Bethan had a feeling that Jude must have misunderstood this woman.
“Thank you.”
Vanessa smiled. “Well, I do hope you’re not just saying this because I’m helping you.”
With that, she lifted her head to stare in Jude’s direction once more. “Mrs. Morrison, did you ever fall for your husband so crazily in the past?”
Bethan paused, then smiled. “Yes, I did.”
The truth was, she had been head over heels for him, and every time she recalled her past, Bethan would be in awe of how naive she had been in the past.
She had been so naive to the point where she had willingly married someone that she knew did not love her back.
“Well, I guess you can understand how I feel right now.”
Vanessa curled her lips into a smile. “
I’ve known him since a long, long time ago, and perhaps he doesn’t even remember, but that’s okay. It can live on in my memory, solely for my keeping.”
Bethan did not know what to say to this. A split second later, she sighed and replied, “Well, if you need any help regarding anything between you and Jude…feel free to ask me for help.”
Vanessa smiled at this. “Okay.”
The two women continued chatting for a while more when Bethan’s phone suddenly rang.
It was John.
“Bethan.”
John’s voice was nasally as though he had been crying, but he seemed emotionally stable as of now. “Mr. Morrison has told me everything. I’m already at the police station now, and the police have lodged a report, but I need your help. Please send your address to me, and I’ll come pick you up right now.”
Bethan paused and replied, “No need to go to so much trouble. You can send me the location of the police station you’re not, and I’ll ask Jude to send me there.”
“Alright then.”
With that, John hung up the phone and sent Bethan a message with his coordinates.
The police station was not too far from the cafe they were at, and when they arrived, they saw John waiting at the police station entrance anxiously.
He caught sight of them as soon as they arrived and strode over. “Bethan, is this…”
Before he could even finish his sentence, however, he recognized the woman standing next to Bethan. “It’s you?”
Bethan furrowed her brow when she noticed the surprise on John’s face. “Do you know each other?”
“We do.”
Vanessa curled her lips into a smile. “His wife used to be a plastic surgeon at the hospital, and I met him there and even talked to him a little bit. Then, when he was starting his own business, I even lent him some money.”
All of a sudden, Vanessa lifted her head to stare at John as though she suddenly recalled something. “So are you Mrs. Morrison’s friend’s husband?”
“Um…”
He glanced uneasily at Bethan as she said this.
“Yes, the one who was kidnapped is Dr. Zimmer.”
Bethan furrowed her brow momentarily, then smiled when she realized what Vanessa was thinking. “I almost forgot –Anne told me that she had met you in the hospital before.”
Vanessa finally let out a sigh of relief at this. “It turns out Dr. Zimmer was the one who had been kidnapped.”
She almost thought that John and Anne’s marriage had failed and that his wife who had been kidnapped was someone else instead.
“I didn’t know you had undergone plastic surgery before, Ms. Chance,” all of a sudden, a cold voice rang out next to them.
Vanessa frowned and glanced in the direction of the voice.
Jude was standing behind them with his arms crossed, glaring at her. “But I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Ms. Chance has grown up a spoiled child, so of course you’d get anything you want, to a point where you’re willing to pay to get the face you want.’
Then, he strode to Vanessa’s side and eyed her fair, rosy face in a disgusted manner. “I had been wondering why a beautiful woman like you would turn out to be so evil, but now, I finally realize the truth-even your beauty is fake.”
The color drained from Vanessa’s face when she heard this. She clenched her fists and muttered, “Do you seriously have to insult me like this, Jude?”
She had already explained to him countless times that what happened that night was just a misunderstanding, yet he was adamant that she was the mastermind behind this scheme.
He was certain that she was the one who had sent the woman he loved abroad and had spiked his drink while he was not looking.
A twinge of pain shot through Vanessa’s heart as she gazed at the face of the man she had loved for six years. No one, not even her family, had ever caused her as much anguish as this man did.
“Me? Insult you?”
Jude scoffed and sneered. “You’ve done every bad thing under the sun, yet you can’t take a few insults?”
With that, he turned to glance at Bethan. “Well, Brettley’s task for me was to send you here, and now that my work here is done, I’ll be off now.”
Then, he turned and walked away.
Vanessa bit her lip as she watched him leave.
“Are you okay?”
Bethan pursed her lip, glancing first at Jude’s car, which was pulling away, then at Vanessa. “Please don’t take his words to heart. I’m sure this is all just a misunderstanding…” “That’s okay.”
Vanessa smiled. “I guess he still doesn’t know me well enough. I’m sure he’ll grow to like me eventually as time passes, and so what if he doesn’t? I’m content with just being by his side.”
Vanessa shook her head as though she were shaking all the negative feelings away. “Now’s not the time to discuss this. Aren’t we going to save Dr. Zimmer? You should go in. I need to give Willow a call first.”
With that, she let out an exhale and strode into the police station.
Bethan glanced first at Vanessa’s retreating figure, then in the direction Jude had left in, and sighed.
Vanessa…reminded her of the devoted, loyal woman she had been many, many years ago.
“Vanessa Chance?”
After entering the interrogation room, Vanessa plopped down in a chair and dialed Willow’s number as instructed by the police.
Willow was a little surprised to receive this call. “Why are you calling me all of a sudden?”
Willow knew that rich socialites like Vanessa hated mingling with lowly people like her.
“Yes, it’s me.”
Vanessa paused when she sensed the shock in Willow’s voice and replied, “Do you still remember that you got in touch with me two years ago and said you’d be able to help me get my money back?”
Willow was silent for a moment, then chuckled. “Yes, I do, but didn’t you tell me you didn’t need my help?”
“Yes, but I do now,”
Vanessa said, glancing at the policeman next to her.
The policeman gestured for her to continue the conversation and stall Willow as much as she could.
Bethan and John were sitting to a side, growing more and more excited as they watched the police begin to trace the location of the call.
Even though they had received a paper that stated Anne would be unscathed as long as they attended the wedding that night, this did not guarantee that the kidnapper would do exactly as she had promised.
One could not be sure whether the kidnapper would harm Anne, nor could they be certain that she would indeed let Anne go as she promised.
They would have to abide by the kidnapper’s orders, but at the same time, they could not give up on trying to save Anne. This was the only solution to the problem at hand.
“But I don’t have much time to help you now.”
Willow curled her lips into a smirk as she lay against the sofa lazily. “I’ll be honest with you: I received a huge business opportunity from my brother’s company, and if I succeed in carrying this job out, my brother and I will be rich for the rest of our lives. Tell me how much you’re going to offer me. If the money doesn’t attract me, I won’t help you.”
Vanessa hesitated for a moment, then turned to glance at Bethan.
Bethan nodded at her.
Vanessa finally let out an exhale and replied, “Well, the job offer I have for you is a huge one too. Do you know Mr. Brettley Morrison?”
Willow fell silent upon hearing this. After a long time, she replied in a low voice, “Why wouldn’t I?”
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.