Niamh let out a breath of relief and scanned her surroundings calmly. Just as she thought of escaping, Tanner’s proud voice drifted to her.
“Bullsh*t. Of course, I’ve got it handled. She’s right here.
“We split the money in half. We’ll still get to live freely even with the debt paid back. As for her, I’ll definitely have my fun torturing her!
“Tsk. You’re the only one evil enough to think of such a plan, you wicked b*tch! Fine. I’ll be there shortly!”
With that, Niamh now knew that there was an accomplice on the other side of the phone and that the accomplice was a woman.
That accomplice was most likely an enemy of hers as well.
By the time Niamh could guess who that woman might be, Tanner had hung up and returned.
He took a rope to tie Niamh’s legs together while he continued to spout vile things from his mouth. “Just wait obediently for me to come back, Niamh. Then, I’ll show you how good I am!”
Tanner then blindfolded Niamh’s eyes with a scrap piece of cloth before leaving the factory happily and locking the door behind him.
Niamh tried to struggle, but it was to no avail.
…
Time ticked soundlessly away and it was already nine o’clock.
In the town office, Kendrick waited quietly.
Watching young couples walking in happily hand-in-hand and walking out with sweet smiles on their faces, Kendrick could not help but think of the scene when he and Niamh had gotten registered.
She was just like these girls, eyes full of hope as she admired him carefully.
Thinking of her adoration-filled eyes, Kendrick’s heart ached.
It was his fault for not cherishing their time together, so how could he blame Niamh for her decision today?
Kendrick snapped back from his thoughts and looked at the time. It was already nine-thirty.
As selfishly as Kendrick wished for Niamh not to appear, they had promised to meet at nine o’clock and she was late. Kendrick felt uneasy.
He immediately called Niamh, but no one answered.
He was about to call her again but instead received a call from the police saying that Niamh’s car had stopped by the road. Its window was smashed and the person was gone.
They had called him because Kendrick was still listed as her husband when they searched for her kinship.
Kendrick knew something was wrong before the call ended.
Thinking about how Niamh might be in peril, Kendrick frantically contacted Jackson who was still in kindergarten.
Jackson’s phone was the only device with the application that could track Niamh’s immediate location.
Soon enough, Jackson sent the address to Kendrick. Hiding in the bathroom, he called his father secretly. “Did something happen to Mommy, Daddy?”
Kendrick was driving nervously but made sure to comfort Jackson warmly. “Don’t worry, Jack. Daddy will bring your Mommy home safe. Go back to class, baby.”
Jackson obeyed and did not ask anymore.
The call ended and he stared at the blinking red dot on his phone, his large glossy eyes blinking in tandem.
Arriving at the location as fast as he could, Kendrick realized he had arrived at an abandoned factory.
He stopped the car at the gate and went to stand at the windows when he realized the door inside was padlocked.
He thought to take a look at the situation inside first, but looking up, he was met with the sight of Niamh being tied up.
Her hands and legs were tied while her eyes were blindfolded. Her jacket had also been ripped up, leaving her fair shoulders and arms for all to see.
Kendrick felt his heart hurt as he watched her struggle against her binds. Raising a fist, he punched the glass window in front of him.
Crash! The window shattered.
Niamh tucked her feet toward her reflexively and looked up despite only seeing black.
“Who’s there?” she asked skeptically although she knew that this was most likely not the same person who took her. After all, Tanner would not need to break the window if it was him.
Kendrick ran toward Niamh, his heart aching at the sight. He took his jacket off to wrap it around Niamh’s shoulder.
Taking in the cool and familiar scent of cedar, Niamh felt her heart quicken. “Kendrick? Is it you?”
Kendrick took off the cloth that covered Niamh’s eyes the same time she asked her question.
Just as she felt the light, Kendrick’s worried face was also reflected in Niamh’s eyes.
‘It really is him.’
Niamh muttered silently in her heart, and somehow, a feeling of security flowed through her heart.
“Nia, how are you? Are you hurt?” Kendrick asked with distress as he quickly untied the rope that bound her hands and feet.
Niamh shook her head. She was about to say something when she saw that the back of Kendrick’s right hand was full of blood.
She glanced at the broken glass window and suddenly realized that he had actually smashed the window with his fist.
Seeing that Niamh did not answer him, Kendrick asked again while feeling more worried.
“Nia, who brought you here? Did that person hurt you?”
Niamh came back to her senses. “It was a man. I think I’ve seen him somewhere before, but I can’t recall it now.”
She was about to stand up as she said this, but her legs suddenly went weak and she twisted her ankle.
Kendrick quickly hugged her waist and held her in his arms. “Nia.”
“My ankle is twisted.” Niamh frowned.
Kendrick grabbed Niamh in his arms and hugged her while helping her to the chair at the side.
He tried to open the window, but it was so rusty that he could not open it.
“Nia, sit down for a bit. I’ll go see if there are any other doors.”
He did not want her to go through the window like he had. There were a lot of broken shards and he was afraid that the glass would cut her skin.
He did not want to see her wounded and bleeding.
Kendrick looked around and found that although the lock to the back door was a bit rusty and could not be opened at first, as long as the lock was broken, the door could then be opened.
While looking for the tools, Kendrick asked Niamh, “Nia, did your captor tell you anything? Tell me, maybe I’ll know who it is.”
Thinking back to what Tanner had said, they were very nasty. However, in order to know who it was, Niamh told him frankly.
“He said he’s my old friend.”
“…” Kendrick paused in his actions as he looked back at Niamh with surprised, wide eyes.
“He also said that he wanted to sleep with me seven years ago but didn’t succeed.”
After these words were uttered, Niamh observed a dark undercurrent in Kendrick’s eyes.
Niamh continued, “He also said that if he could sleep with the woman you’ve slept with, he would be as capable as you.”
Kendrick was already suppressing his anger from the last sentence, but after hearing this, his handsome face was shrouded by clouds for a moment. Blue veins burst on his forehead. The cold light in his eyes was more like ice cones. It was as if the sharp coldness was about to overflow from his eyes in the next second.
In the end, he suppressed his anger for Niamh’s sake and uttered an affirmative from his thin lips, “It’s Tanner.”
“Tanner?” Niamh repeated the name, finding it unfamiliar. “He seems to have an accomplice. That accomplice should be a woman. She hates me very much.”
The first person Kendrick thought of was Nevaeh, but Nevaeh was already dead. Besides her, which other woman was there?
Tanner and his accomplice had just returned after their discussion when they suddenly saw an expensive sports car parked in front of the factory.
He took a closer look and confirmed that it was Kendrick’s sports car.
Tanner suddenly felt angry and annoyed. He had not even f*cking sent out any news of the kidnapping and extortion, so how did Kendrick find Niamh?
How was he to extort money now? How could he repay the loan sharks without the money? If he did not pay the loan sharks, he would be hacked to death by the gang!
If Niamh was to be rescued by Kendrick now, he would die even sooner!
Tanner quickly tried to think of something in a panic as he quietly walked to the iron gates.
He heard the voices of Niamh and Kendrick talking inside. Kendrick already knew that he was the one who kidnapped Niamh.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.