Chapter 185: I’m Going to Jump
Leah Sinclair struggled to sit up, a sense of despair washing over her. But before she could sink further into it, her mind went fuzzy. ’Is it the water, or my low blood sugar?’ She didn’t know, and just like that, she drifted back into unconsciousness.
The man who had been forcing water down Leah Sinclair’s throat walked out and asked, "Who are you calling?"
"Tiana Vaughn! Dammit, she said she’d fallen for Asher Keating and wouldn’t work for me anymore. Now she’s not even picking up her phone. Shit!"
"So what now? Did we just kidnap her for nothing?" The man’s voice was tinged with anxiety.
"Hmph, in her dreams! Keep an eye on the time. If no one comes looking for Leah Sinclair by the end of the day, call Asher Keating! I want to see who he chooses: Leah Sinclair or Tiana Vaughn!"
「At the same time.」
Sheila Hughes got out of the elevator after work. Before she had even walked out the main entrance, she spotted Ethan Shaw’s flashy little green car parked at the entrance of the Keating Group.
She walked over, looking exasperated. Ethan Shaw quickly got out, opening the car door for her and even shielding her head as she got in. Sheila couldn’t help but feel suspicious.
But Ethan Shaw just flashed a fawning smile and started the car. Sheila Hughes held her tongue for as long as she could, but she finally snapped, unable to stand his smarmy grin. "Where exactly are we going?" she asked, exasperated. "And what’s with that creepy smile?"
"...What creepy smile? We’re just going to dinner. I found a really good place today, wanted to take you to try it."
"Ethan Shaw! Do you take me for a three-year-old? If it was just a normal restaurant, would you be acting like such a bootlicker?"
"Well... we’re having dinner with Asher." Ethan Shaw said guiltily, glancing at Sheila Hughes out of the corner of his eye.
"Then why invite me? What am I supposed to do while you guys eat? I’m not going."
Sheila Hughes had been so angry with Asher Keating lately that she didn’t want to see him at all. But after a moment, a thought struck her. She stared coldly at Ethan Shaw. "There’s someone else, isn’t there?"
Ethan Shaw panicked. "No, no one. It’s just... Riley will be there too."
"Ethan Shaw! Is that white lotus Tiana Vaughn going too? Is Asher Keating introducing her to you guys?"
Sheila Hughes shouted, her voice rising. ’I should have known!’ If it were just the four guys—Asher Keating, Riley Sterling, Shawn Grant, and him—having dinner, Ethan wouldn’t always make a special point of bringing her along.
After all, she’d just be bored surrounded by a bunch of guys. But today, Ethan wasn’t just being attentive, he was acting guilty. ’This can’t be just Asher coming alone.’
"We’ll just... just have a meal together, Sheila. We’ll leave right after we eat."
"Stop the car! I’m not going to dinner with Asher Keating and his white lotus! If you don’t stop the car, I’ll jump out!" Furious, Sheila Hughes reached for the door handle.
"Don’t, don’t! Sit down, I won’t take you, okay?"
Startled, Ethan Shaw slammed on the brakes, and Sheila Hughes’s head hit the window.
"Ah! That hurt like hell."
"Let me see! Let me see... Damn, you’re getting a bump already. Let me blow on it for you. Does it hurt?"
"What do you think!"
Sheila Hughes clutched her head, her eyes welling with tears as she looked at Ethan Shaw. "What the hell has gotten into Asher Keating? Has he really lost his mind and started bringing that green tea bitch Tiana Vaughn everywhere?"
"...Riley and I don’t know either. We’ve been trying to get it out of him, subtly and not-so-subtly, for the past few days, but Asher won’t say a word. Shawn’s been so pissed he’s not even talking to Asher anymore."
Ethan Shaw was helpless too. They all knew what kind of temper Asher Keating had, but neither he nor Riley Sterling could figure out what was going on with him and Tiana Vaughn this time.
