Chapter 523 In Your Dreams
Marlowe followed the small path until she reached a bridge. Below, a stream flowed gently, with several wooden boats moored on the surface.
While Stardust Valley had changed considerably over the years, this stream remained constant—though perhaps the water wasn't as pristine as before.
In her childhood, she'd only visit her grandparents during summer breaks. After they passed away, her family rarely returned.
Finding a stone bench under the shade of a tree, she sat down to rest.
Not far behind her, two men stood beneath another tree.
"Marshall, are you sure that's the woman?" asked Dwayne Larson, a bald man with a cigarette dangling from his lips, eyeing Marlowe's back with a predatory gaze.
The man called Marshall Banks—short and slight with a pointed mouth and hollow cheeks—nodded. "It's her. I've been staking out the Rivera place for days. She's been staying there, so she must be their daughter. Besides, there were two luxury cars parked outside too. Don't know who they belong to, but whoever it is has money."
Dwayne spat his cigarette butt onto the ground.
"I don't care who they are. Around here, I make the rules," he sneered. "Finnegan ruined my plans last time and got me locked up for two weeks. Now I'll get even through his daughter."
Another associate spoke up hesitantly. "Dwayne, she's pregnant. What if something goes wrong?"
A sharp slap followed as Dwayne struck the man's head. "What are you afraid of? My uncle runs the police station. We'll find an excuse if needed. If you're scared, get lost now."
Dwayne shrank back, saying nothing more.
Meanwhile, Marlowe was recording a short video of the scenery to share with her friends when someone suddenly jumped into the frame. She screamed, nearly dropping her phone.
Putting her phone away, she stared in confusion and alarm at the thin man who had appeared before her, his eyes gleaming with malicious intent.
She tried to stand, but the man moved closer.
"What do you want to do?" Marlowe asked nervously, swallowing hard.
"Could you help me with something?" the stranger asked abruptly.
Reluctant but not wanting to appear rude to someone who already made her uncomfortable, Marlowe replied diplomatically, "Sir, I'm pregnant. If you need assistance, perhaps I could find someone else to help you."
Ignoring her response, he pointed toward a nearby alley. "Don't worry, I'm not dangerous. My daughter is crying for her mother over there, and I can't console her. Could you help calm her down?"
Marlowe frowned slightly, hearing what did sound like a child crying in that direction.
"Where's the child's mother?" she asked.
"Working at the factory in town," he explained. "My mother usually watches her, but she's unwell today, so the child came out with me."
His story sounded plausible enough, but something felt wrong.
Before she could respond, he continued pleading, "Please, I've been trying for ages. She won't stop crying or come home with me. I don't know what else to do."
Meanwhile, Grant was in his car conducting a video conference when his phone vibrated.
He glanced at it, saw Lila's name, and ignored it, continuing with his meeting. The phone stopped, then immediately rang again.
Frowning, he thought it unusual—Lila rarely called him.
"Meeting paused," he announced, picking up the phone.
"Lila, this better be important... What?"
The conference participants watched as Grant's cold expression darkened instantly.
"Grant, is Marlowe with you?" Lila asked urgently. "She just posted a video to our group chat. I heard her scream and saw someone's face flash across the screen. I've been trying to call her, but she's not answering."
Grant frowned. Wasn't Marlowe in the yard? If something had happened, surely Finnegan or Katerina would have alerted him.
"What video?" he asked.
"I forwarded it to your Facebook," Lila replied.
Grant ended the call and opened Facebook while exiting the car.
Kevin, sitting in the passenger seat, looked bewildered, as did the meeting participants watching Grant disappear from view.
Examining the video Lila had sent, Grant could see it clearly wasn't filmed in the yard. He hurried inside, finding the porch swing empty.
In the living room, he found Finnegan. "Where's Marlowe?" he asked.
Finnegan turned casually. "She went for a walk. Katerina just went looking for her."
