Sheryn was taken away by Howard as an afterthought midway through their journey. She and Rachel sat in the car, the former in a much greater panic than the latter, who was calm and composed.
“Who are you? Who in the world are you people? Please, I can give you as much money as you ask for. Please let me go!” Sheryn shrieked, terrified.
Howard pulled the hood off Sheryn’s head. “What the hell are you yelling for?” Her cries were annoying him.
Sheryn was stunned to see Howard. “Mr. Ziegler, why…why did you abduct me?” Then, she looked at the woman next to her and realized it was Rachel. “What are you doing here?”
Rachel tilted her jaw in Howard’s way. “You should be asking him instead. Howard, how old are you? You’re still playing childish games like this.”
Howard sneered as he leaned back against the chair. “What do you know, Rachel? You think the world of Tyler, don’t you? I’ll see which of you two he’ll choose today.”
Sheryn chuckled self-derisively. “Mr. Ziegler, is this really necessary to see what choice my cousin will make?” Sheryn glared at Rachel. “He’ll definitely choose her. They were being all lovey-dovey the last time I saw them at his office. I heard from my mom that he’s never brought a woman back home before.” Tyler had made way too many exceptions for Rachel’s sake.
Howard didn’t agree with Sheryn’s take on the matter. He lit a cigarette and took a puff.
“Can’t be so sure about that. Sheryn Lyons, you may not be your mother’s biological child, but I know that Tyler wouldn’t have survived back then without her. He’s been financially supporting your family all these years, hasn’t he? You’re her only daughter. Sometimes, an adopted child might be closer than a biological one. If Tyler’s choice caused her to lose her only daughter today, he might think twice.”
Howard pulled out a sharp dagger. Sheryn’s face turned pale in an instant. She looked at it in fright, her voice trembling. “N–No way, Mr. Ziegler! It’s fine if you’re just fooling around, but please don’t kill us!”
Unknown to the rest, Rachel silently pulled out a blade from behind her and started cutting the rope while Howard was distracted by Sheryn. She didn’t have the habit of carrying something so dangerous with her, but there were mentions of suspicious people appearing outside Tyler’s apartment. And so, she kept her guard up. From then on, she would always carry a blade wherever she went. Never did she expect to actually use it today.
She tried to cut the rope and said to Howard, “Must you give Mr. Ziegler something to do at his age? I’m telling you, we’re a civilized society with laws. You can fool around as much as you want, but if you took a life, that’s certainly not something even your family can keep under wraps. Tyler would never spare you.”
Howard smirked as he flicked the ash from his cigarette out of the window. “So what? Do you have poor memory? I told you earlier, the Lewises no longer give a damn about Tyler. No matter what I do to him, Mr. Lewis wouldn’t do a thing. Come to think of it, I should thank you for that.”