"Follow them."
In the car, Jenson Forrest opened his eyes. His expression was completely unreadable.
He gave the order, and the driver imdiately started the car, keeping a good distance behind Zinnia Lawrence.
It wasn’t long before Zinnia managed to hail a taxi.
"President, should we keep following?" the driver asked cautiously.
Jenson had only ordered the driver to follow because he was worried Zinnia was hiding her emotions and might suddenly break down. In broad daylight, she wasn’t likely to be in any danger, but it was clear she hadn’t collapsed.
Jenson glanced at the taxi’s license plate. "No need," he instructed. "Head to the western suburbs."
When Jenson arrived at the western suburbs, Timothy Cohen had already tossed Gloria Grant, Holly Tilton, and George Grant into an abandoned warehouse and had been tornting them for so ti.
The trio was no longer as arrogant or calculating as they had been in the hospital. Tied to chairs and drenched in gasoline, they were utterly disheveled. Their faces were masks of terror as they trembled uncontrollably.
Jenson’s number one bodyguard, Ryder Reynolds, sat on a chair not far from them, legs crossed, casually playing with a box of matches.
STRIKE.
He lit a match and flicked it, sending it flying toward the three of them. It seed as though they would beco human torches in the next second, but the fla always missed by a hair’s breadth.
Several burnt-out matchsticks already lay around each of them. The constant terror had pushed their hearts past their limits.
"Please, we swear we won’t do it again! Release us!" Holly Tilton begged hoarsely.
She truly regretted it now. If she had known her sche would not only fail but also result in this kind of retaliation from Jenson’s n, she never would have dared to cause a scene at the hospital.
"Yes, yes, we really won’t do it again! Sis! Say sothing, will you!" George Grant shrieked. A matchstick had just flown past his hair.
He had lost control of his bladder, and a puddle was forming beneath him.
Gloria couldn’t stand the sll of gasoline. A pool of vomit lay next to her. She looked the worst of the three—exhausted, her face covered in tears.
Perhaps Timothy, the refined-looking man in glasses who had been standing quietly to the side, would be easier to talk to than Ryder, who looked like a vicious killer with countless lives on his hands.
Using her hands and feet, Gloria shuffled, chair and all, toward Timothy and pleaded.
"Secretary Cohen, I’m your young mistress’s biological mother! Please, let go! I’ll do whatever Young Master Forrest says! I feel like I’m dying, really... ugh..."
She turned her head and wretched up two more mouthfuls of bitter bile.
Timothy stepped back with a sympathetic look on his face. "Ms. Grant, you really shouldn’t be hopping around like that," he said. "If you happen to brush against a spark and—whoosh—go up in flas, you can’t bla us."
Gloria stiffened in fear, on the verge of a complete breakdown.
Just then, the warehouse door was pushed open. A flood of bright sunlight stread in, silhouetting a tall male figure. The three captives looked up eagerly, their expressions a mixture of hope and fear.
When they saw it was Jenson Forrest, a glimr of hope appeared on their faces. They imdiately revived, wailing and begging for rcy.
"Young Master Forrest, I’m Zinnia’s birth mother! Even though I’ve done wrong, surely the fact that I gave birth to her and raised her ans my cri isn’t punishable by death..."
"Young Master Forrest, it’s all a misunderstanding! We’re family, there’s no deep-seated hatred between us! Please let us go!"
But they were forgetting one crucial point: Ryder and Timothy were Jenson’s n. The person who had happily lured them from the hospital only to get them into this state was, ultimately, Jenson himself.
The man’s handso face was glacial as he walked toward them, his gaze not even falling on them. He radiated a cold aura, but the conspicuous, fresh bite mark on his chin shattered his intimidating presence.
Ryder and Timothy could hardly believe their eyes. They stared, wide-eyed, before their eyes started twitching as they fought to stifle their laughter. Exercising all their self-control, they feigned nonchalance and turned their gazes to the ceiling, desperate to gossip about how the boss’s wife had managed to leave a mark on him.
While his n were ntally gossiping, Gloria and the others were far too terror-stricken to notice the small wound on Jenson’s face. They continued to beg for their lives, trembling as if on the edge of an abyss.
"A light," Jenson said in a low voice. Only then did Ryder belatedly realize what he wanted and hand over the box of matches.
Jenson lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and exhaled a plu of thin smoke.
The three of them instantly fell silent, watching Jenson with a mixture of terror, apprehension, and hope. At that mont, he was the demon king who held their fates in his hands.
The man took another drag from his cigarette, then tossed the matchbox far away.
Tears of joyous relief stread down the trio’s faces. They all believed they had just escaped death.
Jenson lifted his gaze. "Have you truly learned your lesson? You won’t dare to do it again?"
Gloria nodded frantically. "I won’t! Never again! I’ll make sure Zinnia focuses on her studies abroad. I’m her mother; of course I want my daughter to have a promising future."
Jenson nodded. Just as stiff smiles began to form on their faces, he let out a soft chuckle. "But that promise sounds awfully familiar. If I recall correctly, you said the sa thing two years ago. Have you forgotten?"
Gloria froze, her facial muscles twitching in fear.
Of course, she hadn’t forgotten. That was when Zinnia and Jenson got their marriage certificate, officially making her the Young Mistress of the Forrest family. She had considered herself a legitimate in-law of the Forrest family and had gone with her brother to demand a bride price. Wanting to keep the peace, Katherine Rhodes gave Gloria an apartnt to get rid of her. But having gotten a taste of success, how could Gloria possibly stop there?
She went back again and again, until Jenson returned from a business trip and personally "invited" her over to give her a warning.
At the ti, she promised not to bother Zinnia again and actually kept her distance for a long while. However, she later realized that Jenson was rarely in the country and that his relationship with Zinnia wasn’t good. As ti passed, her old greed resurfaced.
"I... I truly won’t dare this ti, Young Master Forrest! Please give one more chance..."
Jenson flicked the ash from his cigarette with his slender fingers. "There is only one person who deserves multiple chances from ," he said coolly. "Unfortunately, you are not worthy."
With that, the man flicked the glowing red tip of his cigarette.
WHOOSH!
In an instant, the air was filled with screams and roaring flas.
* * *
anwhile, after parting with Jenson, Zinnia hurried back to the hospital. She still had to deal with the situation there, and Yara Fairchild was probably still waiting.
However, before she could reach the hospital, Zinnia received a call from the police, asking her to co down to the station. They ntioned that Yara was there as well.
Thinking Yara might have gotten into trouble again, she rushed to the station.
When she entered the office, however, she found Yara perfectly fine. In fact, she was in the middle of a sparring session with two young male officers, surrounded by a crowd of other cops who were watching enthusiastically. The atmosphere was surprisingly lively.
"Zinnia, you’re here!" Yara spotted her and waved with a smile.
The officers in the room all glanced over. Zinnia offered an awkward smile as she approached and grabbed Yara’s arm. "What’s going on here?" she asked urgently.
Yara winked, looking smug. "It’s about the incident at the hospital. I called the police. Gloria and her crew were clearly just pawns being used by soone else. We need the police to find the real mastermind and get us justice. They called you in to get your side of the story and take your statent."
Zinnia knew the matter wasn’t simple, but she hadn’t expected Yara to call the police after she left.
The officer in charge of the case gestured for Zinnia to co over. Yara quickly pulled her aside and whispered in her ear.
"Beatrice Sutton and her agent have been arrested," she whispered quickly. "They were caught red-handed. Just relax and cooperate with the questioning."
Zinnia was dumbfounded.
Beatrice Sutton and her agent were arrested? What in the world was going on? There’s no way the police could have worked that fast.
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