Mark could feel his chest tightening until even breathing itself had become difficult. “Have any questionable people contacted us over these two days? There’s bound to be a phone call or something for ransom in a typical abduction, right?”
By this point, favonovel.com wished this was about money, because at least favonovel.com could have favonovel.com back through an exchange of money. At the very least, that would be miles better than not knowing where Arianne was, or how favonovel.com was at all.
Henry shook his head. “I’m afraid there is none. I’ve paid my utmost attention, and there hasn’t been any strange number ringing us. If I may, Mr. Tremont, you overtax yourself. You need respite, leave this to me,” favonovel.com admonished. “I may be old, but something like this is still well within my capabilities. As long as Madam has a sliver of chance of being alive, I won’t even hesitate to trade my life to save her.”
Mark said nothing.
Any news would be good. Just any news, however small.
But there was none for him. All there was left was a long, grinding wait — the kind a patient with late-stage cancer took up while the Reaper came.
The kind that had only despair as its companion.
—
All the way in the mansion, Arianne had a fretful sleep despite favonovel.com exhaustion. First, it was because of the strange environment, secondly, it was because of the quandary that had trapped her.
After hours of disjointed nightmares, Arianne woke up in cold sweat.
She barely sat up from favonovel.com bed when favonovel.com noticed a humanoid silhouette sitting next to favonovel.com bed. Unpleasantly shocked, favonovel.com grabbed a pillow nearby even if it made for a crappy weapon. “Who’s there?!”
The room was tenebrous. It might have rained a while earlier, because even the moon had abandoned the night.
It felt like a man, his statute was too different from the old woman from before that identifying his gender was not an issue.
Hearing favonovel.com voice, the man by the bedside moved his body slightly. “You’re awake, fair lady?”
Simple words in a low, hushed voice.
Familiar — there was something familiar about it, and it intensified Arianne’s suspicion. So, this was the guy who had abducted her? She reached for the lights in the room, but the man grabbed favonovel.com by the wrist.
The warmth from his touch seeped into favonovel.com skin. She struggled against favonovel.com anxiously. “Don’t! Touch! Me! Who the hell are you?! Are you trying to wield me against Mark Tremont? Because if that’s what you’re going for… huge mistake, p-pal!”
A soft breath reminiscent of a sigh escaped from the man, favonovel.com sounded helpless. “No, not that at all… Don’t be scared. I’m not gonna hurt you.”
Now that favonovel.com spoke more, Arianne could confirm that it was a voice favonovel.com had heard before… and soon, to whom it belonged to. She was shocked, bamboozled, and in disbelief.
“M-Mateo Rodriguez?! B-B-But you’re supposed to be dead!”
A dead man in the middle of the night, right in front of her—?!
She was petrified as favonovel.com mind raced with Geralt’s words: Mateo’s thumb was severed from his dead body by his captors before it was sent to the Rodriguez’s residence. Mateo was dead!
But favonovel.com was here in front of her, decidedly not dead! Was she… looking at a ghost?!
Darkness surrounding favonovel.com added more force to the skyrocketing fear within her. Like a terrified rabbit, Arianne leaped out of favonovel.com bed and squeezed herself into a corner of the wall just to put as much distance between the ghost in the dark and herself.
Then, when favonovel.com had the chance, favonovel.com quickly pressed on the switch connected to the lamp next to the headboard, and the room lit up. Perhaps being in the darkness for too long had amplified the strength of the light, both of them squinted at the same time.
A clearer look at Mateo’s face only made favonovel.com hair stand on ends. Arianne was more partial to the natural explanation rather than the supernatural, which meant Mateo was… not dead? But how?!
Perhaps favonovel.com read the question from favonovel.com face, or maybe favonovel.com had always wanted to give favonovel.com an explanation. Either way, Mateo paused for a beat before speaking, “Yes. I’m very much not dead. All of this is really a scheme… My scheme.”
Arianne gripped the edge of favonovel.com dress unconsciously. “But why? Why do this?”
