NovelEnglishChapter 406
Audrey's POV
Blood on marble. That's what registered first - Blake's blood dripping onto the polished Parker Group lobby floor.
Medical personnel rushed his stretcher through the entrance from the parking garage, their movements urgent.
What's happening?
Didn't Michael just tellBlake was resting?
Why is he being carried out covered in blood?
How did he get injured?
My brain couldn’t process what my eyes were seeing. Blake Parker - covered in blood, unconscious, his face
ghostly pale against the crimson stains. | ran forward without thinking.
“What happened?” | grabbed the nearest paramedic’s arm. “What's wrong with him?”
The medical personnel barely looked up, focused on moving. “We don’t know.”
His colleague glanced at my panicked face. “You family?”
“I... 1am.” The lie ceasy when it mattered. My voice betrayed more worry than | wanted to show.
“Good. Cwith us then. We might need someone to sign for blood transfusions or emergency surgery.”
| followed them out to the waiting ambulance, my stomach in knots, mind racing with possibilities.
Inside the ambulance, | pressed myself against the wall, watching them work on Blake. They hooked him up to
monitors and slipped an oxygen mask over his face. His skin looked ghostly under the harsh ambulance lights,
his breathing irregular and shallow.
What caught my eye was the burlap sack clutched against his chest. Even unconscious, his arms locked around
it like a vise, protecting whatever was inside despite his injuries.
“What's with the death grip?” A paramedic tugged at Blake's arms. “He won't let go of whatever's in there.”
They tried to move his hands, but his grip only tightened. After a few attempts, they worked around it, finding
ways to connect equipment without disturbing his hold on the mysterious sack.
“It’s a little girl.”
| jumped at the voice behind me. A blood-covered man stood at the ambulance entrance - Blake's bodyguard,
the one I'd seen in the hotel security footage.
“Look at the shape,” he said, like he was discussing the weather instead of standing there covered in blood.
“That's a kid in there.”
“Emma...” | tried to push past the paramedic toward him, panic rising in my chest.
“She's right there.” He nodded at the sack. “In his arms.”
1 stared at the burlap bundle, now seeing the unmistakable outline of a small body. My heart slammed against
my ribs as realization hit me.
“A kid?” The paramedic’s eyes widened.
i lunged forward, grabbing the sack. “Blake, let go!” | shouted, not caring how desperate | sounded.
CnapTe
Like magic, his arms relaxed. The paramedics jaws dropped as they watched his grip loosen at just the sound of
my voice.
| tore open the sack and nearly collapsed. Emma lay inside, sleeping peacefully like she was taking a nap at
home. | checked her quickly for injuries but found none. Despite all the blood on Blake and his bodyguard, not a
single drop had touched her. She'd been perfectly protected.
“Damn,” the paramedic muttered, watching Blake's now-slack arms. “Guy's out cold but still does what you say.
You must be special to him.”
He gavea curious look. ‘Wife?”
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‘Ex,’ | said, with a bitter half-smile that felt like it might crack my face.
| touched Emma's cheek, her skin warm and soft. “Emma? Sweetie, wake up.”
Nothing. Just steady breathing, her small chest rising and falling peacefully.
‘Sleeping pills, the bodyguard said, climbing into the ambulance while pressing a cloth against a nasty knife
wound on his arm. “Just one, though. She'll be fine.”
A paramedic pushed him into a seat and examined the wound. “Jesus. What happened out there?”
Speople are in worse shape. The bodyguard’s laugh was empty, his eyes cold. “Not that they'll need
ambulances. Maybe hearses.”
| pulled Emma closer as the ambulance doors closed and we pulled away from the curb. The sirens wailed
overhead while | tried to make sense of everything. Emma’s small weight in my arms was the only thing keeping
“What the hell happened?” | finally asked, barely audible over the noise.
The bodyguard winced as the paramedic cleaned his cut. “You recognize me, right?”
“Yeah,” | nodded, holding Emma tight. “You're the guy Blake hired to follow me. | saw you in the hotel security
footage today.”
