Chapter 87

“I have to see her in jail and confront her.”

“No.”

“I need to look her in the eye and ask if she had anything to do with Viola's kidnapping,” tears streamed down her face.

Kate despised her and always wanted to be in Alexander's life. If anyone would do this, it would be either her or her mother.

“I’ve already reached out to that friend of mine. He’ll track them down eventually; there’s no need for a confrontation.”

“How can we be sure he’ll find them in time? I need to find my daughter quickly, and if confronting Kate in prison might lead to answers, I’m willing to do it,” she declared. A mother’s desperation for her child knows no bounds; she would go to any lengths for her daughter. Alexander understood this and could see her desperation, so he knew the only option was to let her proceed. Otherwise, she might act behind his back, and he didn’t want that.

“Alright, we can go tomorrow.”

Lilly hugged him. “Thank you.”

The next morning, they prepared and headed to the prison, which was about four hours from the city. It would be a long journey.

Alexander made occasional calls about any updates, but there was nothing. He realized that confronting Kate might indeed be the best course of action.

Meanwhile, in one of Caleb's hideouts, two women were bound with ropes—Amster and the principal. Caleb had taken it upon himself to bring them there and extract the truth from them. He wasn’t taking any chances; his great-granddaughter had to be found.

Peter supported his father’s actions because his granddaughter was involved.

Caleb picked up a hot blade and approached Amster.

“Please, no, I beg you,” Amster cried. “I don’t know anything!”

She screamed as the blade was pressed against her skin. The pain was excruciating, and it would surely leave a scar. Caleb continued the torture, and when he got nothing from her, he moved on to the next person and did the same.

Peter couldn’t bear to watch any longer, so he left the room. Caleb continued until both women passed out.

Caleb had been informed that Lilly and Alexander were on their way to confront Kate in prison. If it turned out that Kate was involved, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill her, even if she was his granddaughter. Bella would be another person he intended to eliminate, as she was surely involved as well.

When Sarah heard what had happened, she took the next available flight to H City to be with Lilly during this crucial time. It had been difficult to get permission from her superiors at work, but she explained that she was a friend of Lilly Kane, and their child had been kidnapped. Her superiors allowed her to go, knowing the significance of her connections.

Lilly received a message from Sarah.

Sarah: "I just landed."

Lilly: "Okay."

Sarah: "Where are you?"

Lilly: "I’m on my way to the prison to see Kate."

Sarah: "The prison? Why? Is there something I don’t know about?"

Lilly: "Yes, we found out that Harlord was Kate’s cellmate before she was released. We’re going there to see if she had anything to do with Viola’s disappearance."

Sarah: "Really?"

Lilly: "Yes."

Sarah: "Please be careful. I’m glad Alexander is with you."

Lilly: "I will."

Sarah: "I’ll just head to Jacob and Micheal to see if I can help."

Lilly: "Thanks."

Lilly logged out and leaned her head against the car window as they drove to the prison. They were about two hours away from the city, with another two hours to go before reaching the prison.

Alexander’s heart ached seeing her like this. He was in as much pain as she was. The absence of their daughter shattered him; he missed his little girl terribly. But seeing Lilly like this made his heart break even more. What he wanted most was for their family to be whole again.

Alexander moved her away from the window and held her close to him.

Lilly rested her head on his chest. “Who were you chatting with?”

“Sarah,” she replied.

“What did she say?”

“She’s here in Aurora City. She’s going to meet with Jacob and Micheal to see what she can do to help.”

“Okay,” Alexander said, kissing her forehead.

An hour before reaching the prison, both Alexander’s and Lilly’s phones started ringing. Lilly was asleep at first, but the sound of the phone woke her up.

Alexander checked his phone and saw that James was calling. At the same time, Ethan’s call came in as well.

Lilly received a call from Jacob. She decided not to answer and let Alexander take his call first. It felt strange that their phones rang simultaneously.

“You should answer Ethan’s call.”

Alexander answered and put the call on speaker.

“Alexander, where are you?” From Ethan’s tone, they knew the news wasn’t good.

Lilly’s heart skipped a beat, fearing the worst. Had something bad happened to her daughter? Had the kidnappers done something to her?

Seeing how scared Lilly was, Alexander considered taking the call off speaker to talk to Ethan privately, but Lilly stopped him.

“Let me hear what he has to say,” she pleaded.

Alexander sighed. “Ethan, what happened?”

