No Escape from Love novel Chapter 199

Mom had been standing nearby the whole time. I knew she was worried about me, afraid that Mr. Hastings Senior would vent his anger on me again.

Mr. Hastings Senior glanced at Mom awkwardly before clearing his throat. "About this morning… Don't take it to heart. I was just too worried about Alex. He has sacrificed a lot for Hastings Group over the years, and now, countless eyes are watching him.

"He can't afford even the slightest mistake—especially something as serious as being taken to the police station. If this isn't handled properly, Alex's reputation will be completely ruined."

I nodded. "I understand, Mr. Hastings Senior. I'm also very worried about Mr. Hastings. At least now, everything is finally okay."

Mr. Hastings Senior nodded, and his gaze toward me softened with kindness. "You've worked hard today."

…

Early the next morning, I received a call from Oliver. "Ms. Ashford, Mr. Hastings has been released."

"Really?" I sat up in surprise. "So soon? Has the lawyer gone to the station yet?"

Oliver's voice on the other end was slightly heavy. "The lawyer hasn't gone yet, but three young men turned themselves in. They confessed to kidnapping Julian."

I frowned. "What was their reason?"

"They said they knew Julian's identity and wanted to extort money from him."

I became even more puzzled. "But according to Julian, they only beat him up. They never actually extorted him."

My first instinct was that these people were taking the fall for someone else. But whose crime were they covering up? I had no idea.

For now, the most important thing was picking up Alex.

"The police are still investigating the cufflink." Oliver sighed. "I looked into it. If that brand's cufflink was custom-made, it would cost at least 50 grand. Someone who can afford to spend that much on a single cufflink wouldn't need to kidnap Julian for money. Besides, the Blake family is nowhere near as powerful as they used to be."