Chapter 653 Kidnapping
After dinner, Triston and Aidan consciously refrained from inviting Branden to have a drink. They both knew that he was now a devoted boyfriend.
Catherine had to go to school the next day, so when she finished her food, Branden left the private room with her. “Do you have class tomorrow morning? ” he asked.
Catherine shook her head.
Upon getting the answer, Branden told the driver, “To the apartment!” With no morning class tomorrow, Catherine could sleep in.
Recently, Catherine had been rushing to complete the experiment. Breaking through the final stage of research and development was not easy. Previously, even after working intensively for a month, she wouldn’t get tired. But after Branden started taking care of her, she seemed to feel drowsy easily after eating.
Seeing her eyelids drooping, Branden put his hand on her shoulder, gently pulling her into his arms. “Rest for a while. I’ll wake you when we arrive,” he said. Catherine nodded, adjusting herself to a comfortable position, and closed her eyes.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Paxton knew Catherine was resting and didn’t dare to speak. He sent the latest information to Branden on his phone, saying, [Boss, Shane just came out of the hospital!]
At 3 PM today, the stock price of the Duncan Corporation closed at 1243, an increase of nearly a thousand percentage points. This meant that the Breen Group, which had been competing with the Duncan Corporation, had lost over 100 billion dollars.
Besides the Breens’ capital, over half of the funds they lost were raised by Edson. Now, with such heavy losses, these people wouldn’t forgive Edson, let alone the Breens behind him. Edson had caused such a huge disaster this time, it was normal for Shane to come to clean up the mess immediately.
“Double the manpower at the school!” Branden ordered.
When Paxton heard his boss’s instructions, he hesitated for a moment. Branden had been making preparations for the Breens’ aggressive arrival. Shane’s personal visit to Eskana would definitely lead to a battle. At a time like this, they didn’t have enough manpower, but now they had to send their elites to protect Catherine in secret, which sure was a bold act.
After a moment, however, Paxton replied, “Yes, Boss.” He had always been by Branden’s side and understood Catherine’s importance to Branden. Only when Catherine was safe could Branden fully concentrate.
When Catherine arrived at the school in the afternoon, she received a message from Ronin reading, [Boss, help!]
Catherine frowned and immediately called back. After a few beeps, a voice came from the other end of the line, but it didn’t belong to Ronin.
“Ms. Swann, long time no see!”
Hearing the familiar voice, Catherine immediately understood what was going on. She smiled and responded softly, “I didn’t expect to see you. Where’s Ronin?”
The call abruptly ended, and shortly after, Catherine received a text message from the other party with an address.
Catherine called Amelia and asked her to help take a leave of absence. Once everything was arranged, Catherine went directly to the address she had received.
It wasn’t far, just near the school. Ten minutes later, Catherine saw the person who had been talking to her over Ronin’s phone.
It was the head butler of the Breens, Shane’s most trusted subordinate, Jay Hoffman. He had lived in the Breens for a lifetime.
Jay’s eyes lit up with joy the moment he saw Catherine, and he greeted her with a bright smile on his face, “Ms. Swann, you look great lately. It seems like you’ve been having a good time in Eskana!”
Catherine didn’t have time to chat with Jay. She only said coldly, “Where is he? Take him out.”
Jay naturally knew who she was referring to, but he was clearly unhappy with Catherine’s cold attitude, and his face immediately darkened.
“Ms. Swann, please rest assured. He is unharmed. We haven’t seen each other for so long. We should sit down and have a cup of coffee, shouldn’t we?”
The moment Jay finished speaking, Catherine frowned, and her icy voice echoed throughout the room. “It seems I’ve been away for too long, and you’ve forgotten my rules!” She never liked to say things twice. At this moment, however, Jay was blatantly defying her.
Jay’s face darkened, and his eyes showed a hint of nervousness. But what Catherine said next completely panicked him.
Her sharp eyes had a cold look, giving off a strong sense of oppression. ” Killing Shane might be a bit troublesome, but I can kill you easily, anytime, anywhere!”
Jay knew Catherine was not just talking. If she really wanted to kill him, he wouldn’t even have a chance to escape.
Jay hesitated. He knew how formidable Catherine was. But the task was given by his boss. If he couldn’t complete it, there would be no way to explain it to his boss.
Catherine noticed his hesitation and generously offered him a solution. ”
Tell your boss that I will go to meet him. But before that, give my person back to me!”
Upon hearing Catherine’s words, Jay breathed a sigh of relief. The purpose of kidnapping Ronin was to make Catherine appear, and now that she had agreed, Ronin was no longer important.
Jay glanced at his subordinate standing beside him, and the subordinate immediately stepped back. Not long after, Ronin was brought out.
When Ronin saw Catherine, he was very excited. He knew that she would come to rescue him. He had never doubted it from beginning to end. “Catherine!” he called out and quickly rushed to her side.
The bodyguards wanted to stop him but were stopped by Jay. They were no match for Catherine. Jay didn’t want to see any useless casualties.
Catherine glanced at Ronin beside her. ” Is everything ready?”
Ronin nodded. He knew what Catherine was concerned about. “Catherine, everything is on me. They didn’t give me a hard time!”
“Good.” Catherine nodded slightly and walked away, with Ronin following closely behind.
The bodyguards watched Catherine leave, feeling anxious. Their task today was to bring Catherine back, so they couldn’t just let her leave like that.
As the bodyguards were about to take action, Jay stopped them. “You are no match for her!”
They knew they were no match for Catherine, but they still intended to try to complete the task. Jay calmly said, ” Stop. I’ll take care of it.”
Upon hearing that Jay was willing to take responsibility, the bodyguards stopped their intention to take action. Jay knew that they couldn’t stop Catherine. He also knew that his boss was aware of this. Now that Catherine had agreed, he could report it to his boss, which was enough.
After leaving the estate, Ronin finally spoke up. “Catherine, did you negotiate any conditions with them?”
Ronin felt regretful. He had thought he was strong enough, but he was so vulnerable in front of the Breens. They knew him all too well, even better than he knew himself. They easily subdued him and made him a bargaining chip. If Catherine had really compromised on any conditions to save him, he would be ready to die.