“Are you on your way to the prison right now?”

“Yes.”

“I just received information that some inmates escaped from prison an hour ago, and there’s no trace of them.”

Alexander and Lilly exchanged glances.

Lilly immediately thought of Kate.

“Ethan, did they reveal who escaped?”

“Yes, and Kate was one of them.”

Lilly looked at Alexander.

“Where are you now, Ethan?”

“I just left the office. I was planning to come to you.”

“I’ll meet you at the base,” Alexander said, ending the call. He was shocked that Kate and the others had managed to escape. Aside from the prison’s security, he had his own people guarding it as well.

“Turn the car around and head to the base,” Alexander instructed.

Jack turned the car around and headed back to the base.

Lilly was lost in thought, trying to connect the dots. First, her daughter was kidnapped, and now Kate had escaped. She wondered if the two were related.

Alexander held her close. Now that Kate had escaped, Lilly wasn’t safe either. “Don’t worry; they’ll catch her.”

Their problems had just doubled. Now they had two urgent matters to deal with: finding their daughter and locating Kate before she could do something terrible.

Lilly’s phone rang again. She checked the caller ID but saw an unknown number.

Alexander noticed too. The number looked strange.

Lilly immediately answered and put the call on speaker, thinking it might be the kidnappers calling about Viola.

The person on the other end remained silent.

When the caller didn’t speak, Lilly decided to break the silence.

“Who is this?”

The person chuckled.

“Take a guess.”

Lilly’s face turned pale at the sound of the voice. Even after so many years, she would never forget that voice.

Alexander couldn’t recognize it, but from Lilly’s expression, he knew she had an idea who it was.

“Kate?”

“Hah! Hahaha!” Kate laughed loudly.

Alexander frowned.

“You’re good at guessing. Too bad I had to escape before you could visit me in prison.”

How did she know they were coming to the prison?

“Kate, where are you?”

“Somewhere you’ll never find me,” Kate said coldly. “Do you know how long I’ve been planning this escape?”

“We’ll find you, and when we do, you’re dead,” Alexander said.

Hearing Alexander’s voice made Kate pause. She hadn’t expected him to be with Lilly. She had thought Lilly would come alone to see her in prison. She had really missed his voice—a man she had wished to have but couldn’t because Lilly had taken him from her. She hated Lilly with all her heart, and part of her escape plan was to kill her. Even if she couldn’t have Alexander in the end, she would be satisfied knowing that Lilly didn’t get her happily ever after.

“Kate?” Lilly called when she noticed the silence. “Kate, go back to prison, or I’ll make sure you get a death sentence this time,” Lilly threatened, and she meant it.

Kate couldn’t hold back her laughter. “Are you sure you want me back in prison? Because if I do, it’ll be over for someone you care about.”

Alexander frowned at the statement. His people were already tracking the call.

Lilly didn’t understand what she meant. “What do you mean?”

Kate smiled as she walked towards the child sitting on the bed, softly crying.

“Tsk tsk tsk. Guess what? Escaping from prison wasn’t the only thing I’ve been planning for the past two years. Want to know what else I succeeded in?”

“What are you saying?” Lilly clenched her fists.

“Hold on.” Kate moved the phone away from her ear and placed it near Viola, who was crying.

“Say hello to your mommy.”

Alexander and Lilly’s faces turned pale at Kate’s words. Tears welled up in Lilly’s eyes, and she gripped the phone tightly.

“Mummy!” Viola cried, calling out for her mother.

Lilly covered her mouth in shock. It was really her daughter—her worst fears had come true.

“Viola!” she muttered.

“Viola!” Alexander called, equally shocked. He couldn’t believe it—Kate had planned all this.

Viola heard her father’s voice, which made her cry even more. “Daddy, Mommy!” she wept. The place was terrifying, filled with scary people.

Lilly burst into tears.

Kate placed the phone back to her ear and smiled in satisfaction when she heard Lily crying. “You should cry more because this is just the beginning.”

“Please leave her alone; she is just a child,” Lily pleaded.

Kate smiled. “Stay tuned and wait for my call. I’ll send the location soon, but before that, you have to decide between her life or your own.”

Even if she had to die, Lily would do anything to save her child. She knew that Kate’s real target was her.

“Just send the location. I’m ready to give my life for that of my child,” Lily declared.

Kate smiled. “Brave of you,” she said, then frowned. “But I don’t plan on making your death easy. It will be slow and painful.”