Free Web NovelChapter 169: Chapter 169: Almost Fell into the Tiger’s Mouth
"It’s nothing."
Alaric Blackwood said that, but he was already piecing together the relationships in his mind.
If Claire Sterling and Ava Sterling were indeed the same person, and she had known Lydia Wynn since their childhood in the orphanage and kept in touch, then it would explain why Oscar Lynch, after getting to know Claire, had the audacity to go after his wife.
The one who truly wanted to make a move on Sophie Shaw was probably Lydia Wynn.
Although it was just speculation and he didn’t know what methods Lydia Wynn had used to bewitch Oscar Lynch, he had always trusted his instincts.
"Evan told me you got disciplined by the family?"
Jaden’s words pulled Alaric Blackwood back from his thoughts.
He blew out a smoke ring and said nonchalantly, "So you already know. Aren’t you going to come visit me?"
"Will you still be at the old manor tonight?"
"Yes."
"Save some dinner for me. I’ll come over tonight."
"Alright."
After hanging up, Jaden sighed, tossed his phone onto the sofa, and walked into the bedroom.
He noticed the bathroom door was open, and he could hear the sound of water running inside.
He walked over decisively, took off his shirt, and approached Stella Yarrow, who was in the middle of a shower. He wrapped his arms tightly around her from behind...
The two of them went from the bathroom to the bed.
A long while later.
Stella Yarrow snuggled in his embrace, her head resting on his arm. "Have you booked the restaurant for our parents’ meeting tomorrow night?"
"It’s booked."
Jaden leaned against the headboard and lit a cigarette. "I won’t be home for dinner tonight. I have to go out."
"Where to?"
"The Blackwoods’."
Stella Yarrow nodded thoughtfully, an unhappy expression on her face. She couldn’t help but feel that Alaric Blackwood had called to badmouth her again.
Although she had indeed been interested in Alaric Blackwood at first, she had never acted on it—it was just a thought. Now, her heart belonged completely to Jaden.
"If you go to the Blackwoods’, you’ll probably see Nina Halloway, won’t you?"
"My engagement with her has been called off. Besides, nothing ever happened between us. We were just engaged, that’s all."
Stella Yarrow huffed softly and chided, "You never kissed her or held her?"
"Never."
Jaden lied.
When Nina Halloway was hospitalized for a back injury, he had stayed with her in the hospital room for a while, taking meticulous care of her during that time.
"No intimate acts at all?"
"None."
Stella Yarrow looked up at him and noticed his eyes darting away as he turned his face to the side to smoke.
"No smoking in the bedroom."
Jaden immediately started to get up. "Then I’ll go to the living room."
Stella Yarrow pushed him back down, snatched the cigarette from between his fingers, and stubbed it out in the crystal ashtray on the nightstand. She cupped his face with both hands, remembering his evasive gaze just moments before, and kissed him fiercely.
...
Another round of deep connection followed.
Jaden carried Stella Yarrow into the bathroom for a shower.
「Early Evening.」
Jaden changed into a smart suit and grabbed his car keys before heading out.
He had just reached the elevator bank when a dark figure suddenly darted out from the adjacent stairwell.
It was a tall person dressed all in black, wearing a skull mask.
He was so startled that his reaction was a beat slower than usual. His mind flashed back to the police warning him to be careful lately. They had mentioned that the person who kidnapped Nina Halloway was dressed in black and wore a skull mask.
"Holy shit!"
He turned to run.
The masked person quickly closed the distance and jabbed a stun baton straight at his lower back.
He sensed the attacker closing in, so he spun around and threw a punch, hoping to knock them to the ground. But instead, the stun baton was pressed against his stomach.
The masked person pressed the switch, and a powerful electric current instantly shot through his body, paralyzing him.
The shock made his face contort, and his whole body convulsed uncontrollably as garbled, sputtering sounds escaped his lips.
Even while being electrocuted like this, Jaden didn’t collapse immediately.
Having been dragged to the boxing gym for years to spar with Alaric Blackwood and Evan Ford, his physical conditioning was quite good.
Convulsing, he lowered the arm he had raised for the punch and grabbed the wrist of the hand holding the stun baton.
The masked person was wearing black gloves, but a sliver of skin on their wrist was exposed.
Their skin made abrupt contact, and the powerful current immediately surged into the masked person’s body.
Face to face with Jaden, the masked person’s face also contorted as their body began to shake uncontrollably.
"AGH-AGH-AGH... AARGH..."
THUD—
THUD—
The stun baton ran out of battery.
The two convulsing figures finally fell backward, collapsing onto their backs.
Jaden lived in a building with two apartments per floor sharing one elevator. He had no neighbors on his level, as the apartment across the hall was vacant. Consequently, no one passed by for a long time, and the elevator never stopped on his floor.
He lay on the floor unconscious for about an hour before being woken by a ringing cell phone.
The masked person, who had also collapsed on the floor, was jolted awake at the same time.
Hearing the sound, the attacker scrambled up from the floor, giving him no chance to counterattack. They snatched the dead stun baton from the ground and staggered into the stairwell.
Jaden didn’t have the strength to get up and give chase. The electricity had left him numb. With trembling hands, he pulled his phone from his jacket pocket.
Seeing that the call was from Evan Ford, he quickly answered. "Help me!"
Hearing the tearful edge in his voice, Evan Ford’s heart sank. "What happened?"
"The masked person!"
"They tried to kidnap me... and used a stun gun on me..."
After finding out Jaden’s location, Evan Ford immediately drove over.
When he stepped out of the elevator, Jaden was on the floor of the elevator bank, leaning against the wall. His face was deathly pale, and his meticulously styled hair was practically standing on end from the electric shock.
"Are you okay?"
Evan Ford walked over, draped Jaden’s arm over his shoulder, and helped him up.
"Luckily... I’m... in great shape."
Jaden was stuttering a little.
Knowing Evan Ford was on his way, he hadn’t dared to go home in this state, afraid he would scare Stella Yarrow.
He looked at Evan Ford, his face still etched with fear. "The cops weren’t lying. The masked person really did try to kidnap me."
"The masked person got away?"
"Long gone."
Evan Ford glanced up at the security camera in the elevator bank. Half-supporting, half-carrying Jaden, he first took the elevator downstairs to ask the building manager to see the security footage.
He saw the man dressed in black and wearing a skull mask rush out of the stairwell and attack Jaden.
However, watching the full recording, the scene was somewhat comical.
He turned to Jaden, who was resting on a nearby chair. "You’re really resistant to electricity, aren’t you?"
Jaden rolled his eyes at him. "Cut the crap. Now that you’ve seen the footage, hurry up and get... get me to the hospital."
Jaden was genuinely afraid the electric shock had caused some serious damage.
He remembered the police visiting him earlier. They’d told him that during Nina Halloway’s kidnapping, the wireman who was also abducted had been stabbed twenty times by the masked person. The body had already been disposed of. A wave of fear washed over him.
’Is it possible that any man who’s been involved with Nina Halloway is a potential target for the masked person?’
’I was a total scumbag to Nina Halloway, cheating on her during our engagement and breaking her heart...’
’If I fell into the masked person’s hands, wouldn’t I be torn to shreds?’
Not knowing what Jaden was thinking, Evan Ford saw the cold sweat beading on his forehead and assumed the electric shock had caused a problem. He got a copy of the security footage from the building manager, then helped Jaden up and rushed him to the hospital.
On the way, he called Alaric Blackwood.
While Jaden was undergoing a detailed examination, Alaric Blackwood arrived, still injured himself.
