Once a Doormat Now Untouchable (Caleb and Sydney) novel Chapter 596

Chapter 596

On the phone, a mechanical female voice announced that the device was powered off.

Marcus’ unease surfaced at once. “Was that Mr. Hampton?”

“Yes.” Julian’s chest tightened. His expression darkened as he put his phone away and turned to Alan. “Something may have happened to Sydney. I need to find her immediately. I’ll leave a few bodyguards here. If anything happens, you can—”

“All right, all right,” Alan cut him off, no less anxious. “I don’t need you worrying about me. Go find Sydney. Now.

She was still pregnant. Nothing could happen to her. Regret crept in as Alan wondered if he should have stopped Sydney earlier, if he should have kept her from leaving at all.

Marcus looked at Julian. “I’ll go with you. Another person means more help.”

“I don’t lack manpower.” Julian refused without hesitation. “You stay here with Alan and confirm whether the antidote is safe.”

With that, he strode away with Elliot, not slowing for even a second.

The moment they left the ward, the pressure around Julian intensified. Without turning his head, he asked, “Have you found Caleb’s whereabouts?”

“Still checking.” Elliot felt his scalp tighten. Only a minute or two had passed. Even at peak efficiency, there were limits. His heart raced all the same. He feared that Sydney truly had been hurt.

Those around Julian cared deeply for her. In many ways, Sydney had grown up right in front of them. When she was little, who had not carried her, soothed her, or picked her up from school?

The ward was on the third floor. Julian did not wait for the elevator. He took the emergency stairwell and headed straight for the surveillance room.

Inside, a security guard who had been slacking off felt the light dim. He looked up, saw Julian’s grim face, and nearly froze. He sprang to his feet. “Mr. Sterling?”

Elliot tipped his chin toward the monitors. “Pull up the footage from the inpatient building entrance from half an hour ago.

The guard complied at once.

Julian’s sharp gaze fixed on the screen. Before long, he tapped it with one finger. “Stop.”

Sydney appeared on the monitor, hurrying out of the inpatient building toward the hospital entrance. The hospital’s surveillance system had almost no blind spots. Moments later, she got into a black Maybach with the license plate A88888.

Elliot clenched his jaw. “It’s Caleb’s car.”

On the way to Hampton Corp. to retrieve the antidote, Elliot had already discovered that Caleb had been making arrangements at the port. If Caleb intended to harm Sydney, the first move should have been to leave Sterling territory. Instead, he brought her to the Hampton estate and stayed there.

Nothing added up.

Elliot hesitated. “Then… are we still going to the Hampton estate?”

“Yes.” Julian closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down as he sorted through the facts. “Have all exits been reinforced?”

“Yes,” Elliot replied at once. “We’ve coordinated with the police to set up checkpoints at every highway exit out of the city. Ports, airports, and stations are all under surveillance with our personnel in place. Ms. Wilson cannot be taken out through any of them.”

Everything appeared airtight. All that remained was locating someone within their own territory. It should have been foolproof, far simpler than the countless near-death situations they had endured before.

Yet Elliot noticed a faint tremor in the fingers resting against Julian’s thigh.

He was about to speak when the man, usually so composed and calculating, murmured, “She’ll be fine. She won’t be hurt…”

After a brief pause, he added, almost as a plea, “She won’t… right?”