Capítulo 4: Abduction
"Excuse me, Signorita?"
Drenched with tears, Monique wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. She lifted her head and partly looked over her right shoulder. Squinting her bloodshot eyes, she glanced at the man behind her.
"What do you want?" Between sobs, Monique asked the man timidly. She had already cried twice today and felt like her energy had been drained. It exhausted her from approaching anyone at the palace, asking about her purse, but no one saw it.
How come someone would be interested in it? Although it cost a little, as its brand was a famous fashion house, there were no other expensive things to be found inside. However, her passport and visa are in that purse.
She needed to find it. Otherwise, she would start living in jail sooner.
Having the thought, Monique gains strength with the hope she instilled in her heart. She was determined to look for her purse again and ignored the guy.
She rose from squatting on the floor and stepped forward, away from the people behind her; she had not noticed until now.
Her action made the man who patted Monique on the back shrink his pupils in shock. He could not believe that he was going to be ignored instead.
The man tilted his head to the right side and glanced at the bodyguards; two immediately stepped forward, held Monique in each of her arms, and forced her to turn around.
"Who are you? What are you doing? Let me go!"
It terrified Monique to see two bulky men holding both of her arms. She tried to measure their heights, but she was like a rabbit standing between two bears to see how tall they were.
She tried to pull her arms apart, even though she knew she had no match for their strength. 'I have to do something.' Monique is only consoling herself not to get frightened.
"Please, stop struggling if you don't want to get hurt, Signorita," said the man holding Monique's left arm.
Monique just then realized that these two men were actually not grabbing her forcefully, but she was the one who was wrestling against them.
"Our boss just wanted to speak with you so you can stop fighting with us," chimed the other man, holding her right arm.
Monique settled down and turned around voluntarily. Shock instantly registered on her face after realizing that there were more of them.
"What do you want from me?" Even though her voice was shaking, Monique tried her best not to stutter her words.
"Our boss just wanted to speak with you. So, please, come with us, Signorita."
Monique looked at the man who had just spoken. He was wearing a black suit from a famous men's brand. He was handsome, and she could sense he had a good temperament. But this guy says "our boss," so it means there is someone more intimidating than he is already.
She wondered if this man was only the assistant. It would be easy to determine as the boss rarely shows up; thus, he would only order his most trusted people to do things as he wishes, and that position would be the assistant's job.
"Who are you?" Monique continues throwing a question to buy her time while pondering how to escape from them and return to the wedding reception and asks for help from everyone.
There's no way she would go with them. Who knows if these men were actually abducting people and forcing them to work illegally in private houses?
"Whatever is playing in your head is not true."
This man, who had guessed exactly what was playing inside her head, interrupted Monique's thought. It was true that she was thinking about something inappropriate that scared the hell out of her.
"My name is Lemuel Gibson. We do not plan to sell you to a pub or put you in the auction."
Finally, the man introduced himself to Monique; however, his joke made Monique uncomfortable. Now, she pictured the mafia's illegal activities.
What does the underground world usually do? So many to mention!
"What does your boss need me for?" One more time, Monique asked Lemuel, casting a suspicious glare at him.
"You will know when we arrive in his office."
After saying that, Lemuel turned around and began walking toward the elevator. The six bodyguards followed suit, including the two men behind Monique, but she didn't move. One bodyguard had to push her back so she would step forward, forcing her to follow them.
When they arrived at the top floor, Lemuel brought Monique toward the right wing of the Palace. While trailing the red carpet in the corridor, Monique could not help but glue her gaze below the vast ocean, where countless yachts and boats docked and anchored around the island.
The scenery was breathtaking. Monique definitely would not tire of watching the blue ocean, where it looks like the blue sky is kissing the saltwater.
"Wait here," said Lemuel to Monique, who was daydreaming, so he had to snap his fingers in front of her face; then he looked at the bodyguards and said, "Watch her."
Lemuel knocked on the door before holding the handle and pushing it open.
The man wearing a tailored dark blue suit behind the desk looked up and watched his assistant approach him. His blue eyes partly shrank as anticipation started surging in his chest.
"Did you find her?" The man had a stern voice as he spoke.
"I'm sorry, boss. The miss actually changed her flight," Lemuel reported.
"Good."
Lemuel shook his head, astounded when his boss seemed happy that his fiance had run away with another man.
"Are you okay with that, boss?" Lemuel blinked once, eager to know what his boss was thinking when he had a battle he had to win.
"Throwing a few million dollars would not hurt me." Zion pushed the corner of his mouth into a smug smile.
It rendered Lemuel speechless. The man who ran away with his fiancee is actually his boss's friend. Could it be possible that his boss paid that man to take away that daughter from the Clinton family?
It was a good plan, but his boss had missed something.
"Boss, have you forgotten the deal you made with your father?" Afterward, Lemuel gathered his courage to remind his boss about the agreement the father and son came up with a few months ago.
He said, "Even though your fiancee runs away, your father will continue pestering you to marry a daughter from an affluent family."
Listening to his assistant blab, Zion Dawson shrunk his pupils as he recalled his constant quarrel with his father.
David Dawson is forcing his son to marry Clinton's sole daughter so that he can dominate the US once the Dawson Company merges with the Clinton Group, a giant company in the US.
However, Zion is determined to destroy his father's dream. But the problem is that his father would demolish Grace Palace Garden if he did not do it.
Zion built Grace Palace Garden in memory of his mother, and he would not let his father take it away from him. Recently, he completely cut ties with his father.
He also did everything to chase the Clinton daughter away from Miranda Country, even if it meant giving up a considerable amount to pay someone.
Fortunately, Ronald successfully seduced the Clinton heiress, and now she has eloped with him.
Zion finally stopped the business marriage his father worked hard to arrange; however, he still had the same problem.
"Lemuel, contact my grandmother's butler. Notify him I am going to visit my grandmother soon."
'I still held one triumph card I could play against my father,' thought Zion.
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