Chapter 188: Two Choices

Chapter 188: Two Choices

As soon as the words were spoken, the phone was hung up, and everyone's faces fell.

"Fuck!"

Nora couldn't hold back. She kicked the coffee table, her eyes red, and cursed, "Those heartless bastards! Catherine, let's call the police right now and have them all arrested."

She grabbed her phone to make the call, thinking they might as well all be locked up to curb their arrogance.

"No." Catherine spoke, her voice soft. She slowly lifted her head, a trace of seriousness showing in her eyes.

"If we call the police now, Ethan will be in danger. They're crazy - they're capable of anything. We absolutely can't take that risk."

Nora froze, tears welling up in her eyes. These damn people wouldn't even spare a child - how could they possibly be afraid of the police?

Liam’s frown deepened. "Then what do we do now? This situation isn't simple at all."

Hearing this, Alexander walked to Catherine's side, wrapping her hand in his palm. He looked up, sweeping his gaze over everyone, his eyes steady.

"Catherine's right - we can't go straight to the police."

His voice wasn't loud. He lowered his head, looking at Catherine, his eyes deep. "But we don't have just one option here."

Catherine suddenly looked up at him, a hint of confusion in her eyes.

"Neither your technology nor the child can fall into their hands - we have to get both back." Alexander had already figured out what to do.

He released Catherine's hand and walked to the center of the living room.

"Catherine, agree to their terms. Take the hard drive and go, and make them release the child."

"What?" Nora couldn't believe it.

Alexander ignored her and continued, "I'll have Zack prepare some data - doesn't matter if it's real or fake. What matters is drawing their people to that abandoned iron factory."

He looked at Liam. "I'll need an accurate map of the area around the abandoned factory in the east district, and check if there are any nearby places where they could be hiding people."

Liam nodded firmly, pulling out his phone, his voice steady. "Leave it to me."

Alexander made another call, his tone very serious. "I need a team to help me - I've got a situation here."

Everyone had been anxious, but hearing this somehow calmed them.

Catherine watched Alexander's back. She took a deep breath, pulled out her phone, and called Eric directly.

"Eric, go to my office immediately, open the safe, and copy all the data to that black hard drive on my desk."

Eric, on the other end, paused for three seconds before responding, "Ms. Spencer, are you sure? That's..."

"I need it now. Whatever happens, I'll take responsibility." Catherine cut him off and hung up.

She had just put down her phone and hadn't even caught her breath when another call came in - from one of the company's board members.

"Ms. Spencer! I just heard you're taking the data - have you lost your mind!" The director's voice carried anger.

"Don't you know how important this is to us? If you take this, what happens to our company?"

Before Catherine could speak, other directors' voices came through the phone, all trying to dissuade her.

"That's right, Ms. Spencer, please think carefully!"

"We can find another way - don't be so impulsive!"

Catherine listened to the chaos on the phone, and suddenly a smile appeared on her face. She walked to the window.

"My child is my life. If the technology is gone, I can develop it again, but what about my child?"

On the other end, everyone fell silent.No one spoke - who could answer that question?

Catherine didn't give them another chance to speak. She hung up directly and tossed her phone on the sofa.

She turned around and met Alexander's gaze.

"I'll go prepare the other things. I'll leave the security issues to you."

...

Two hours later, they arrived at the abandoned factory.

Liam transferred an electronic map to Alexander's tablet, his face grave. "It's all mapped out. There are two escape routes inside - I've already got people watching them closely."

Nora was nervous, looking at the circled areas on the map, her heart inexplicably tense.

"You all have to be really careful. If something goes wrong, everything's lost."

"Don't worry about Ethan - we know what we're doing."

Inside the villa, the atmosphere was oppressive. No one spoke, everyone focused on what they had in front of them.

Catherine changed into black athletic wear, her long hair tied back, her face bare of makeup.

A black hard drive sat on the table in front of her. Her mood was heavy as she stared at it for a long time without moving.

Alexander walked up to her, holding something very small in his hand.

"This is a micro communicator and tracker. Stick it behind your ear - no one will notice it."

He helped her put it on himself. "I'll be with you the whole time. I can monitor everything in real time. If there's danger, I'll come right away."

He adjusted her collar, his tone heavy. "Your main job is to protect yourself and buy time. Leave the rest to me."

Catherine looked up at him, thought for a moment, then nodded firmly.

"Okay. I'll definitely bring Ethan back."

As night fell and the car approached the abandoned factory, the surroundings felt cold. Her expression was completely calm.

Catherine parked outside the main gate and walked in silently. Before even entering, she could sense the dim lighting inside.

The surroundings were too empty - her footsteps echoed endlessly. Inside the factory, she immediately spotted Ethan tied to a chair.

He looked like he was sleeping, tear stains on his face, his clothes dirty, his backpack placed beside him.

Catherine's heart felt like it was being squeezed - an indescribable feeling, suffocating.

"You came. You're quite trustworthy - really came alone."

A man wearing a black mask and baseball cap walked out. Behind him were four or five similarly dressed burly men, all holding clubs.

The man's voice was processed through a voice changer - impossible to tell what he really sounded like, just hoarse and unpleasant.

"Did you bring it?"

Catherine didn't look at him, her gaze fixed on Ethan, her voice cold as ice. "How is he?"

"He's just sleeping, perfectly safe." The masked man shrugged indifferently. "Now, answer my question. The hard drive, or your child's life - choose one."