Ella reported where she was. Not long after, Samuel and Jerry arrived to see her crouching in the parking lot, weeping.
Her husband lifted her shoes which were thrown off, and tried to help her put them on. He called the police, and walked to the mall police office with his wife and son.
Ella related her horrific tale. "It's all my fault," she kept repeating.
"This is not your fault, Ella. That man must have been following us. He stole her when our guard was down." Something about the way he said this indicated that he let on more than he should have.
"Samuel, did Catherine do this? Tell me is it Catherine?" Ella regretted giving Catherine mercy. She should've ended her life when she had the chance.
Brows knitted, Samuel flew into rage.
On the CCTV monitor, Ella pointed to the man in the black jacket. "That's him. He's the one who kidnapped Jane in the bathroom."
At this point, Samuel's phone buzzed. It was Catherine's number.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Samuel." It was Catherine without question.
"What do you want?" said Samuel bitterly. Ella erased her tears with her palm, and stared.
Catherine's loud laughter came through the other side. "Samuel, your daughter is in my hands. I want that bitch Ella to pick up the bastard child." Jane, who was tied up, looking at Catherine wearily. Catherine grinned. She had no idea Samuel was her biological father.
Ella had cheated on him, but he didn't see Jane as a bastard child.
"Miss Gu, I'm warning you to watch your language." Catherine froze at his seriousness.
"Am I wrong?" she said. "She's a bastard child! How could you, a top-notch lawyer, be reduced to such disgrace?"
"Enough!" Samuel snarled.
Jane wasn't a bastard. She was his daughter now and he didn't allow Catherine to insult her like that.
Registering his anger, Catherine lowered the voice. "Samuel, I still love you. We can be together. I won't be like Ella Bo and cheat on you. I'll be a good wife to you."
Though she had gone through physical humiliation, she still believed that she was worthy of him.
But it served only to disgust Samuel. "Tell me where Jane is!"
"Remember your island in C, don't you? I'm right here. Come find me." The butler on his island has been tied up by her people, and now his private island was in her hands.
Hearing this, Samuel said nothing. The veins in his temples stood out, bulging with rage.
Just when Samuel was about to hang up, Catherine said, "Bring Ella to the deck. Someone will be waiting for her. If you even think about bringing police, both Ella and the child will die."
Catherine had been strategic. She didn't want Jerry, who was Samuel's biological son. She wanted the bastard child as a bait which would fetch her a more rewarding response. She also didn't want to make things too ugly. So she took Jane. 'In all possibility, Samuel might've wanted to get rid of her,' she reasoned.
Without bickering, Samuel ended the conversation.
"Where is Jane, Samuel? Did she say?" Ella plucked at Samuel's suit, looking at him desperately.
Hearing the news, Melody crashed down on the sofa in astonishment.
"It's okay," comforted Viola. "Jane's smart and she's going to be fine." Melody's eyes became bleary with water.
Melody's hands were shaking as she tried to wipe away her tears. "Smart as she is, it's very unlikely for her to escape from the cunning Catherine." Why this was happening? It was the New Year. Why did Catherine have to ruin it?
Vincent lurched into the living room, wringing his hands. He paced upstairs to find some connection to help.
"Jane will be all right, Viola. Mom and Dad are on their way. We should trust them." Jerry acted exceedingly calm because he believed his Mom and Dad were going to bring Jane back safe and sound.
Melody shook her head. Not that she didn't believe her grandson, just... She trailed away into dark, worrisome thought.
On Samuel's private island.
The car was parked at the entry to the island. The security guards had disappeared. A foreigner was waiting for them at the edge of the pier. As they got out of the car, he asked in lame Chinese, "Are you Ella Bo?"
"Yes, I am."
"Follow me. Only you." The foreigner stood in Samuel's way.
Ella became fidgety and turned to Samuel, who nodded to her and said "You go ahead."
Ella felt let down by Samuel's words. She hadn't told him the truth about Jane. Would he really be willing to get Jane out?
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