"And you," he said to Octavius, "Call your brother and tell him to come for a life for a life." He tossed the phone at Octavius's head, uncaring as he cut the ropes binding his wrists.
Octavius was an athlete, and his physical strength was above average among most men. Yet, facing these strong, desperate criminals, and under the influence of a narcotic, he appeared even weaker, his threat barely worth mentioning. "My brother's missing. I can't reach him."
The man in the black vest smiled coldly. "Your brother's not missing; he's hiding. Now that we have his precious little brother, if he doesn't show up, he's not even human."
Eloise, clearly more tactful, wasted no time with empty words. She grabbed her phone and dialed: "Hello, Isidore?" The call connected quickly, but Isidore's voice sounded displeased. "Where have you gone? Did you really join forces with someone to make a show just to get rid of Charlie?"
"Who said that, Charlie?" Eloise was so angry she felt dizzy. "That brat actually framed me! I've been kidnapped, okay!" "Kidnapping? There are no signs of a kidnapping around the car, and no abnormalities in the surrounding surveillance footage." Isidore's voice was dark and grim.
"Well, they're just skilled!" Eloise shoved her phone at the man in the white vest, saying pitifully, "Sir, he doesn't believe I've been kidnapped, you tell him!" The man in the white vest was forced to take the phone. He cleared his throat, making his voice sound even more menacing.
"Isidore, your little treasure, and the little treasure in her belly are in our hands."
Isidore: "…"
"If you want them to be safe, come alone, no weapons. Any movement within five kilometers is under our surveillance, don't try anything clever! As for her location, you should be able to easily track it through this phone. We're waiting for you!"
As soon as he finished, the other side hung up. "That bastard doesn't respect anyone!" The man in the white vest was so enraged that his face turned red. Eloise cautiously tried to calm him down, "Don't be angry, big brother, he treats me like that sometimes too." The man in the white vest looked at her suspiciously, "Will he come?"
Eloise assured him, "He never said he wouldn't come, nor did he mention any conditions. He will definitely come as per your demands!" Probably... Eloise wasn't entirely confident, but at this moment, she had no choice but to say so to save her life.
It was all up in the air here, and Octavius had it worse. Lysander directly ignored his calls and didn't reply to his messages. The man in the black vest was probably doing this for the first time and felt he had no dignity left. He vented by hitting Octavius twice, then re-tied his hands.
Clang! The shiny knife was thrown onto the table, its blade trembling, making Eloise's heart skip a beat. "What did Isidore say?" The man in the black vest crossed over the chair and sat down. The poor chair legs creaked. Eloise quickly responded, "He'll come!"
Seeing her attitude so eager, the man in the black vest let out a strange, eerie laugh. "Don't you know calling him here is a death wish? Looks like your feelings for him aren't that deep." He helped himself to some food, not bothering to tie Eloise back up, probably because he didn't think she posed much of a threat.
Eloise paused, then initiated a conversation, "Uh, sir, I don't quite understand. Since you're asking Isidore to come, why not directly ask him for money? Two million, he should be able to afford that, right...?"
The man in the white vest laughed at her naivety. "Don't you know what kind of person your husband is? If we extort him, do you think we'll have any future? I'm afraid even your family will suffer the consequences."
"That's different," the man in the black vest interrupted with a sneer. "No matter how glorious Isidore is, he's just a tool for Mr. Ravenscroft. If the tool breaks, you get a new one. Who would seek revenge for him?"
Eloise fell silent.
"You're not actually sad, are you?" The man in the white vest laughed mockingly, pointing at her. "To think anyone would be upset over that cold-blooded Isidore! If you knew what he did to climb to the top, you'd be thankful we helped you leave him."
The man in the black vest laughed too and took out a bottle of liquor, "It's rare to see a lady with such loyalty, but with the wrong person. Come on, let's have a drink, just pretend he's already dead!" The man in the white vest reminded, "She's pregnant, she can't drink."
The man in the black vest glared at him, "Isidore's almost gone, why keep his child? Being a single mother isn't so easy!" Eloise looked at the orange-red liquor, rolled up her sleeve, and said, "I'll drink!"
"Good!" The man in the white vest set up a shabby stool for her to sit on. Seizing the moment when her glass was filled, she asked curiously, "Isidore's skills aren't weak either. Aren't you afraid that after drinking, you won't be able to handle him?"
"He'll take at least three or four hours. Besides," the man in the black vest grinned maliciously, "Isn't there still you? When the knife is pressed against your delicate neck, you'll know just how deep his feelings for you really are."
Eloise felt a chill run down her neck. She hurriedly lifted her glass and drank it all in one go, choking and coughing. She wasn't good at drinking, but she made a point to refill the glasses of the two kidnappers. "Drink up! Here's to wishing you both financial freedom."
With a beautiful lady, her drunken, awkward, and naive demeanor serving as the perfect side dish, and the two kidnappers feeling certain they would win the two million bounty for killing Isidore, they reveled in their victory in advance, both of them drinking heartily without a care.
