bChapter 325 /b

Richard couldn’t hide the hint of admiration in his eyes at Xylia’s calmposure.

“Ms. Sadler, you really are the most extraordinary woman I’ve ever met.”

It was like being stared down by a venomous snake, and goosebumps broke out all over Xylia’s skin.

She furrowed her brows and demanded, “What exactly are you after?”

If Richard had snatched her just as leverage against Joshua, then what did that mean for her…?

‘Does that mean I’m just a bargaining chip here?‘ Xylia couldn’t help but feel her gut tighten at the thought.

Richard sat there with an easy, almostzy posture, his gaze meandering over Xylia like he had all the time in the world.

His eyes lingered on her fists–knuckles white as she gripped them tight against her knees without even noticing it—and he couldn’t help the smug curve that crept onto his lips.

“Ms. Sadler, really, you don’t need to be scared. I promise, I don’t mean you any harm. I just… like you. That’s all,” Richard said, voice smooth and almost too gentle.

Xylia’s skin crawled.

There was zero joking in Richard’s eyes–he was utterly serious.

‘Wait, am I really being targeted by a guy like him?‘ Xylia couldn’t help but shudder at the thought.

But none of this felt real.

No way did she have that kind of heartbreaker aura. Xylia and Richard had barely even crossed paths; how could he really have feelings for her?

‘There’s no way I’m what Richard’s really after,‘ Xylia thought with certainty.

Suddenly, the ne lurched violently twice, and a broadcast came over the speakers: “We’ve hit turbulence, please remain seated and keep your seatbelts fastened.”

In the shifting shadows of the cabin, Xylia glimpsed Richard’s face–still as gentle–looking as ever, like some schrly gentleman. But tonight, the air around him practically pulsed with murderous intent, sharper and more obvious than ever before.

Two hourster.

The ne touched down with a jarring thud, then skidded along the runway for what felt like forever before finallying to a stop.

Xylia’s wrists were cuffed again.

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The cold metal dug into the tiny cuts on her skin, sending a sharp pain shooting up her arms. She winced instinctively.

Richard noticed, but he didn’t give a damn.

This was somewherepletely foreign to her, unsettling in its unfamiliarity.

The manor was marked out in elegant, foreign letters, and everywhere Xylia looked she saw touches of ssic Western décor.

It was the dead of night, and a chilly wind sliced through the darkness, making Xylia shiver.

Her nerves were stretched to the absolute limit.

From the city itself to every single detail in the house, the ce radiated that she was an outsider–she didn’t belong here, not even a little.

Richard walked ahead, lookingpletely at ease–the kind of calm confidence that made you forget just how dangerous he was. His assistant, now back on his home turf, seemed even more intimidating, his presence amplified in the familiar surroundings.

“Boss, where do you want to lock her up?” Holt asked.

“Lock her up?” Richard shot Holt a sharp look, obvious irritation in his eyes.

“Ms. Sadler is my honored guest. Give her a room,” Richardmanded.

Holt stopped short, caught off guard.

This ce was Richard’s personal territory; bringing Xylia in had already broken his usual house rules.

Now he actually wanted her to stay here?

But when the boss spoke, Holt had no choice but to obey. So he led Xylia inside and set her up in one of the

guest rooms.

Once they were inside, Holt turned to leave.

But Xylia stopped him, her voice tinged with annoyance. “Seriously, can you take these cuffs off already? It’s not like I can do anything with them on.”

Holt didn’t even bother hiding his impatience.

“If we cared about making things easy for you, you wouldn’t be wearing those,” he shot back.

With that, he mmed the door behind him, leaving Xylia alone.

Xylia caught the metallic click as the lock slid shut behind her.

The room was eerily quiet, with fear swirling around her, thickening in the air as if she was at the very heart of a storm no one else could see..

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All the calm she’d worked so hard to hold onto finally crumbled and spilled out–her nerves snapping one by

one.

What am I even supposed to do now?‘ Xylia thought, panic crawling up her throat.

Kidnapped and dumped here—wherever here was. Even if she pulled off a miracle escape, where could she possibly run?

‘I can’t even imagine how anxious Joshua must be right now, once he realizes I’ve disappeared, Xylia thought, a bitter worry gnawing at her.

Xylia sank onto the edge of the bed, feeling the weight of helplessness settle over her.

In a far–off country, Joshua was racing against time, desperately searching for any trace of Richard.

But his efforts were all in vain–Richard was nowhere to be found in Jupiton, as if he’d dropped off the face of the earth.

