Cameron sat in the hotel’s presidential suite with a drink and foreboding apprehension. Harry waited beside him, too anxious to breathe. A heavy silence filled the room.
The phone rang. Cameron checked the caller ID and looked up at Harry. "My Sutton, it's them."
Dennem took the phone and answered. The face of a tattooed man appeared on the screen, wearing a cruel smile.
“It’s a pleasure to finally see you, Mr. Sutton,” the man said.
“Who gave you the order?” Cameron’s gaze was sharp, his voice taut.
“That’s not for you to worry about. Just know that in Xenvale, you don’t have the final say like you do in Yatran.”
“Name your price,” Cameron said, wanting to cut through the nonsense.
“Well, that depends on how much Ms. Lason is worth to you,” the tattooed man replied, his expression sinister.
“I don’t want to be. I need to see her state.” Cameron insisted.
“Sure thing,” the tattooed man said readily, before shifting the camera to reveal Quinn lying helplessly on the ground. “Hey, your boyfriend wants to see if you’re still alive.”
With great effort, Quinn opened her eyes. Seeing Cameron’s face on the screen filled her with a flicker of hope. “Mr. Sutton, please help me,” she rasped.
Before she could finish, the tattooed man swung the camera back to himself. “You’ve seen her. She’s alive. So when are you coming to pay the ransom?”
“What’s the address?” Cameron replied.
“Easy enough. I’ll send it to you right away. But let me remind you—don’t even think about calling the police, or you won’t see your little beauty again,” the man warned before hanging up.
After hanging up, Cameron retired to his room to change clothes.
Harry was anxious. “Mr. Sutton, are you going to pay the ransom in person?”
“Call Jeremy,” Cameron instructed.
Harry was momentarily taken aback but quickly grasped the implication. “You suspect Jeremy is behind this?”
“Who else could it be?” Cameron retorted coldly. “Only someone with his depravity would resort to drugging drinks and using such despicable tactics.” Cameron had shown mercy to Jeremy before. Why did he insist on pushing his luck?
“Given what you’ve said, it makes sense. The Smith family has ruled Xenvale for years. You coming here to dismantle everything would provoke him. Besides, he’s probably the only one with the guts to pull something like this,” Harry analyzed. “But what if Jeremy plays dumb and denies it?”
“I remember Jeremy has a daughter, right?” Cameron replied with a chilling expression.
Harry’s heart sank as he grasped Cameron’s implication. It seemed Jeremy had seriously dug his own grave this time.
Suddenly, a text message arrived. Harry quickly opened it to find the warehouse address sent by the tattooed man.
“Mr. Sutton, going alone is too dangerous. How about I find some influential locals to accompany you?” Harry urged, genuinely worried about Cameron’s safety.
“No need. I’ll focus on dealing with Jeremy,” Cameron said dismissively before going to his room to change.