Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem novel Chapter 1161

After what felt like an eternity, Tarquin finally broke the silence with a comforting tone, "You've got to take care of yourself first. Winona is counting on you to save her."

Ridley sank onto the couch, his face buried in his hands, tears streaming down his cheeks. He sobbed for a moment, then suddenly lifted his hand and slapped himself hard across the face, twice.

"I've failed Winona," he cried out, his voice cracking with sorrow. "I can't believe I fell for Zane's lies! I trusted him!"

"She's been in trouble for so long, and I haven't even looked for her! My poor Winona..."

"That bastard Zane! Winona was so good to him, and we, the Newsom family, treated him like one of our own. How could he do something so... so monstrous?"

"If he didn't love Winona anymore, that's fine, they could have just divorced! No one forced him to love Winona forever!"

"When they got married, I even said, if there ever comes a day when he no longer loves my daughter, I wouldn't blame him. Just return her to me safe and sound!"

"How could he... that bastard! I... I’m calling him right now!"

Overcome with emotion, Ridley fumbled for his phone, intent on confronting Zane.

Tarquin quickly intervened, "We can't alert him until we find Winona. If he senses we're onto him, he might do something drastic."

The mention of "drastic" stopped Ridley in his tracks, his face turning ashen. He hesitated, then put his phone away, nodding slowly.

"Yes, yes, you're right. We can't risk tipping him off."

Tarquin continued, "I came to you in private because I didn’t want to arouse Zane's suspicion. If he's capable of this, he's likely watching your every move."

"I'd wager the Newsom family is crawling with his spies right now."

Ridley, seething with anger, struggled to catch his breath. "I trusted him too much! Thank you, Mr. Bradford, for telling me the truth. I need to find a way to save Winona."

"I've already thought of a plan for you."