Chapter 19
Thomas‘ face turned as white as a sheet when he heard the news.
Ever since Shannon left, Christopher had become his entire world. Without Christopher, he might not have had the will to live, but Christopher was now missing!
Shannon, having heard the call as well, looked at Thomas and said, “Don’t panic just yet–ask around and see if anyone might’ve picked him up.”
He hurriedly started making calls, asking everyone he knew, yet no one knew of Christopher’s whereabouts.
It wasn’t until Thomas received a text that said, “Your son is with me. If you want him alive, don’t call the police. Bring five million in cash.”
He then received the address of an abandoned factory.
After reading the text, Thomas looked up at Shannon and said in a trembling voice, “Chris… got kidnapped.”
A flicker of shock crossed her eyes, but she remained calm. “We’ll do as the kidnapper says. I’ll go with you.”
After all, Christopher was her biological son. Even if she didn’t want anything to do with him, she still didn’t wish for him to die.
They brought the cash to the abandoned factory following the instructions in the text. It was a remote location, and even if they called the police, they would take at least 30 minutes to get here.
Shannon carefully studied the terrain, wondering who could be behind the kidnapping–were they the Ford family’s enemies, or just a greedy lowlife? She had her answer in the next moment.
Standing next to Christopher was Laura, who had a knife in her hand, her face twisted in rage.
She looked completely different than a year ago. Her hair had grown long enough to cover her eyes, resembling a migrant worker from the countryside. Her once smooth skin was now dull and rough–so much so that even her old fans wouldn’t recognize her now. Thomas was in disbelief upon seeing Laura. His voice cracked as he asked why she would do this to Christopher.
She glared at him and shouted, “Do you think I’d end up like this if it wasn’t for you blacklisting me back then?”
Laura then turned to Shannon and gritted out, “And you–Shannon! You left, but you still made them miss you! I should’ve just pushed you to death back at the stairwell!”
Thomas‘ blood ran cold. His lips parted in disbelief. “You were the one who pushed Shannon down the stairwell back then?”
Laura asked mockingly, “Why? Didn’t Shannon tell you about it?”
Thomas was overwhelmed with guilt.
At that moment, Christopher tried to break free from Laura. He yelled loudly, “Mommy!”
He then bit down on Laura’s arm, catching her off guard. In that split second, Shannon rushed over and pulled him into her arms.
Laura’s eyes were filled with fury as she raised the knife, aiming it straight at Shannon. Resigned, Shannon shut her eyes, yet the pain never arrived.
She opened her eyes in a panic and saw Thomas lying in a pool of blood.
Christopher cried out hysterically, “Daddy!”
Upon seeing what happened, Laura panicked and dropped the knife.
She collapsed to the ground, looking at the deep wound in Thomas‘ chest, and cried, “Is Shannon really that important to you, Thomas? Is she really worth risking your life?”