Grant showed him the video. "Dad, I think Marlowe might be in trouble."
Finnegan's expression changed as he saw the blurry face and heard Marlowe's startled cry. He'd thought the small town would be safer than the city, which was why he'd let her go alone.
"Don't worry, I'll handle this," Grant assured him.
Meanwhile, Katerina had been searching for Marlowe without success. After asking several passersby, one finally mentioned seeing Marlowe leave with a bald man. Katerina immediately realized the implications—there was only one notorious "bald man" in town.
The witness hadn't initially recognized Marlowe as being connected to the Rivera family until seeing Katerina's concern.
Panicked, Katerina immediately called Elliot.
"Mrs. Rivera, what's wrong?" he answered without hesitation.
"Elliot, Marlowe's missing," she explained frantically. "She went out alone, and when she didn't return, we tried calling but got no answer. I came looking, and someone said they saw her being taken by Dwayne's people."
Elliot's expression darkened instantly. He didn't know who Dwayne was, but finding Marlowe was his only priority.
"Katerina, don't worry. I'll handle this," he reassured her before hanging up and announcing, "Meeting postponed!" as he rushed out.
Cillian barely had time to process what was happening before Elliot disappeared.
Outside, Elliot ran into Grant, who was just leaving the house. Both men's expressions were grim.
Elliot spoke first, relaying the name Katerina had mentioned.
"Kevin, locate Dwayne!" Grant ordered coldly.
Kevin immediately began the search while Grant and Elliot went to find Katerina, heading to the location where Marlowe had recorded her video—only about a fifteen-minute walk from the house.
When they found Katerina, her eyes were already red with worry.
"Darling, Marlowe's pregnant," she told Finnegan anxiously. "What could Dwayne want with her? Do you think he's getting revenge for what happened?"
Elliot frowned. "Katerina, who is Dwayne?"
Neither he nor Grant recognized the name, which meant this wasn't related to their business associates. Grant had initially suspected one of his own enemies.
Finnegan frowned, recalling the incident. He and his wife generally maintained good relationships with the townspeople and avoided gossip, but there had been that situation two weeks ago—something anyone would have done in his position.
That small act had earned him the enmity of Dwayne, a man with considerable local influence whom most people avoided crossing.
Two weeks earlier, when Katerina hadn't been feeling well, Finnegan had gone out to buy medicine. On his way home, he'd heard a girl crying for help in an alley. Too old to confront the young men he found harassing the girl, he'd called the police instead. They arrived quickly and caught Dwayne and his associates in the act. During the statement-taking, Dwayne had spotted Finnegan and realized who had reported them.
At the time, Finnegan had only been thinking about saving the girl, never imagining the consequences.
Kevin called with news. "Mr. Scott, we've located Mrs. Scott's phone at a bar in town. I've sent the address to your phone."
After hanging up, Grant turned to Finnegan and Katerina. "You should go home. We'll handle this."
When Katerina started to protest, Finnegan interrupted. "We'd only be in the way. Let them handle it."
"Go ahead," Finnegan told the two men, who immediately departed.
In a sealed private room at the bar, Marlowe sat with her hands protectively over her belly, warily watching the men seated across from her.
There had indeed been a crying child in the alley, but when she'd knelt to comfort the child, it had suddenly run away. Then two leering men had appeared before her, and when she tried to back away, she found more men behind her.
She realized she'd been tricked, but as a pregnant woman, she couldn't fight off four men and had no choice but to go with them.
Now she faced strangers she didn't recognize.
"Who are you?" she asked the man seated in the center, whom she now knew was Dwayne.
Dwayne leered at her, his eyes traveling up and down her body. "I must say, Finnegan's daughter is quite the looker."
"Still looking good even while pregnant. Impressive. Why don't you come be with me instead?" Dwayne suggested with a malicious grin. "I don't mind that you're pregnant."
His words and gaze made Marlowe's skin crawl.
"In your dreams!" she retorted.
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