Chapter 240

Upton stood tall, his presence commanding and cold as his gaze fixed on Lisette. His eyes held an unmistakable accusation.

Lisette’s heart lurched. Maybe at first, she had thought Upton was addressing Calliope, but now? Now she was certain – he was talking to her.

But how was that possible? Sure, she had taken Baber, but how could they possibly know that?

She had been careful, meticulous. She had enlisted help, ensured that every detail was flawless. There were no cameras, no witnesses – Baber had simply vanished.

Shouldn’t Upton be furious with Calliope instead? It was her responsibility to watch over Baber.

Lisette stared at Upton in disbelief, scrambling for an explanation. “Mr. Thorne, you can’t seriously believe Calliope’s nonsense! I had nothing to do with Baber’s disappearance! I’ve been here the whole time. How could I possibly have taken him? I even gave you a heads-up.”

Calliope tightened her grip. “Funny… we hadn’t even realized Baber was missing yet. So tell me, how exactly did you know before the rest of us and managed to warn Mr. Thorne in advance?”

“I–I saw the bodyguards looking for him, so I just called Mr. Thorne,” Lisette stammered, her pulse racing.

“Oh, perfect timing then. Since they’re right here, we can check the timeline. We’ll see what happened first – your little warning or Baber disappearing. And even if the timing doesn’t add up, the fact that you’re so focused on Baber is suspicious enough, don’t you think?”

Lisette’s mouth snapped shut. Her heart pounded in her chest as panic started creeping in.

If Upton had blindly lashed out at Calliope, Lisette wouldn’t have been worried. But he wasn’t acting impulsively. No, he was thinking this through, and worst of all, he trusted Calliope’s word over hers.

A sinking feeling spread through Lisette’s stomach. Tears welled up in her eyes as she pleaded, “It wasn’t me! You’re making a mistake! I was only trying to help!”

“Calliope, let go of Lisette! Have some manners,” Ulysses snapped, stepping forward with a scowl. “Not everyone is as cruel as you are. Lisette is kind. Why would she do something like this?”

Calliope ignored him entirely, her gaze locked on Lisette. “So you’re not going to talk? Fine. I’ll just hand you over to Upton.”

With that, she released Lisette’s wrist and took a step back, just in time for the bodyguards to arrive.

At a simple nod from Upton, they moved in, seizing Lisette before she could take so much as a breath of freedom. Her face paled.

“Mr. Thorne, I swear I didn’t do anything!”

“You really think I won’t find out the truth?” Upton’s gaze bore into Lisette. “Where is Baber? Even if you don’t tell me, my men will find him any second.”

Lisette was hell-bent on denying it. She knew admitting it would mean the end of her life.

“Mr. Thorne, you have no proof; you can’t just treat Lisette like this.” Ulysses stepped forward and demanded, “Please let her go.”

Upton spared him a glance. “Give me Baber, and I’ll release her.”

And with that, he turned on his heel and walked away. Calliope immediately followed.

Horatio and the others exchanged uneasy glances before trailing after them. They wanted to intervene, but Upton was flanked by an entire team of highly trained security personnel. They didn’t dare make a head-on confrontation with him.