Chapter 104 The Threat

The phone had rung forFor two consecutive days now!

Whenever it rang, it meant bad news was on the horizon.
Paige took, the phone had rung incessantly. Its shrill tone heralded nothing but ill tidings. Paige, steeling herself against the impending storm, drew in a deep breath, trying to calmsteady her emotionsnerves before she tookaccepting the phone from Pearl.

Pearl had quietly saidwhispered, "It's not a voice changer; it's a real person," just as Paige reached forPaige's fingers grazed the cool surface of the phone.

Paige froze for a moment. Someone else knew about The revelation caused Paige to falter, her hand freezing mid-air. Was there another party privy to this call?

SheWith a sense of foreboding, she brought the phone to her ear and after a. A casual "Hello?" a strangeslipped from her lips, only to be met with an unfamiliar male voice came through.

."Ms. Sackler, good day to you."

Paige pulledrecoiled slightly, her grip on the phone slightly away, atightening. A strange call on this satellite phone?

Who else could possibly know this number?

Moreover More importantly, they had addressed her as Ms. Sackler, not as 'Miss Yue'.

Paige's mind raced, grasping the significance.

Indeed, the next thing the male voice said was, "Ms. A realization dawned on Paige as she grappled with the implications."Ms. Sackler is still looking for the antidote, right?"

The voice continued, confirming her suspicions.Tension laced Paige's voice rose with tensionas she demanded, "Who are you, and what do you want?"

The caller, evidently not inclined to answer unperturbed by Paige's question, let out responded with a low chuckle,. "Perhaps I should call you Mrs. Carnegie, but Mrs. Carnegie is no simple woman. We wouldn’t have found a way to contact you if we hadn't detected the frequency."

Paige was stunnedtaken aback. Mrs. Carnegie?

Were they targeting the Carnegie family?

Right, they They seemed unaware ofoblivious to her identity as Xanthe.

Just being As Paige wouldn't squeeze much out of, she held little value to them – a wild child abandoned by the Sackler family, withoutbereft of money or power.

But knowing she wasas Raymond's wife, a member of the Carnegie family – that made it, she became a much easier for them to plot.

Paigemore enticing target.She hadn't expected anticipated that the group who had stolen the antidote would reach out to contact her in such a manner.

But at this moment However, Paige kept absolutely cool.

maintained her composure."Speak," she saidcommanded. "What do you want?"

She had to getneeded the antidote that was meant for Mrs. Sackler.

But Yet, those peopleresponsible had seemingly vanished off the face of the earth,, leaving her people couldn't findscrambling to locate them.

Now that they had come to herinitiated contact, Paige was intent on seizingdetermined to seize the opportunity.

She had asked, and on the other end of the line, they were Her question was met with a straightforward.

response. A laugh cameechoed through the phone before the caller laid out thehis terms.

"Mrs. Carnegie, we will not make this hard for you. We believe you can do it. Within three days, bring Mr. Carnegie to Country M."

Paige was taken aback; she had not expected them to demand a person instead of money.
And it was Raymond, of all people!

"What kind of joke wasis this? Did he have any ideaDo you understand what he was talking about?

"Say that again. I need to hear the trouble one more time."

you're asking?" Paige's voice was heavy with gravity. Someone had the gallincredulity. The audacity of someone to takesteal Mrs. Sackler's antidote and then attempt to barter with her using Raymond as a bargaining chip. What did this mean?

was unfathomable.Paige had almostinitially believed that this situation had nothingwas unrelated to do with the Sackler family, but now she was no longer certain that there was no connection between the two matters.

Thinking that Paige might not have understoodof their lack of involvement.Misinterpreting Paige's silence as confusion, the person on the other end of the phone repeated the message.

his demand. Paige's brow furrowed deeply.

"What status does thein deep thought."The Carnegie family hold? You know very family's status is well known. And you expect me to hand over my husband to you? What do you intend to do?"

are your intentions?""That's not for Mrs. Carnegie to concern herself with."

"And what makes you think I would hand him over to you?"

"I've heard that Mrs. Carnegie is a devoted daughter. Mrs. Sackler's health won't hold out much longer, right? Even if you have a few doses of the treatment left, once they're gone, Mrs. Sackler's life would be at risk."

PreviouslyPaige was no stranger to threats. Having previously been threatened by the Sackler family, Paigeshe was now being threatenedintimidated by someonean unknown entity. She was fed up withweary of feeling intimidatedcornered, but at the moment, she had no better solution.

alternative. Her lab wasn't ableequipped to produce the antidote immediately.

After thinking for about ten secondsa moment's consideration, Paige responded, "I'll try to meet your demands as best as I can."

