Chapter 69
Chapter 69
Lydia continued, “I remember Emily hasn’t taken a single cent from the family since she came back. She must have run out of money weeks ago.
“What a coincidence. She gets kidnapped, and the kidnappers demand two million, insisting we send it in 30 minutes. They’re rushing us like they’re scared we’ll back out.”
She expressed her “doubts” with feigned innocence, acting as though she had no idea her words would raise suspicion.
The rest of the Bennett family exchanged looks, each sharing the same suspicion. They thought Lydia might be innocent, but they weren’t fooled. They believed this “kidnapping” was clearly a setup by Emily to extort money.
Lucas sneered coldly. “Not a damn cent. Murder is a felony. Let’s see if these so-called kidnappers actually dare to kill their hostage in thirty minutes.”
The Bennett family skipped their dinner, sitting in grim silence with their eyes fixed on their phones and waiting for the next thirty minutes to pass.
Lydia shot them a quick, sly glance, and a cold smirk flickered across her lips. ‘Just wait,’ she thought with satisfaction. ‘You’ll see what you’re expecting.
Half an hour later, the phone rang again. This time, it was a call for Emma.
Hayden said, “Mrs. Bennett, we know how much you love your daughter. Surely, you wouldn’t want anything to happen to her. I bet your husband wouldn’t want the kidnapping scandal to leak.
“We need two million dollars to be transferred to our account within thirty minutes. Otherwise…”
His voice dripped with menace, but the Bennett family felt only anger, not fear. Silence filled the room.
After another half hour, Andrew’s phone rang.
Hayden said, “Mr. Bennett, your precious little sister is in our hands. You’ve got thirty minutes if you want to see her unharmed.”
“Had enough of this act?” Andrew’s voice was eerily calm, edged with coldness. “Emily, if you needed money, you could’ve just asked the family. Why stoop to such vile tricks?”
Andrew’s face hardened with anger. “Couldn’t get anything from Lucas, so you targeted Mom and Dad? Now you’re trying to trick me, too? Did you even think about how much you’d frighten them? Emily, you’ve truly disappointed the whole family.”
A brief silence followed on the other end of the line before Emily’s soft chuckle broke through. “Did it ever cross your mind, Mr. Bennett, that I might actually be kidnapped?”
Andrew froze. Considering the Bennett family’s position in Cloudridge, if their heiress were kidnapped, anything could happen to her.
That was precisely why Emily has had bodyguards since childhood, with the Bennett family sparing no expense in hiring elite security personnel for Lydia.
However, Andrew was sure Emily hadn’t been kidnapped. She was just running another one of her clumsy money-grabbing schemes. It was too bad that her act was so poorly done that the Bennett family saw right through it.
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Chapter 69
Lucas abruptly grabbed the phone, his voice dripping with fury. “I wish it were true, Emily. If a scheming bitch like kidnapped, you’d deserve every second of it.”
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He snarled, “The so-called kidnapper wants money? Dream on! If you’re going to kill her, just do it and dump her body far away. I don’t want to hear a thing about it. She’s nothing but bad luck to me.”
With that, Lucas hung up and blocked the number.
The call ended abruptly. Hayden stared at the phone and laughed in disbelief. “The Bennett family raised you for eighteen damn years, and they really just toss you aside like that?”
Even through his helmet, Emily could sense the pity, though she no longer needed it. Fixing her gaze on the masked kidnapper, she thought, ‘Why did he say that? It seems he has already figured the Bennett family would ditch me.