Chapter 563 Cecily Was Kidnapped by Josep?
By the time Landon arrived, Cecily had vanished without a trace.
Furrowing his brow, he turned to the driver. "How many of them were there?"
The driver trembled, struggling to recall the details. "I'd say around a dozen or twenty, Mr. Lockwood. You don't think something's happened to Miss Watson, do you?"
Landon's expression darkened. The odds were stacked against Cecily, one woman facing so many threats—it didn't look good.
Meanwhile, in the hospital, Percy jolted upright in his bed upon hearing the news of Cecily's disappearance. "What did you just say? Cecily was kidnapped? When did this happen?"
"About half an hour ago, on her way back. The situation didn't look promising," the driver replied, anxiety creeping into his voice.
"Find her! I want her back, even if I have to turn Silver Frost Capital upside down!" Percy slammed his fist on the table, his anger palpable.
Karen rushed over, concern etched on her face. "What's going on?"
"Cecily's been kidnapped!"
"What? How could this happen?"
"It's got to be Josep! First, he orchestrates my accident, and now he's gone after Cecily!" Percy's teeth clenched in frustration. If anything happened to her, he'd lose everything.
"Get me a wheelchair, now!" he ordered Karen.
"A wheelchair? What are you planning to do? You're still injured!" Karen protested, worry evident in her eyes.
"I'm going after Josep. If I don't, Cecily might not make it out alive. Hurry!"
Karen, realizing the urgency in Percy's voice, quickly arranged for a wheelchair and helped him into it.
An hour later, at Fitzgerald Manor, Josep was at home, waiting for news. He didn't expect to be greeted by an enraged Percy bursting through the door.
"Josep! Hand over Cecily!" Percy demanded, his voice a low growl.
Josep paused, momentarily taken aback by Percy's sudden intrusion. But then a smirk crept onto his face. He thought, 'It'ss clear that my plan has worked.'
"Isn't Cecily at the Lockwood Manor? Why are you barging in here in the middle of the night? You must be joking," he replied, sipping his tea leisurely.
Seeing the smug look on Josep's face only fueled Percy's conviction that he was behind Cecily's abduction.
"I'll say this one last time: give me Cecily back, or you'll regret it," Percy threatened, his voice dripping with fury.
"I told you, Cecily isn't here. What do you want me to do, conjure her up?" Josep shrugged, feigning innocence.
"Do you really think I'd buy that nonsense?" Percy shot back, his patience wearing thin.
Their animosity was no secret; they had long since burned any bridges of civility. If it weren't for the evidence they held against each other, they would have gone for each other's throats long ago.
"Believe what you want. I've said it before—she's not here. You can't expect me to pull her out of thin air," Josep replied, a hint of mockery in his tone.
Percy was seething, his hands gripping the arms of the wheelchair as if he could will himself to stand and confront Josep directly.
"Why don't you send some of your goons to search? If they find her, they can take her home. If not, you and your crew need to leave," Josep suggested, relishing Percy's frustration.
"Josep, you better hope Cecily's safe. If she dies, I won't hold back. Don't forget, I still have the evidence that ties you to Patrick's death. If I hand it over to Darian, you'll be in deep trouble," Percy warned, his voice low and menacing.
Josep paused, his hand freezing mid-sip. But it only took a second for him to regain his composure.
"Oh really? Go ahead, do it. We can both go down together. I'm sure Darian won't let you off the hook for killing Cecily and his child. And let's not forget, I have Sandra in my grasp. Until he knows she's safe, he won't dare touch me. But you? Once he learns the truth, you'll be the first on his hit list. Care to see who bites the dust first?"
Percy's anger boiled over, veins throbbing in his forehead as he glared at Josep, the tension between them palpable.
"You!"
Josep raised an eyebrow, a smug smile playing on his lips. "Let's not get too greedy here, Percy. We can still coexist peacefully. Otherwise, we'll both end up in a mess where neither of us walks away with anything. I trust you're smart enough to do the math."
It was clear that Josep had the upper hand tonight, exuding confidence and barely acknowledging Percy's presence.
Grinding his teeth, Percy mentally envisioned a thousand ways to make Josep pay for this.
Noticing Percy's struggle to find words, Josep continued casually, "You should really head home. You're still injured, and it's not wise to be out and about."