Joshua’s brow knitted tight, his whole demeanor iced over. Beneath that frigid exterior, every nerve was strung so taut he felt seconds from snapping. fnf1c3 The rightful source is f?i?n?d?n?o?v?e?l?/fnf1c3

When Noelle found him, Joshua was standing by the floor–to–ceiling windows, his expression cold and unreadable as he gazed out into the night.

She didn’t know what was running through his mind,

but she could easily guess he was troubled because of Xylia.

“Joshua,” Noelle called out, her tone soft and deliberately tender, like she was trying to be gentle with his feelings.

Pitched her voice on purpose, Noelle made herself sound vulnerable–she wanted him to hear how fragile she was, all for his sake.

She came up behind him, but kept a careful, respectful distance, making sure not to intrude.

‘First things first–I can’t let Joshua dislike me,‘ Noelle thought to herself, nerves tight. ‘If I slowly win his favor, maybe… just maybe, I’ll get a chance to reach his heart.

“Joshua, I know this hurts, but Xylia’s gone. If she saw you like this, it would just break her heart even more,” Noelle murmured, trying her best to sound gentle and understanding as she watched his frozen silhouette.

This was the kind of go–tofort line everyone used when a lover left–and Noelle knew it sounded cliché, but she said it anyway, hoping it might get through to him, even if she didn’t really believe the words herself.

The faint reflection of Joshua’s face appeared on the ss–cold and solemn, features set in granite, betraying none of his emotions except for the obvious disdain flickering in his eyes.

Noelle opened her mouth to say more, but before she could get a word out, Joshua suddenly turned and mped his hand around her neck.

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His voice sounded like it crawled up from the depths of hell–cold, manic, and lethal.

“Where the hell is Richard?”

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Noelle was startled, eyes wide in fear as Joshua’s hand closed around her throat. She struggled to speak, words tumbling out in stammered defense.

“Joshua, I… I really don’t know…” she managed, her voice trembling, still feigning innocence.

She was still putting on her act, trying to look as innocent as possible.

Joshua’s grip tightened ever so slightly, enough to make Noelle let out a couple of choked whimpers as she instinctively grabbed at his hand.

“I’m running out of patience,” Joshua hissed, voice icy and threatening. “If you don’t tell me where Richard is, trust me I’ve got plenty of ways to make you talk.”

Noelle felt a jolt of raw terror as she met Joshua’s eyes—he looked absolutely lethal.

‘God, that re–he really might kill me the next second,‘ Noelle’s heart raced, convinced she was staring death in the face.

Noelle had never seen this side of Joshua before; the menace rolling off him was so intense, it made her blood run cold.

Noelle couldn’t stop herself from shaking all over.

“I… I swear, I really don’t know…” Noelle choked out, her voice ragged and nearly swallowed up by fear.

Richard had only gotten in touch with her a couple days ago, saying he was about to make good on his promise.

So when Noelle heard about what happened to Xylia, she realized Richard must’ve already wrapped up whatever deal they had.

Since then, they hadn’t even checked in with each other once.

Now, Noelle had no clue if Richard was anywhere near Jupiton anymore.

From the look in Joshua’s eyes, there was no doubt–he’d already figured out Xylia wasn’t dead. She’d been taken by Richard, and he knew it.

A wave of resentment surged through Noelle.

‘Richard didn’t spare a single person on that ne, but he still singled out Xylia and took her away. What’s so special about her?‘ Noelle thought, bitterness prickling in her chest.

‘Does he really like her that much?‘

But with Joshua’s grip crushing her throat, any anger Noelle felt inside instantly vanished–fear was the only thing left, crowding out every other thought.

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Joshua loosened his grip, then casually flung Noelle aside.

She tumbled to the ground,nding lightly as if she weighed nothing at all.

“Get out!” Joshua spat.

Joshua may have been furious, but even now, he managed to hold himself back–he hadn’tpletely lost control.

Noelle scrambled to her feet, looking at Joshua’s face–it was as cold and unyielding as ever, like stone.

Her nerves still shot through with fear; honestly, she didn’t dare say a single thing. Keeping her mouth shut, Noelle slipped out of the room as fast as she could.

The ne crash had sent shockwaves through the country, sparking a frenzy of spection and outrage.

Online, everyone was talking about it, and the Aerospace Corp was getting absolutely trashed in the

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Somehow, word got out that there had been a bomb on the ne.

The inte blew up, with people getting even more worked up–everyone started guessing if it was all the work of a foreign spy or some kind of inside job threatening national security.

Officials got absolutely bombarded–millions ofizens tagging government ounts and signing petitions, all demanding to know the truth.

bAD /b