Adam answered the call, and a rough male voice came through. "Mr. Alvarez, good evening."

Adam held the phone, his face unreadable. "Who are you?"

"Mr. Alvarez, my identity doesn’t matter. All you need to know is that the person you’re looking for is with me."

Lucy’s eyes widened in alarm. "He’s the one who took Carly! Mr. Alvarez, we have to save her!"

Adam’s tone remained cold. "Carly is with you?"

"That’s right. Here, I’ll let her talk to you."

A moment later, Carly’s voice came through, panicked and desperate. "Adam, help me! Please! I’m so scared!"

Adam’s lips pressed into a thin, icy line. "What do you want?"

"Mr. Alvarez, I want money. Get one billion dollars ready immediately."

Adam let out a short, mocking laugh. "You kidnapped someone and are now extorting me for one billion? That’s more than enough to lock you away for life. You’ll never see the outside world again."

The man on the other end of the line wasn’t the least bit intimidated. "Mr. Alvarez, don’t try to scare me. I wasn’t raised to be afraid of threats. Is one billion dollars too much for one person’s life? What if I make it two?"

A sharp glint flashed through Adam’s eyes. "Two people?"

At that moment, Perry rushed over. "Mr. Alvarez, bad news. Celine is missing."

Dr. C had been scheduled to make her appearance, but when Perry went upstairs to check, she was nowhere to be found.

Celine had disappeared.

Adam froze for a brief moment before gripping his phone even tighter. "Celine—is she with you too?"

Somewhere in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city, Celine’s eyes fluttered open.
----
She quickly realized that her hands and feet were tied. In
front of her stood a man with a scar across his face,
flanked by several men in black.

Celine immediately grasped the situation. She had been
kidnapped.

She let out a silent, bitter laugh. What a dramatic turn of
events. She had been moments away from revealing
herself as Dr. C, only to end up here instead.

A familiar voice interrupted her thoughts. "Celine, you’re
awake?"

Celine turned her head and saw Carly.
Carly was tied up as well, dumped beside her.

Celine’s eyelashes quivered slightly. "Carly, they took you
too?"


----
Carly struggled against her

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restraints, attempting to break free.
"Let me go! Bo you have any idea o
who I am? I’m Adam’s girlfriend! If
you so much as lay a finger ongne,
Adars will make sure you regfet it.
This is his territory. You won’t make
it out alive!"

The scarred man chuckled, holding the phone in his hand.
"So, you’re Mr. Alvarez’s girlfriend. And this one here is his
ex-wife."

He crouched beside Celine. "Celine, say something to Mr.
Alvarez.”


----
Celine quickly scanned the surroundings before raising her
voice. "Adam, we’re in a warehouse on the wet side of the

city—"

The scarred man hadn’t expected her to spill their location.
His face twisted with rage, and he swung his hand hard
across Celine’s face.

With a loud smack, her head
snapped-to the side, her delicatec
features stinging from the blow A

bright red handprint quickly
appeared on her cheek, swollen and
glatingly visible.

Back on Adam’s end of the call, he had heard both Celine’s
voice and the unmistakable sound of a slap.

His expression darkened instantly. His voice dropped to a
dangerously low register. "Stop. If you lay another hand on
her, you won’t live to see the sunrise."

The scarred man let out a loud, amused laugh. "Oh? Mr.
Alvarez, you seemed quite protective of your ex-wife. One
slap, and you’re already this upset?


----
Adam’s voice sounded razor- sharp
as he said; "One billion dollars. I’ll
give you what you want. Send me
the location, and I’ll bring the money.
You give me the hostages.

The scarred man grinned. "Now that’s the spirit, Mr.
Alvarez. | knew you’d be reasonable. But there’s one
condition. You need to come alone."