Chapter 893 Mr. Valencia, You Might Lose Your Son
"Sarah." Antonio squeezed her hand, worried about her condition. "You're pregnant now. Why don't you go back and rest? Ryan will be fine. Leave it to me and Francis; we'll find him soon."
"Yeah, Sarah. You both should go rest. You've been traveling all day, and the climate here is different. We don't want you two collapsing before we find Ryan."
Sarah bit her lip and, after a moment of hesitation, said, "Alright then."
"There's a guesthouse not far from here. The environment is quite good. I'll have someone take you there."
After the couple left, Francis called Roy. "Put aside what you're doing and check if Ryan has really come to Northwest Ridge. If he has, he must have left some trace."
"Understood."
Not long after, the phone rang.
Thinking it was Roy, he answered without looking at the screen, "Any news?"
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end, followed by a sinister laugh. "It seems you are desperately looking for your son?"
Francis's expression hardened. "Who are you?"
"Who I am is not important." The eerie voice was low and hoarse. "What's important is that your precious son is with me. Do you want to see him?"
"You...!" Francis's heart sank heavily. Ryan had been kidnapped?
"What do you want? Money? I agree. But release Ryan first!"
"Don't be in such a hurry." The kidnapper chuckled. "Talking about money right away is so impersonal. Mr. Valencia, Don't you want to meet first?"
Francis's chest heaved violently, his palm clenched into a fist. "What are your conditions? Just say it! But if you dare hurt Ryan, I'll make you pay tenfold!"
The kidnapper laughed. "You really are a loving father and son. But you seem to have misunderstood the situation. Right now, I'm the one making the demands. You have no say! If you don't want me to hurt him, do as I say. Otherwise..."
He paused, his voice full of interest. "Mr. Valencia, you might lose your son."
Francis clenched his fist tightly, veins bulging on his forehead, and growled, "What do you want?"
The kidnapper seemed unfazed by his anger, still speaking leisurely, "A face-to-face meeting. I'll send you the address shortly. Come alone, and I'll tell you what to do next."
"But let me remind you, Mr. Valencia. I know where you are right now, and even what you're doing at this moment. So, don't try anything clever, like calling the cops. It's unnecessary trouble. Otherwise..." He laughed coldly twice. "You should understand."
The call ended.
Francis felt like a taut string in his mind was about to snap.
The phone chimed.
He immediately picked it up and opened the message. Sure enough, it was the address from the same number, followed by a second message.
[Mr. Valencia, you can prepare to leave now. Be careful of the steps.]
Francis's bloodshot eyes quickly scanned outside the window. The building opposite was pitch black, and the area below was eerily quiet, with no one in sight.
So, was someone really watching him? Or was it a bluff?
But regardless, Francis had to go and see.
'Ryan is still so young. Is he okay now? Have those people hurt him? He must be terrified.' Thinking of these possibilities, Francis felt a heart-wrenching pain.
He dared not delay any longer. After going downstairs, he was about to call Roy when a black van suddenly appeared in front of him. The driver was a simple-looking local, who seemed a bit nervous upon seeing him. "Are... are you Mr. Valencia?"
"Who are you?"
"Someone... someone asked me to come here to pick you up."
Francis squinted slightly. It seemed the other party indeed knew his every move, so he had to go today no matter what.
After getting in the car, he tried to get some information from the driver but found that the driver knew nothing about the other party, only saying that a kid had asked him to pick someone up.
"That kid, did he look about six or seven years old?" Francis asked.
'Could it be Ryan?' He thought.
The driver thought for a moment. "About that age. He gave me a hundred dollars."
Francis was furious. Ryan had been kidnapped; how could he have arranged for a car? It must be the kidnapper's ploy!
Soon, he arrived at the location, a very dilapidated single-story house. The paint outside was peeling and flaking off, falling in the wind.
Francis struggled and anxiously took the wheelchair out of the car and then moved himself onto it. The next second, the driver sped away.
Francis surveyed the surroundings. Not far away, two black cars were parked, covered in a layer of dust, indicating they had been there for a long time.
He frowned and moved inside.
The wheelchair rolled over the gravel, making a distinct rustling sound. But no one was there.
The further he went, the more it felt like an invisible, tight net was closing in from all sides, making it hard to breathe.
Cold sweat broke out on Francis's back. He shouted, "Come out! Release Ryan! Come out!"
The silence was deafening, even his own echo reverberated, layer upon layer.
A few seconds felt like an eternity.
When footsteps sounded behind him, Francis felt a chill down his neck.
It was actually him!
Perhaps he had always had a premonition. When Guadalupe's cold voice sounded in his ear, Francis was filled with raging anger and a chilling despair. But all he could do was close his eyes in hopelessness.
Guadalupe stared at his thin figure, stepping out of the darkness towards him, his large hand gripping Francis's neck like a vice. "Francis, you were hard to find."
With that, he lifted Francis from the wheelchair and threw him heavily to the ground, following up with a brutal punch. "Didn't I tell you to behave? Hmm? You disappoint me. You dared to run so far behind my back. Did you really think I couldn't find you?"
Francis was knocked to the ground, the intense pain causing his mind to go blank for a moment.
When he came to, Guadalupe, exuding coldness, grabbed his collar, his voice devoid of warmth. "Your legs don't work, yet you still like to run. Do you want me to break your spine too? So that you can't move anything but your head? Would that make you behave, hmm?"
Cold sweat broke out all over Francis. The possibility Guadalupe mentioned drove him to the brink of madness. He screamed in despair, "Where's Ryan? If you have any issues, come at me. Let him go!"
Guadalupe sneered. "You care so much about that little bastard, huh? In your heart, is he all you care about?"
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