Chapter 1257 No Point Regretting
“Armand, you have to help me find Jojo.” Timothy could try to search for her, too, but Armand's new status made it much easier for him to look into anything.
Timothy buried his face in his hands. When he spoke again, his voice was broken and filled with regret. “I just wanted to get rid of that baby, that's all... I didn't mean for something like this to happen...”
Initially, he had not come clean with Johanna because he wanted to take everything on himself.
He had planned on letting her finish that milk and let her think that the fetus stopped developing on its own, after which he would bring her to the hospital to induce labor.
Unfortunately, he had not been careful enough, and Johanna ended up discovering the box of medication.
Presently, Genevieve shot Timothy a dark look and pointed out, “Even if the kid isn't yours, you can't just say you love Jojo on the one hand and not look for her for months on the other. You don't deserve her at all. She's been missing for months, so what's the point of you regretting now? You might as well channel all that energy into looking after Asel.”
Having said all that, she grabbed Armand by the arm and left.
She was still glum when she got into the car. Seeing this, Armand leaned over and helped her fasten her belt, then kissed her gently.
“I know you're worried about Johanna. I'll do everything I can to find her,” he promised.
It was only then that the knot between Genevieve's brow disappeared. She reached up to caress Armand's cheek, then said quietly, “Frank gave Jojo two long-term contraceptive pills, which are effective ninety-nine percent of the time. There's no way her case could fall within the remaining one percent.”
She paused, then added gravely, “You and I both know Zephyr is as cunning as he is brutal. He kills without hesitation. Jojo wouldn't survive a month with him if she didn't have some tricks up her sleeve. She fought to stay alive for Asel and Timothy. Looking back, Timothy was wrong to have treated her the way he did.”
Timothy could have handled things better, but he chose to act on his doubts and tried to resolve things his own way. He even gave Johanna the cold shoulder.
Armand took Genevieve's hand and kissed her palm, then said slowly, “After what happened with you and Zephyr, we honestly thought he kidnapped Johanna the first time because she was close to you and he could use her as a hostage. But if that was the case, then why didn't he kidnap the kids and gain leverage against us both instead?”
Given how meticulous Zephyr was, if he could bring Johanna out of the country without leaving a single trace behind, then he could have easily abducted Lucian and Amanda as well.
Genevieve met Armand's gaze, then began dubiously, “Mando, are you saying that...”
“I believe Zephyr has feelings for Johanna.” Armand narrowed his eyes, then elaborated in a low voice, “I think Johanna has been his target right from the beginning.”
His suspicions and Genevieve's were aligned.
In retrospect, if Zephyr had simply wanted to bend Genevieve to his will, then he could have abducted Lucian and Amanda and used them as leverage. However, he had chosen to abduct Johanna, instead.
At the thought of this, Genevieve pursed her lips. “If Zephyr did not have feelings for Johanna, then he wouldn't have kidnapped her a second time. Maybe that baby is...”
She could not even bring herself to finish that sentence.
Armand went on to tell her his other guess, “Zephyr probably knew that you've been keeping in touch with Frank. He found out about Frank's identity as a spy through the mole the Gaudettes had planted in the top brass of Lostaria's police headquarters. As such, he went along with our plans and let the police take out the mafia for him. He also deliberately let Johanna escape.”
In order to fool the police, Zephyr would have to fake his death and fall off the grid for a while, during which he would not be able to take care of Johanna. It made sense, then, why he had allowed her to escape.
Then, when the time was right and he had sorted out his mess, he would come and bring her back with him.
As Genevieve put the missing pieces together, she realized that Armand's guesses were correct. She cursed inwardly. How did Jojo become the target of that psychopath?
Timothy was intelligent, and the business world was his oyster. However, unlike Zephyr, Timothy was not born into the mafia, and he certainly had not grown up in a world full of violence and manipulation where he was constantly treading on the edge of a knife.
The only person who was a match for Zephyr, who could see through his thoughts, was Armand.
Genevieve suddenly clutched Armand's arm and buried her face in his neck, saying, “Johanna will lose her mind if she finds out she's pregnant with Zephyr's kid. You have to find her and bring her back no matter what.”
“I know.” Armand caressed Genevieve's back soothingly.
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