He looked surprised. “You knew about me?”
‘For a while now.”
“Name's Jett Rhodes. Ex-Special Forces, then private security for about ten years. He talked like he was giving a
job interview while getting stitched up. “Blake paidcrazy money last month to keep an eye on you without
being spotted.”
“When you cback to New York, he switched my assignment. Said you could handle yourself here, but
wantedwatching your kid 24/7.
Jett grimaced as the paramedic dug something from his arm. “This kidnapping wasn’t random. They'd been
planning it, watching for a chance. Knew your schedule too well.”
‘I spotted them early but couldn't figure out their game. Then your kid wanted garden time, and they jumped
when your friend checked her texts.”
“They only went after Hartford's guys and your friend.” He shrugged. “I was farther back, looked dangerous, so
they leftalone. Followed them straight to Parker Group's underground garage.”
My stomach dropped. “Wait - they took Emma to Parker Group?”
“Yeah. Car had Parker plates. Guards waved them through like they belonged there.” Jett frowned. “I told Blake in
real-time. He swore they weren't his people.”
If Blake had Jett protecting Emma, why would he arrange a kidnapping? And if those cars got into Parker's
garage without questions...
The realization hitlike a punch. There weren't many people who could command Parker Group resources or
get company cars past security. If it wasn’t Blake, then who?
2/3
Chapter 406
Blake's phone suddenly rang. A paramedic pulled it from his pocket and handed it to me.
“Better answer it, he said. “Might be important with his condition.”
| took the phone, my blood turning to ice when | saw the caller ID: Rachel Hayes.
Rachel. Vice President of Parker Group. The only other person besides Blake who could order staff around or use
company cars,
The call connected before I could think.
“Blake?” Rachels voice was sugary sweet. “Why aren’t you answering my texts? Michael said you were resting,
but | wantedChapter 407
Audrey's POV
“I didn’t what does this have to do with me? Your daughter - Rachel blurted out, then stopped herself mid-
sentence.
She quickly switched to a concerned tone. “Your daughter was kidnapped? What happened?”
That slip toldeverything | needed to know. “It was you who arranged it, wasn't it?”
Her instinctive denial before I'd even explained what happened gave her away completely. | should've connected
the dots sooner. Who else had access to Parker Group vehicles? Who could get past company security without
questions? Who knew exactly when Adrian and | would return to the hotel?
Rachel had played it perfectly - intercepting us on the street to create a public scene while her hired thugs
grabbed Emma. A built-in alibi while executing her plan.
‘I didn’t arrange anything!” Her voice shot up defensively. “When your daughter was kidnapped, | was arguing
with you and Adrian in the middle of the street! There's livestream footage, videos, witnesses everywhere!”
“I had absolutely nothing to do with any kidnapping or remote directing!”
| couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. “Miss Hayes, why so worked up?”
‘I never told you when Emma was kidnapped, did 1? How are you so certain you were arguing withat the
exact moment it happened?”
The line went quiet except for her heavy breathing. Caught in her own lie.
Years ago, that panicked breathing would've worried me. I'd have felt protective of my friend who'd been
through so much. | would've done anything to prevent her from feeling upset. Now | just felt contempt.
| took a deep breath. “Miss Hayes. Out of excuses?”
“Adrian and | will get to the bottom of Emma's kidnapping. Right now, I’m taking Blake to the hospital.”
“If anything happens to him, you can forget your wedding. You'll be too busy dealing with charges from me,
Adrian, Blake, and Henry Hartford. Goodbye.”
| hung up before she could respond.
She called right back. Jett frowned, took the phone from my hand, and answered.
“Those guys you hired were vicious,” he said coldly. “They started out just wanting ransom for the girl, but once
they recognized Mr. Parker was there to rescue her, they made him trade places as hostage.”
‘He didn’t even hesitate to agree.”
“Then they decided they'd stab both him and the kid to death after getting paid. Ifand the other security
guys hadn’t fought like hell, Parker would be dead right now.”
