The moment the live stream flickered to life, the police had zeroed in on the kidnappers' hideout.
Squad cars encircled the crumbling villa, with sirens piercing the night sky; the blue and red lights of the cars expelled the shadows of fear.
Glynnis was still knocked out cold on the floor, but Edith, with the tenacity of a cockroach, had come to her senses earlier.
Hearing the wail of sirens, she panicked and attempted to flee, only to be confronted by several familiar silhouettes storming in with earth-shaking presence.
"Marilla!"
Jareth burst in first; in his eyes brimming with tears of blood, a glimmer of hope shined through the pain.
He'd always been fearless; even having known that Star Island was home to stone-cold mercenaries, he'd ventured there with Thaddeus.
But now, he was pale; his steps were unsteady, and he was almost stumbling.
The living room was a mess, with the bullies sprawled out across the floor, and Glynnis was still unconscious.
The space was small, but Marilla's fragile figure was nowhere to be seen.
Thaddeus and Evadne dashed into the other rooms, calling out for Marilla, but to no avail!
That's when Aaron, flanked by two colleagues, burst through the door:
"We've searched the villa top to bottom, including the basement. No sign of Marilla!"
"And Lily?!" Evadne was frantic, and her beautiful face was slick with sweat.
"We can't reach her! But our tech team is on her phone's trail!"
A sinking feeling hit Thaddeus, "Evadne, you said this was Gary's doing, so could these scum be a smokescreen? Could Marilla and Lily have been moved by him?!"
Evadne was choked by terror, barely able to breathe.
Edith, seeing no way out and shaking like a leaf, tried to play the victim; she crawled to Jareth, sobbing and wailing:
"Big brother! You've come for me? I was brought here by Gary, and he tried to kill me. Ah!!"
Her plea cut short by a bone-chilling scream, but Jareth, with his eyes blazing with murderous intent, kicked her like a soccer ball, sending her flying!
The room was silent, save for the thud of Edith crashing against the wall, then sliding down like a broken doll.
"Ugh."
She curled up, twitched, and vomited a mouthful of blood.
But Jareth showed no mercy; he just stomped toward her and kicked her relentlessly.
He wanted her dead.
The pain was excruciating, but Edith couldn't even sob; she could do nothing but writhe before her old classmate, her former lover; her disgrace was on full display.
Thaddeus just watched; normally he'd intervene, but not this time. He watched coldly, because Jareth's actions mirrored his own desires.
Yet, Thaddeus wouldn't let his hands be stained with blood, nor would he let his buddy pay the price.
"Jareth! Stop, if she dies, you'll face the consequences!"
Aaron, as a cop, had to step in, "Do you want to be separated from Marilla forever?!"
Jareth's eyes were wild as he broke free from Aaron, grabbed Edith by the hair, and hauled her battered body up:
"Where's Marilla? Where?!"
"I... don't... know..."
Edith could barely speak through the blood, but she was still denying, "It wasn't me."
"Edith, even now you lie?"
Evadne, trembling with rage, cried out, "Everything you've done since entering this villa was caught on hidden cameras, and it was streamed online. The whole country has seen your crimes; you've been played by Gary, yet you still won't tell the truth? Are you waiting to see your own coffin?!"
Edith was stunned, with her mouth agape, and it grew increasingly wide until it turned into a gaping and bloody hole.
"You think crawling back here means you've escaped? Your fate's only going to be worse now!"
"Who cares? I'm riddled with disease. What do I have to fear? I made Edith drink my blood, so now she's got it too. Marilla bit Edith, and she's gonna get it as well.
Hahahaha! They've all got AIDS! Thaddeus, all your scheming ended up dragging your precious sister into this mess! You deserve it, oh you do! Hahahaha!"
Evadne's gaze was icy as she stared at Glynnis' diseased face, and a cold laugh escaped her lips.
The chances of AIDS transmitting this way were next to nothing since the HIV virus could hardly survive in the digestive tract's mucus.
But she wouldn't be the one to enlighten Glynnis.
Let the fool wallow in her delusion of victory. Let Edith live in fear day and night.
They deserved every bit of it!
"Edith, each kick is payback for what you did to my wife. Now, I'm returning the favor!"
Jareth dropped Edith to the ground again; he felt his hatred blazing like a wildfire through his organs and ravaging his heart. "You could die a thousand times and it still wouldn't be enough to atone for what you did to Marilla!"
Just then, his phone rang.
Jareth's eyes widened at the sight of the name flashing on the screen: Gary.
Trembling, he brought the phone to his ear. A voice laced with malice came through:
"Jareth, your uncle never showed you much love, but let this be my final gift to you. Do you like it?"
All fell silent, and the police were also listening in to trace Gary's location through Jareth's phone.
"Leave Marilla and Lily out of this. This is between you and me," Jareth's voice was so hoarse that it was barely coherent.
"I've sent you the address. Come and find me," Gary's sinister laugh echoed.
"It's time to end this, man."
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: His Ex-Wife Is A Billionaire (Evadne and Thaddeus)
Please upload further chapters...
Please upload further chapters...
Where is the continuation of this story? You should not have started writing a story if you dont intend to continue till the end you left us hanging, thats very unprofessional as a writer....
Next chapter please.....
1 chapter per day??...
Hurry up and load more better yet just load the whole book...