Chapter 159: Fingerprint Lock
After finishing the call, Vivian let out a long sigh.
She was honestly a little confused about what was really going on with this whole situation.
If they went by the principle of "prima facie evidence," then Rachel’s visit to Concordia Hospital today must have been to negotiate with Annie’s people.
Perhaps it was to convince Annie to drop her claims against the Faulkner family, or perhaps it was something else. Right now, Vivian and Julian had no way of knowing.
They only knew the outcome.
And that outcome was that Rachel had been kidnapped. The perpetrators demanded that Julian properly compensate Annie, stating that kidnapping Rachel was merely a warning.
If the Faulkners still refused to pay up and chose to continue fighting Annie in court, there was no telling what her side might do next.
Vivian felt like she could read between the lines.
This time it was Rachel. Next time, it could be Grandma Faulkner. Or, perhaps they were confident enough to target Vivian herself?
Vivian didn’t know.
But regardless, the most pressing matter right now was to find Rachel.
"Julian," Vivian said, looking at him. "Should we call the police now? Looking at the location Vance sent me, Rachel is quite far from here.
"If we head over there now, it will probably be past eleven by the time we arrive. Plus, we have to go to the hospital tomorrow morning to pick up Grandma Faulkner and bring her home."
Vivian was genuinely hesitant.
Vance’s people seemed to be searching for Rachel already. Relatively speaking, even if she and Julian didn’t get directly involved, it would be fine.
But as for Grandma Faulkner tomorrow...
If she and Julian didn’t show up, Grandma Faulkner would definitely start overthinking.
"You should get some rest first," Julian said. "I’ll contact Vance. He has probably already called the police. We’ll try our best to rescue Rachel tonight and then ask her what exactly is going on."
Vivian understood Julian’s reasoning.
Rachel’s situation was dangerous, so it was best left to the police. As for Vivian, she had to pick up Grandma Faulkner tomorrow morning, so she couldn’t afford any accidents.
"Okay."
Seeing Julian’s furrowed brows and the worry in his eyes, Vivian said softly, "Don’t stay up too late working on this either, Julian. Grandma has sharp eyes. If you don’t rest well and look tired, she’ll notice immediately.
"If that happens, I wouldn’t even know how to cover for you, right?"
Julian nodded, his expression softening slightly. "Good night," he told her.
"Good night."
With that, Vivian went back to her room to rest.
She didn’t sleep soundly that night. Even after showering and lying in bed, she kept wondering what was really going on with Rachel.
To be honest, Rachel didn’t seem like a very scheming person. The things she had done previously made it glaringly obvious that there was something suspicious about her.
If she were truly formidable, she would have at least known how to cover her tracks better.
Naturally, after Eleanor discovered Rachel’s interactions with Lawyer Donovan, Vivian felt that Rachel had finally slipped up after hiding for so long.
Now, however, she wasn’t so sure.
Would Rachel really meet with Annie privately because of Grandma Faulkner’s situation?
Vivian thought it was highly unlikely.
At the very least, everyone in the Faulkner family knew that Julian was handling this matter. They were well aware of his capabilities and had no reason to doubt him.
If Rachel still went out of her way to do this, she was either incredibly foolish—risking her own safety for Grandma Faulkner’s sake—or she was still scheming.
Scheming what?
Luring Julian and Vivian over to rescue her, only to trap them?
Unfortunately for Rachel, if that was truly her goal, she wouldn’t succeed.
Julian was very cautious. He had handed the matter over to Vance, and with Vance cooperating with the police, such a scheme would never work out.
After tossing and turning, mulling it over for who knows how long, Vivian finally fell asleep.
In her hazy state, it felt like Julian had opened the door and come in. She was already deeply asleep by then, retaining only a faint sliver of consciousness without actually waking up.
She sensed him walking over to her side and pulling the blanket up for her.
Had she kicked the blanket off?
Vivian didn’t know.
She only knew that after Julian tucked her in, she felt much warmer.
She rolled over, desperately wanting to tell Julian that it was okay—that this whole ordeal would definitely pass. Once they picked Grandma Faulkner up from the hospital tomorrow, safe and sound, this Chapter would finally be closed.
No matter how difficult Annie was to deal with, she ultimately had an ulterior motive. She wasn’t a good person, and they would definitely find a way to handle her.
Vivian wanted to say all this, but as she turned over, she merely grabbed Julian’s hand and murmured a few incoherent words even she couldn’t understand.
Julian sighed softly. Seeing how tightly Vivian held onto him, he simply sat on the edge of the bed and waited until she was completely sound asleep before gently releasing her hand.
The night passed.
Early the next morning, Vivian woke up just as the sky was beginning to brighten. It was her natural body clock.
As she woke, she heard the CLICK of the bedroom door closing. She sat up, felt the sheets beside her, and realized Julian must have just gotten up.
He was up this early too?
Vivian rustled around as she got dressed. Once she was ready, she walked out and heard Julian speaking on the phone.
"I understand. I’ll figure something out. You guys keep trying on your end and see if you can get the door open."
That was the last thing Julian said.
Then, he hung up.
Huh?
Vivian was a bit confused. She walked over to him and asked, "Julian, what’s wrong? What door? Have they rescued Rachel?"
Hearing her voice, Julian turned to look at her. With furrowed brows, he said, "Vance and the police searched all night and finally found where Rachel is being held.
"The location is a bit unusual. She’s locked inside a room, and the door has a fingerprint lock. There’s also a note left on it, saying that it requires your fingerprint to open.
"The door can’t be dismantled because they found a fuse that seems to be connected to a bomb. If they try to force their way in without using the lock, the bomb will likely detonate.
"I think the person behind this wants you to go there in person to save Rachel."
Vivian fell silent upon hearing this.
She suddenly felt as though her earlier suspicions had hit the mark.
Her fingerprint lock.
Come to think of it, as a designer, Vivian had signed design contracts with quite a few companies in the past. When signing and stamping those documents, she would sometimes leave her thumbprint.
Therefore, it wouldn’t be very difficult for someone to collect her fingerprint to program a lock.
It just didn’t make much sense.
If they set it to her fingerprint, they wouldn’t be able to open the door themselves once the lock was installed unless they deleted it and reset it to their own. Otherwise, the door would stay locked forever.
But now...
Someone had set up a fingerprint lock, seemingly rigged to a self-detonation mechanism. If Vance and the police tried to force the door open, it would trigger the bomb inside the room.
If that happened, Rachel’s life would be in immediate danger.
It was a blatant demand forcing Vivian to show up.
What exactly did the other party want her to do?