He’d been terrified from the moment Asher Keating told him to bring Sheila Hughes today, worried she would flip the table on the spot.
Now that Sheila Hughes knew in advance and was reacting this strongly, he actually felt a sense of relief. At least he could now confidently tell Asher Keating that Sheila wasn’t coming.
He sighed. "How about I take you to see Leah?"
"Fine. She told me a few days ago that she’d be busy with her drawings and looking up references, so I haven’t dared to bother her. I’ll give Leah a call first."
As she spoke, Sheila Hughes took out her phone and called Leah Sinclair. There was no answer. Sheila tried a second time, muttering, "Where could she be?"
The second call was answered, but there was no sound from the other end. Sheila said "Hello?" a few times. Just as she was wondering if there was a problem with her phone, a laugh suddenly came through the line.
"HEH HEH HEH..."
The piercing sound of a distorted laugh echoed in Sheila Hughes’s ear. She was so scared she threw her phone, but quickly snatched it back up and put it on speaker. "Who is this!"
Ethan Shaw was startled by her sudden movement. Before he could ask what was wrong, that same piercing, distorted voice came through the speaker again. "Tsk tsk. Two days, and someone’s finally remembered to look for this person?"
"What did you do to Leah?"
Sheila Hughes’s hands were shaking so much she could barely hold the phone, her face deathly pale. Ethan Shaw snatched it from her. "Who are you? What do you want! What did you do to Leah Sinclair?"
"Tsk, you’re so noisy."
"..."
"Tell Asher Keating that Leah Sinclair is in my hands now. If he wants her to live, he has until 10 o’clock to find her. Otherwise... he can wait to collect her corpse. HAHAHAHAHA."
That grating laugh, like metal scraping on metal, seemed to claw at Sheila Hughes’s and Ethan Shaw’s hearts as it echoed through the car. Ethan tried to say something more, but the line was already dead.
Ethan Shaw frantically redialed, but no one picked up. A moment later, Sheila Hughes received an anonymous multimedia message.
It was a photo. In it, Leah Sinclair was lying on the ground, her mouth sealed with tape and her hands and feet bound, looking utterly lifeless.
Tears immediately streamed down Sheila Hughes’s face. Panicked, Ethan Shaw slammed his foot on the gas and the car shot forward. "Call Asher! Quick!"
"Oh, right!"
Sheila Hughes quickly found Asher Keating’s number. Her hands were shaking so badly it took her two tries to finally dial the call.
Asher Keating’s calm voice came through the phone. "How much longer until you arrive?"
"Asher Keating! Leah... she..."
"Let me talk! Put it on speaker!"
The moment Asher Keating heard the sob in Sheila Hughes’s voice, he shot up from his seat, his eyes turning cold.
"Asher! Leah Sinclair’s been kidnapped. The guy used a voice changer, we don’t know who it is. He said if you don’t find Leah Sinclair by 10 o’clock, you can... you can wait to collect her corpse."
Asher Keating’s hand tightened around his phone as if he were about to crush it. He turned and yelled at Sean Yates, "Where is Leah Sinclair?"
Sean Yates, still completely bewildered, felt his heart drop when he saw Asher Keating stand up. "She... she went back inside after taking out the trash the day before yesterday and hasn’t come out since. The people downstairs just saw that her lights were on."
"Fuck! Ethan, head to Leah Sinclair’s place."
Asher Keating was already running out the door as he spoke. Seeing that something was wrong, Riley Sterling quickly followed him.
"Asher, Asher, wait for me! What’s wrong?"
Tiana Vaughn came chasing after them in her high heels but couldn’t keep up. Her heart began to pound frantically. ’It’s over. Did that person really kidnap Leah Sinclair? Is Asher going to rescue her?’
Just before he ran out of the restaurant, Asher Keating suddenly turned back. He stared at Tiana Vaughn, his eyes filled with a chilling menace. "Where is Leah Sinclair?"