"Josep, you won't get away with this. If you really did harm Cecily, you'll regret it. If I don't see her by tomorrow, I'll spill everything to Vivienne and Bryan. Let's see how they handle your little game," Percy shot back, his voice steady but laced with threat.
Josep's expression flickered between relaxed and tense as he watched Percy leave. Deep down, he felt a twinge of unease.
At the Lockwood Manor, Percy sat in the living room, the night stretching on without a wink of sleep. Karen paced nervously beside him.
"Percy, if Cecily really… if something happened to her…"
"She's fine," Percy replied, his tone firm but strained.
Just then, Landon walked in, his face grave. "Landon, have you found Cecily?"
Shaking his head, Landon replied, "No, not yet."
"What do we do now? What do we do?" Karen's panic rose. The thought of Cecily suffering was unbearable. She thought, 'After everything she's been through, if she goes missing now, how can we face Vivienne and Bryan?'
Just as the Lockwood family was spiraling into despair, a flustered servant rushed in. "Mr. Lockwood! Mrs. Lockwood! Miss Watson is back!"
Everyone froze, disbelief etched on their faces.
"Who did you say is back?" Percy asked, almost doubting his ears.
"Cecily! Miss Watson is back!"
The servant's certainty sent Percy nearly leaping from his seat, while Karen dashed toward the door.
When Cecily finally appeared, disheveled and weary, tears of relief streamed down Karen's face. "Cecily!"
Dressed in the same outfit from yesterday, Cecily looked worn out, her hair a mess, dirt smudged on her face, and small cuts on her neck.
"Cecily!" Karen rushed forward, concern flooding her voice. "Are you okay? Did Josep hurt you?"
Cecily blinked, a hint of confusion in her eyes.
She thought, 'Josep?'
After a moment's thought, she shook her head gently. "Aunt Karen, I'm fine."
Her voice was hoarse and weak, and she didn't look fine at all—more like someone who had endured a serious ordeal.
"How did you get back?" Percy asked directly, skepticism written all over his face. He knew Josep wouldn't let her go so easily, not after last night's threats.
Cecily licked her dry lips. "I was kidnapped, but I managed to escape."
Percy's eyes widened in shock, disbelief flooding his expression. "What did they do to you? Do you know who took you? How did you get away?"
Cecily processed the barrage of questions, recalling Karen's earlier inquiry about Josep. They thought he was behind her abduction.
"I don't know who kidnapped me. There were too many of them. I couldn't fight them off and was knocked out. I escaped this morning while they weren't paying attention," she explained, her words a mix of truth and omission.
Percy struggled to wrap his head around it.
He thought, 'Josep has taken Cecily but let her slip away so easily? Is it luck on her part, or is Josep just incompetent?'
Regardless, a wave of relief washed over him.
"Thank goodness you're back," Karen said, her eyes filled with concern. "Did you get hurt? Do you need me to call a couple of doctors to check you out?"
Cecily shook her head, refusing. "I'm fine, Aunt Karen. I'd like to go to my room and rest for a bit, if that's okay?"
"Of course, dear. Go ahead and get some rest. I'll have some food sent up to your room later," Karen said, her heart aching as she looked at Cecily's exhausted face.
After Cecily had gone upstairs, Karen sighed deeply. "You and Josep, with your ambitions and bickering, have ended up making Cecily suffer like this. It's heart-wrenching to watch."
Percy didn't respond to Karen. Instead, he turned his attention to Landon, who had been standing silently by.
"What's your take on this?" Percy asked.
Landon raised an eyebrow slightly. "It's hard to say. She's certainly got some skills, and it's not impossible she managed to escape on her own. But what matters now is that she's back. The wedding can proceed."
Percy nodded, relieved that Cecily was safe. Now that she was back, everything could be handled.
He smirked inwardly, remembering how Josep had boasted to him the night before. Little did Josep know, Cecily had returned of her own accord, making Percy the ultimate winner in this scenario.
"To avoid any more complications, get Evander here as soon as possible. They need to get their marriage license right away, so Cecily will officially be part of the Lockwood family."
"Understood," Landon said, turning to leave.
Percy felt a gnawing sense of unease that he couldn't shake, a nagging feeling that something was about to go wrong. To address his unease, he decided to tighten security at home, making sure there were no lapses in vigilance.
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