Chapter 502

Bryan glanced at Carmen before continuing. “I got some news. Right now, Bowen doesn’t want to make a big deal out of this. Not many people know Nina was kidnapped, and Darius definitely won’t reveal who was taken.”

He continued, “Aubree and the others are busy searching for Nina’s whereabouts. By the time they react, the chaos will have already started. Even if she tries to clarify it later, so what? Dad, you haven’t forgotten about the pawn we planted in Südlichen Strand, have you?”

He added, “It’s time to act. Aubree definitely won’t be able to handle all this! This time, GrabCheap is bound to take a heavy hit!”

Ronald thought over Bryan’s suggestion, weighed the pros and cons, and concluded it was the best move they had at the moment.

If luck was on their side, they might even knock GrabCheap off its pedestal. A kidnapped friend, trouble in the company, such a blow might just bring Aubree down. At that point, he, as a father, could step in to offer support. She might let go of her grudge.

“Timothy’s group is a ticking time bomb,” Ronald’s eyes gleamed. “Make sure Nina stays alive, but letting her have a little accident might make Aubree feel even more guilt and pain.”

Though it sounded like he was offering an opinion, it was clearly a command.

Bryan responded, “Just let Timothy’s people stir up a bit of trouble. You’re right, Dad. They can’t stay around much longer.”

He turned to Alice. “Mom, if I remember correctly, Timothy’s place is remote and deserted. You usually arrange for people to deliver their supplies, right? It’s been quite a while since the last delivery. They must be running low.”

Alice’s brow twitched. “What are you planning?”

Bryan replied, “We’ll lace their food with a slow-acting poison. Make them commit suicide out of guilt.”

Alice was severely tempted. This would also take care of a problem for her. After all, dead men tell no tales.

Ronald looked at Bryan with satisfaction. Bryan was calm under pressure, able to come up with such a solid plan. Bryan reminded him of himself in his younger days.

Bryan said, “Speaking of Südlichen Strand, that mole we placed there seems quite capable. Even managed to connect with Birgitte.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Given Patrick’s personality, I’m not surprised. Women, no matter how strong, are all the same in the end.”

He said this without the slightest regard for the fact that Carmen and Alice were present.

Alice didn’t react. Her mind was elsewhere.

Carmen’s brows lowered slightly as she let out a soft snort.

“Major King, we’ve done an initial sweep as per your orders. Even though this is on the outskirts of the capital, you know how it is in Rithol City. Every square foot is valuable, even for building a public restroom. We need more time.”

Mark was on the phone, his expression neither particularly good nor bad. Hearing that Nina’s life wasn’t in danger had calmed him somewhat.

He said, “Keep searching. Run it concurrently to save time.”

The other end responded, “Yes, sir.”

Mark hung up. They had lost Nina’s trail, and couldn’t just run around like headless chickens. So they stayed at the spot where her tracker had been discarded.

Mark said, “The area’s too large. It’ll take time to search. We probably won’t get results tonight. I’ll stay here. You all should go get some rest.”

“I asked her for help. She agreed because of an old favor. Whether it’s Nina or Aubree in danger, I couldn’t walk away now,” Bowen rejected the suggestion. Even though he was fairly confident Nina wouldn’t be harmed, she’d gotten into trouble because of Aubree. If she didn’t return safe and sound, Aubree would surely hold a grudge.

Aubree had no plans to leave either. They all knew that “not life-threatening” didn’t mean “not dangerous.”

“I…” She was just about to say she’d stay too, when her phone interrupted.

Bowen glanced over. It was a call from Vincent. “Answer it. Maybe the people behind this are up to something new.”

Aubree picked up and said, “Hello? I was kidnapped? Have we tracked the source of that rumor?”

She frowned. “Reporters are swarming the Walton family? Got it. Keep an eye on the Wilson family."

Meeting Bowen’s inquisitive gaze, Aubree smiled faintly. “Looks like you were right. The ghosts hiding in the shadows are finally moving.”

She continued. “The only people who knew about the kidnapping were us, the Walton family, and the Wilson family. Vincent just called to say there’s a rumor going around online that I was kidnapped at the Walton family banquet.”

“Reporters are already blocking the Walton family estate. It won’t be long before Darius asks you what to do.” Aubree looked at Bowen.

Before they left the Walton family, he had specifically asked Darius to keep the matter quiet. Even if Darius didn’t respect Bowen, he’d at least want to avoid trouble for himself, so he’d help keep things under wraps.

That only left the Wilson family.

Bowen glanced at his phone again. Darius had just messaged, asking how to handle things.

“Bree, what do you think?” Obviously, the target of all this was her.

Aubree replied, “It’s about what I suspected from the beginning. I kept wondering why the Wilson family would want to kidnap me. Now it’s clear. They wanted me to disappear and stir up panic. If Bree Technology suffers any setbacks, wouldn’t it just be meat on the Wilson family’s chopping block?”

Bowen asked, “So… should we clear up the rumors?”

“No.” Aubree shook her head. “If the Wilson family dared to release false info, they must’ve prepared for me to clarify it. I’m going to help them instead. Let Mr. Walton acknowledge the kidnapping publicly.”

“Okay.” Bowen didn’t ask why. He just agreed.

Mark didn’t quite get the games played in the business world. “Isn’t this something you can just explain? Why complicate it?”

Aubree had originally planned to stay and confirm Nina’s safety, but trouble found her before she could make a move. “Sorry, I have to leave and keep an eye on the Wilson family. If you get any updates, let me know right away.”

It was already very late. Mark arranged for someone to drive her back. On the way, Aubree called Birgitte.

Birgitte exclaimed, “Ms. Miller, you scared me to death! I thought something happened to you!”

“Don’t worry, I’m fine,” Aubree reassured her.

When Birgitte saw the kidnapping rumor online, she almost ran straight to Rithol City. Hearing Aubree’s voice finally eased her nerves.

She asked, “What on earth happened?”

Aubree gave her a rough rundown. “I suspect it was the Wilson family…"

Birgitte’s tone became more serious. “Are you sure?”

Aubree replied, “Highly likely. After all those attacks on GrabCheap, I already suspected the Wilson family was behind it. At first, they couldn’t even break through our systems. Then suddenly they could do so much damage… I’m convinced we have a mole in the company.

She added, “This time they went to all this trouble to kidnap me. Even if they failed, they still spread the news. That means they don’t want to waste this opportunity. Follow the plan we discussed earlier.”

Aubree suddenly thought of someone. “Birgitte, are you and Patrick dating?”

“Yeah,” Birgitte replied.

Birgitte picked up on her implication. “Don’t worry, Ms. Miller. No matter who it is, I won’t go easy on them!”