“Sfiancée you are, arranging people to kill the man you're supposed to marry. Unbelievable.”
He hung up, cutting her off mid-protest.
Rachel's POV
| stared at my silent phone, stunned. “How could this be...”
1/3
Chapter 407
Mam'’s kidnappers hurt Blake? This wasn’t the plan.
| dropped my phone and rushed downstairs from the second floor of Twilight Mansion. “Mom!”
| reached the first floor, emotions in turmoil. “Blake’s bodyguard just said your people not only kidnapped that
little girl, but made Blake trade himself as hostage and then tried to kill both of them! What the hell is going on?”
Mom sat on the sofa with her legs crossed, casually touching up her makeup. “You already know what happened.
That's exactly what | told them to do.”
The blood drained from my face. “I only asked you to have that four-year-old kidnapped to make Adrian and that
bitch Evelyn leave New York!”
‘I never said anything about killing anyone! And they not only made Blake a hostage but almost killed him and
Emma! What kind of psychos did you hire?”
Seeing how upset | was, Mom snapped her compact mirror shut with a sharp click.
She looked atwith cold indifference. | hired people who get results. Everything they did was under my
instructions.”
She gavea sidelong glance. “Didn't you and Blake already get your marriage license to avoid
complications?”
| gasped. ‘Yes, but -
“But what? With that license, if Blake died now, you'd get at least half his assets.”
“Given what he’s worth, even half would set our entire family up for life. Since he volunteered to save the girl, |
figured we might as well let him die doing it.”
“Dying while saving someone looks like a tragic accident. This way, we'd get rid of Blake, take what rightfully
belongs to our family, and eliminate Adrian and Evelyn's child at the stime.”
“With their daughter dead, they'd leave New York quickly and stop interfering with your business.”
She smiled elegantly, pleased with herself. “No need to thank me. Just doing what any mother would for her
daughter.”
My heart turned to ice. “Mom, you're confused! We have the license but haven't had the wedding ceremony!”
‘Most people wouldn't considerhis widow! And if he dies right after we got the license but before the
wedding, don’t you think I'd be the obvious suspect?”
I bit my lip, fighting tears. “Don’t you understand? I'm not marrying Blake just for his money! | actually like him
have for years!”
‘I finally bechis fiancée and was about to marry him and be with him... how could you try to harm him?”
Mom rolled her eyes. “That's exactly why | had to move quickly. | don’t want you turning out like your sister.”
‘Feelings are useless. Even without this opportunity, | would've found another way to deal with Blake eventually.
This just moved up the timeline.”
She looked atcuriously. “Since you know about it now, does that mean it worked? Did they manage to kill
him?”
She picked up her phone to check the news. “Letsee...”
“Mom.” | sniffled, taking the phone from her hand. “Blake didn’t die. But our plan is exposed.”
| looked at her hopelessly. “He’s badly hurt - probably can’t even make our wedding. And if he wakes up... he
won't let us get away with this.”
| couldn’t stop the tears streaming down my face. “You ruined me.”
Mom froze. He didn't die?”
Chapter 407
The smug smile vanished from her face, replaced by shock. “How? | specifically -
She furrowed her brow and grabbed her phone back, showingthe news article. “Look - earlier reports said
they found bodies in the Parker Group garage.
Police sealed off the scene and Blake's injured security team is talking to investigators...”
DivorceBefore Death Takes Me, CEU
There was a moment of dead silence.
“Evelyn?” The sweetness vanished instantly. “Why are you answering Blake's phone? Where is he? Weren't you
with Adrian? How did you sharply. “Put Blake on right now!*
Her voice rose
The transformation was jarring - from caring girlfriend to drill sergeant in two seconds flat. If | hadn't known
Rachel for years, I'd never believe both voices belonged to the sperson.
| took a breath, keeping my voice steady despite the rage building inside me. “Rachel. | need to ask you
something. Was it you who had my daughter kidnapped?”
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