms. Russell! The bank reps are downstairs, saying they're gonna seize our assets!"
"Ms. Russell! Our biggest raw material supplier just tore up the contract!"
"Ms. Russell! Those families who used to be so close to us aren't answering their phones anymore!"
"Ms. Russell…"
"Enough!"
Sophie swept everything off her desk with a hysterical scream.
She had been proud her whole life, never having suffered such humiliation!
That evening, she returned to the Russell Mansion, utterly defeated.
She was met with cold, critical stares from all the elders in the family.
"Sophie! Look at what you've done!" Cruz shouted, pointing a finger at her.
"We never should have let you take over the company!"
"You risked the entire Russell family for a man! You're a curse!"
Each word was like a poisoned dagger, slicing away at her pride.
Standing in the center of the hall, her face pale, her pride shattered.
Suddenly, a violent coughing fit echoed from upstairs.
Liam, supported by others, shakily made his way down, his face ashen but determined.
"Everyone, shut up!"
He struck the floor with his cane, his cloudy eyes fixed on Sophie.
"Alexander, Gilbert," he said through gritted teeth, "Good! Very good!"
He looked at Sophie, his eyes filled with deep disappointment.
"You caused this mess, you fix it!"
Late at night, Sophie locked herself in her room.
On the wall hung a photo of her and Alexander from their youth.
In the photo, the boy was strikingly handsome, and the girl's smile was radiant.
She stared at Alexander's face in the photo, the love in her eyes twisting into a bone-deep hatred.
"Alexander," Sophie whispered hoarsely, like a demon from hell.
"I loved you so much, but you want to destroy everything for that Wendy!"
A twisted, sick smile spread across her face as she thought of something.
"Wendy."
"It's all because of you! You wretched woman!"
"If I can't be happy, none of you will be!"
Sophie dragged a box out from under her bed and took out an unused encrypted phone.
Her fingers trembled as she dialed a number she knew by heart.
The screen displayed a single code name: [V]
She didn't call but sent an encrypted message.
[Initiate Plan B.]
The reply was instant.
[Price?]
Without hesitation, Sophie transferred a staggering amount of money through an anonymous offshore account.
Then she sent a new command, each word dripping with bloodlust.
Sophie looked at the phone screen and began to laugh maniacally, her laughter growing louder until it turned into a wail of despair.
Three days later.
Wendy finished a long, grueling day at work and walked out of the hospital.
She rubbed her temples, feeling a dull pain in her liver.
Since that unpleasant encounter with Alexander in his car, he hadn't shown up again.
But two men in black suits, with stern expressions, had started following her at a distance.
She knew they were sent by Alexander.
She didn't refuse their presence, understanding the danger she was in because of Tessa.
As she headed towards her car, a screech of brakes and a loud crash came from the intersection nearby.
"Someone's been hit!"
The crowd surged towards the commotion.
Wendy's bodyguards exchanged a glance and instinctively looked towards the chaos.
In those brief seconds of distraction, a black van with no license plates silently pulled up behind Wendy.
The door slid open.
Before Wendy could react, a strong hand clamped over her mouth and nose.
A sharp chemical smell invaded her nostrils.
Ether!
Alarm bells rang in Wendy's mind as she struggled, using all her strength to stomp on her assailant's foot.
But the man's grip was ironclad, effortlessly dragging her into the van.
Her consciousness faded rapidly, her body going limp.
Before darkness claimed her, Wendy saw her bodyguards finally realizing something was wrong, rushing towards her in panic.
But it was too late.
The van door slammed shut, the engine roared, and the vehicle sped off into the night, disappearing into the traffic.
Alexander's office phone rang urgently in the dead of night.
The sound cut through the silence like a knife.
He had just ended a call with Gilbert, the tension still etched on his face.
Seeing the unfamiliar number on the screen, he frowned but answered.
On the other end, a bodyguard's panicked voice.
"Mr. Turner! It's bad!"
"Ms. Knight, Ms. Knight…"
"Ms. Knight has been kidnapped by a black van!"
Something exploded in Alexander's mind.
His grip on the phone tightened, veins bulging, his knuckles white from the pressure.
The air seemed to be sucked out of the room.
He could hear his blood pounding in his ears.
"What did you say?"
The bodyguard frantically repeated the events, the car accident at the intersection, the moment of distraction, the ghostly black van.
Alexander didn't hear a word.
All he could see was Wendy's stubborn, pale face.
He stood up abruptly, the force knocking over his leather chair, which hit the floor with a heavy thud.
"Useless!"
He spat into the phone, each word laced with icy rage.
"Dean!" Alexander roared at the doorway.
"Turn Aurora City upside down!"
"Check all city surveillance! Every exit! Airports! Ports! Lock them all down!"
"Contact the police, tell them Alexander's person is missing!"
He was like an enraged lion, every command issued with deadly seriousness.
The entire underground and high society of Aurora City was thrown into chaos overnight by an invisible force.
Countless vehicles and personnel spread out from the Turner Group like a massive, impenetrable net.
But the kidnappers had vanished without a trace.
No ransom call.
No clues left behind.
Time ticked by, each second a dull knife slicing at Alexander's nerves.
Just as he was about to lose all patience, his private encrypted phone lit up.
An anonymous message.
No words.
Just a real-time, moving coordinate.
And a clown emoji.
A taunt.
A blatant taunt.
It was a trap.
Alexander knew it better than anyone.
But as he stared at the slowly moving red dot on the map, the bloodlust in his eyes deepened.
He grabbed his coat and strode out.
"Mr. Turner! Where are you going?" Francis and a group of bodyguards rushed to stop him.
"Get out of my way!"
Alexander shoved him aside, his voice filled with unprecedented fury.
"Bring the car around."
"But Mr. Turner, it's clearly a trap, it's too dangerous!"
Alexander turned, his eyes devoid of any human emotion, filled only with pure killing intent.
"I'll say it one more time."
"Bring. The. Car."
Francis, terrified by the madness in his eyes, couldn't utter a word, his hands shaking as he opened the car door.