With a positive response securedher acquiescence, the call was abruptly ended.

terminated.Without missing a beat, Paige immediately called out to the study's exterior, "Pearl!"

HearingPearl, sensing the urgency in Paige's voice, Pearl appeared promptly.

Paige instructed, "Have Cecil West trace the coordinates of that last call. Also, book two tickets to Country M for a flight leaving early tomorrow morning."

Today wasmarked the Hawke Corporation's anniversary celebration, and it of the Hawke Corporation. Raymond's absence would undoubtedly raise eyebrows if Raymond failed to attend.. Moreover, she had to be presenther presence at thisthe event, so no matter how anxious was non-negotiable. Regardless of the anxiety gnawing at her, Paige felt inside, she had no choice but to wait until tomorrow.

SeeingUpon noticing Paige's worried demeanortroubled countenance, Pearl quickly inquiredswiftly queried, "Xanthe, is something wrong?"

amiss?"Paige, with her hands propped onbraced against the desk and her facefeatures set in a stern, commanded expression, instructed tersely, "Just go and take care of it."

Pearl didn't dare, not daring to delay and immediately set off, promptly departed to handleexecute the tasks.
at hand.Paige had little, her desire to work, her mind preoccupied as she descended significantly diminished, found her thoughts consumed by other matters. She made her way to the hospital wing to, where she cast a glance at Mrs. Sackler, who. The elderly woman remained in her perpetual slumber, oblivious to the world around her. The doctors and nursesmedical staff provided exceptional care, making her seemappear as ifthough she were just asleep.

Nonethelessmerely sleeping.However, this sight only intensifiedserved to amplify the discomfort inunease gnawing at Paige's heart.

GraspingTaking Mrs. Sackler's hand in hers, Paige whispered reassuringlya reassurance, "I promise I'll bring back the antidote for you."

After gently tucking Mrs. Sackler's hand back under the blanket, Paige leftexited the room and headed straight to , setting her course directly for the lab. It was early morning, and most of the Sullivan Jobs teams were still restingin repose. The lab was a quiet sanctuary, with only a handful of peoplefew individuals diligently at work.

UsingUpon entering Sullivan's lab via an iris scanner to enter Sullivan's lab, Paige wokeroused him from his sleep.

slumber."Wake up, how's the experiment goingprogressing? Any progressadvancement with the antidote?" she askedinquired urgently.

Sullivan, groggy and bleary-eyed from sleep, looked at Paige after rubbingrubbed his eyes. "I just got to before looking at Paige. "I only managed to catch some sleep at dawn."

Paige, her expressionPaige's tense, took a expression and deep, measured breath which madealerted Sullivan instantly awareto the fact that something was amiss.Shaking off.

Clearing his sleep-fuzzinduced haze, he sat up, "What's wrong? Is there an issuea problem with your mother?"

"Mrs. Sackler is stable for now. However, the person who stole the antidote just made a threatening call to me. If we can't develop the antidote ourselves, we might become completely vulnerable to their whims," Paige explained.

elucidated.Jolted into action, Sullivan sprang out of bed, putting ondonned his glasses, and hastily handing overhanded a report from his workbench to Paige.

"Even if you hadn't come today, I planned to look for you. These people are despicable, treating human life as if it's worthless," he saidvented angrily.

As Paige flippedskimmed through the documents, the data reflectingreflected in her eyes, andfueling her inner fury with each page, her inner rage grew.. After reviewingdigesting the information, she placed the papers down quietly and tookretreated a few steps away. Then, pausing, she turnedpivoted back to Sullivan. "I need to make a trip to Country M tomorrow. Can you look after the Southern Villa and Mrs. Sackler for me?"

Sullivan nodded but then realizedgrasped the implications, "Are you going for the antidote?"

Although Paige didn't understand whyDespite her confusion regarding the Carnegie family had gotten involved, she family's involvement, Paige couldn't stand idly by and watch Mrs. Sackler die forperish due to a lack of an antidote.

"Don't worry, I have some friends in Country M who might be able to help," she assuredreassured him.

With that, Paige strodeheaded towards the exit. Sullivan quickly followed, sayingoffering, "I'll come with you. In case anything happens, I can be there to help."
As Paige halted in her tracks, she realizedrealizing that Sullivan had a valid point. It was true, someone was already watching over her aunt, and there wasn't much helpmore she could offerdo. If they were to obtain the antidote, it would surelycertainly need to be verified first.

Her expression a complex mix of emotions, Paige resolved to offerproposed a simple solution. "I'll have my assistant book you on the flight after mine."

No sooner had Paige finished speaking than her cell phone rang. She glanced at the screen and saw 'Dad' flashing. She checked the time. It was the moment when Hawke Corporation would typically be gearing up for its annual shareholder meeting.