Eloise knew they weren't foolish enough to let her get drunk. She simply wanted to relax their guard and weaken their fighting ability. Her tolerance for alcohol wasn't great, but she remembered Isidore once telling her that drinking wasn't about how much you could handle, but about willpower.
She put that very thought into practice, striving to keep her mind clear and focused. Amazingly, she managed to keep up with the two men for nearly two hours without showing any signs of drunkenness, though she could feel a growing heat inside her body.
"Sir, why do I feel so hot?" The fire spread to her brain, and the sparks seemed to destroy her remaining clarity. The man in the white vest laughed loudly, his gaze lewd. "You've been drinking a tonic; it's only now that it's kicking in."
No wonder, Eloise chuckled softly, undoing the top two buttons of her shirt and fanning her collar to cool down. The tonic they mentioned could only be for one purpose. She felt fine, except for a tight, empty sensation in her lower abdomen, while both men were clearly aroused.
"No wonder, sir," Eloise directed her gaze at the man in the white vest. "The more I look at you, the more I think you're quite handsome, almost on par with Isidore." She giggled foolishly, but the man in the white vest could no longer hold back and pulled her closer.
The man in the black vest, seeing the heated atmosphere between the two, cursed under his breath and pushed his chair away, heading towards Octavius. Eloise avoided looking at the man in the white vest's face, her hand sliding down his waist, buying herself more time.
"No, please! When Isidore arrives and sees you like this, how unprofessional will it look?" The man in the white vest shouted, pointing angrily at the wall. "When he arrives, let him wait outside. Our place is secure; no one's getting in."
Eloise glanced at the red button and thought, "Well, well, another unexpected benefit." "Th-then that's good!" Her hand, still resting on the man in the white vest's waist, continued sliding downward. At the same time, a look of silent hope flashed across her anxious face as she subtly cast her gaze toward Octavius.
Though Octavius' hands were bound, he still twisted his body in resistance. The man in the black vest, burning with frustration, struck him twice with anger, then forcefully pressed down on him. Then, a loud, agonized scream echoed through the room.
"What happened to you?" The man in the white vest looked in surprise, while Eloise knew Octavius had succeeded. Her heart leaped with joy as she took the opportunity to grab the gun from his waist and, stepping back, aimed it at him. "Don't move!"
Octavius pushed the man in the black vest away with both hands, his body drenched in blood. The man in the black vest lay on the ground, clutching his chest in agony, a knife lodged in it—the same one that had been thrown on the table earlier, used to cut the ropes binding their wrists.
In the haze of drunkenness, Eloise secretly moved the knife to the floor, then quietly kicked it behind Octavius, signaling him to cut the ropes binding his wrists. She instructed him to hide it and wait for the right moment to use it. Throughout the entire ordeal, the two kidnappers remained oblivious, all thanks to their underestimation of the situation.
Octavius smiled at Eloise, but saw her expression change suddenly. "Watch out behind you!" Before he could turn around, excruciating pain struck the back of his head, followed by sharp, bone-crushing pain all over his body with each hit.
It was unclear whether it was due to his unusual physique or because it was Octavius' first time stabbing someone, but he missed the vital spots. Despite the injuries, the man in the black vest still had enough strength to laugh coldly at Eloise after beating Octavius. "Shoot, then. Let's see how you can hit both of us with just one gun."
As he spoke, he reached for his waist, as if to draw a gun. Eloise screamed, firing two shots—both barely grazing the man in the white vest, like mere outlines. However, she had no hope for her marksmanship. Taking advantage of the gunshots, she threw the handgun past the man in the black vest, aiming it in Octavius' direction.
In her panic, she suddenly remembered—Octavius was a shooting champion! The gun hit the ground, and as the man in the black vest turned to run over, a pale, bloodied hand reached it before him, swiftly lifting the gun and pulling the trigger. "Bang!" The man in black was finally out of the game.
"Bro!" The man in the white vest screamed in fury, no longer able to hold back his rage. Like a crazed beast, he lunged at Eloise, shouting, "Bitch, I'll kill you!" Eloise screamed as she ran towards the wall, heading straight for the door button with a clear purpose in mind.
After pressing the button, Eloise sprinted towards the exit. However, the man in the white vest was too close behind. She was forced to change direction after just a few steps to create some distance. So, when Isidore walked in, what he saw was a scene that looked more like a chase game, a kind of "playful" pursuit.
"Isidore, woo, you're finally here!" Eloise rushed into his arms, her tensed nerves finally relaxing. Isidore frowned and pushed her away, then punched the man in the white vest, knocking him to the ground. "Eloise, what's going on now?"
As the man in the white vest was getting up, a small hand grabbed Isidore's collar. Eloise clung to him, calling out "Isel" and "Isidore" in a sticky voice, her eyes glazed as she leaned in to plant a soft, pink, moist kiss on him. "Isel, I'm so hot…"
"What are you doing?" Her face was a mess, reeking of cheap alcohol, but despite this, Isidore found his head in her embrace, unable to escape, as she clung to him like a rabbit gnawing on a carrot. At the same time, from the corner of his eye, Isidore saw the man in the white vest getting up again.
