Free Web NovelChapter 137: Chapter 137: Nina Halloway is Kidnapped
"Is that your car?" Sophie Shaw asked.
"Yes."
Anne hurried toward the black sedan.
She looked all around, but there was no sign of Nina Halloway anywhere.
"Nina’s gone."
Seeing the glass shards on the ground, especially the few pieces stained with blood, a terrible feeling washed over Anne. She immediately dialed Nina Halloway’s number, and the ringing came from between the cushions of the back seat.
She followed the sound and found Nina Halloway’s phone. When she saw Ethan Austin walking over, she was overcome with anger and started pounding on his chest with her fists.
"I told you to wait in the car! You didn’t listen! Now Nina’s gone, what are we going to do?"
Ethan Austin was also in a panic. He never imagined something would happen to Nina Halloway in the short time he was away.
The three of them began searching the underground garage for any trace of Nina Halloway, but she was nowhere to be found.
During the search, Sophie Shaw made an alarming discovery: the wires to all the garage’s security cameras had been deliberately cut.
Without hesitating, she immediately pulled out her phone to call the police, then contacted Alaric Blackwood.
The police arrived before Alaric Blackwood. After examining the scene, they gave their preliminary conclusion.
"It’s highly likely Nina Halloway has been kidnapped."
The police began questioning Sophie Shaw and the other two. Anne revealed a crucial clue: Nina Halloway had recently been receiving threatening packages containing terrifying letters.
"Nina filed a police report over there when she was filming in Pinewood."
"Has she had any conflicts or disagreements with anyone in her personal or professional life?"
"Well..."
Anne didn’t know how to answer. Nina Halloway was an absolute workaholic. She had previously clashed with a male actor who had just entered the industry. He wasn’t professionally trained, had no acting experience, and was only in the cast because he was good-looking, came from a wealthy family, and wanted to be a star. His family had basically paid to get him the role.
The actor couldn’t remember his lines and would just recite numbers on set—like "one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine." Not only that, but his acting was terrible, and Nina Halloway lost her temper with him during one of their scenes together.
After that ’humiliation,’ the actor quit the role. The part was recast, and he subsequently announced he was quitting the industry. His social media accounts haven’t been updated since.
"If I remember correctly, the threatening letters started arriving one after another right after Nina’s conflict with that actor."
This was a very useful lead. "What’s the actor’s name?" the officer pressed. freewebnovel.cσ๓
"Leon Grant."
Alaric Blackwood arrived just then. As he got out of his car, he happened to hear Anne say the name. He paused for a moment, then walked over and provided the police with more information about Leon Grant.
"He’s the second son of the Grant Group’s chairman. Twenty-six years old. He was a high school classmate of mine and an obsessive admirer of my sister. He pursued her from high school all the way through college. After being rejected, he went abroad. I’m not sure when he returned."
That was something for the police to investigate.
After gathering the relevant information, the police officially opened an investigation.
The scene was meticulously examined and evidence was collected. The car was also towed away by the police.
Although the security cameras in the underground garage were destroyed, the cameras outside the parking structure were intact. However, screening for suspicious vehicles would take time.
Ethan Austin was blaming himself. He never imagined something like this could happen. It was a dereliction of his duty...
The police told them to go home and wait for news. Since their car had been towed, he and Anne had no choice but to get into Sophie Shaw’s car.
"Take them back to The Metropolis," Alaric Blackwood instructed Sophie Shaw.
"What about you?"
"I have something else to take care of."
Sophie Shaw nodded thoughtfully and drove away with the siblings.
Watching the blue Cayenne disappear from view, Alaric Blackwood returned to his own car. He found Leon Grant’s number in his contacts and dialed it without hesitation.
Leon Grant answered quickly, his tone surprised. "Mr. Blackwood, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Where are you?"
"You need something from me?"
"Where?"
Alaric Blackwood asked again, his voice cold and heavy with pressure. Leon Grant didn’t waste any more words and gave him his location.
A bar called ’The Eighth Day Bar’.
Alaric Blackwood hung up and immediately drove over. On the way, he made another call, this time to Preston Chase.
He told Preston Chase to do a thorough background check on Leon Grant.
When he arrived at The Eighth Day Bar, a tall man in black pants and a black shirt greeted him as soon as he walked in. "Mr. Blackwood, this way, please."
The man led him inside, stopping in front of a private room on the second floor.
"Young Master, Mr. Blackwood is here."
The man knocked on the door to announce his arrival.
"Let him in."
A cold, clear voice came from inside.
The man pushed the door open and stepped aside to let Alaric Blackwood pass.
The private room was thick with foul, smoky air. There were only two people inside. One was Leon Grant, who had his arms around a voluptuous woman, pressing her against the sofa and kissing her wildly.
Alaric Blackwood’s brow furrowed the moment he saw the scene.
He walked into the room and sat on the sofa opposite Leon Grant. The man in black who had led him in tactfully closed the door and stood guard outside.
Leon Grant continued to maul the woman with kisses for nearly ten minutes, a blatant display of disrespect toward Alaric Blackwood.
The woman’s face was flushed, her eyes hazy as if she’d been plied with a great deal of alcohol.
Leon Grant gripped her by the waist and turned her over.
She knelt on the sofa, and with one motion, his large hand pushed her skirt up to her waist...
"That’s enough. You planning to put on a live show?"
Alaric Blackwood said coldly. "Even if you want to, I have no desire to watch. Don’t disgust me."
Hearing Alaric Blackwood’s voice, Leon Grant slapped the woman’s rear and let out an extremely flippant laugh. "So, what brings Mr. Blackwood to see me?"
"Did you write those threatening letters?"
Leon Grant put on an innocent look. "What threatening letters?"
"It wasn’t you?"
"You received threatening letters?"
"My sister has been kidnapped."
Leon Grant’s hand, still gripping the woman’s waist, suddenly tightened. The woman cried out in pain.
Annoyed, the man frowned, his mood for continuing with the woman instantly gone.
He shoved the woman away. "Get out."
Confused, the woman tried to press against him again to placate him, but he kicked her away, sending her sprawling wretchedly to the floor.
"Get the hell out, now!"
Terrified, the woman straightened her clothes and scrambled out of the room.
The private room fell silent.
Leon Grant lit a cigarette. "Your sister gets kidnapped," he said to Alaric Blackwood, "so you come looking for me. What’s that supposed to mean? You suspect me?"
"Did you do it?"
"No."
Leon Grant exhaled a puff of smoke, his brow furrowed.
"It had better not be you. Or I’ll skin you alive."
With that sharp warning, Alaric Blackwood stood up, left the room, and slammed the door with a thunderous bang.
He had just left when, a short while later, the police arrived.
...
「Dusk.」
The wind picked up and the clouds rolled in, the weather taking a sudden turn.
Sophie Shaw had been in no mood to work that afternoon. After dropping Anne and Ethan Austin off at The Metropolis, she hadn’t left, staying with the siblings to wait for news from the police.
"This is all my fault."
Ethan Austin was still blaming himself.
He knew nothing about Nina Halloway’s past. He had assumed that being a celebrity’s bodyguard just meant following her to work and events, keeping unauthorized people away. He never dreamed she could be kidnapped.
