The Substitute Bride: Idiot Or Not? novel Chapter 61

“How forgetful of you, Mr. Fairchild!”

A series of strange mechanical laughter then drifted out from the phone. “Your residential area is so elite that even calling for an elevator requires a fingerprint. Can't you figure out how my man took the elevator up?”

Xavier's expression promptly darkened.

Winnie's thoughts quickly aligned with his—the finger belonged to Yulissa.

Yulissa's fingerprint was registered with the management, so she had no issues taking the building's elevator.

Therefore, it was evident that the person earlier used her severed finger to call for the elevator and successfully reached the thirty-second floor. Subsequently, he placed the cardboard box containing the severed finger at Xavier's doorstep.

As though to verify Xavier's conjecture, the other party instantly sent a video over.

In the video, a woman was bound to a chair. Her right hand was missing a finger, and blood was dripping incessantly.

Although she was disheveled, one could still tell that the woman was Yulissa.

As a bucket of icy water hit her full in the face, Yulissa immediately jolted awake.

Upon seeing that someone was filming her from the front, she wailed at the camera at once.

“Save me, Xavier! Hurry up and save me! It wasn't my intention to fight with you yesterday, nor did I intend to go to the bar to drink. I'm sorry! Please save me. They've chopped off my finger, and they'll kill me if you don't comply with their demands. I'm not afraid of death, Xavier. But I'm afraid that they'll violate me. I'm your woman, so I don't want to be sullied by them. They're the scum of the earth and have no humanity to speak of. Save me, Xavier!”

Tears streamed down her face. Fear, terror, and anguish were all etched across her features.

At that precise moment, however, the video cut off.

The kidnapper's voice rang out once more.

“It looks like you gave your woman the boot last night, Mr. Fairchild. I initially didn't want to kidnap her, but she ran right into me while blind drunk alone. Thus, I had no choice but to take her away.”

Xavier's brows furrowed, but he remained as calm as ever. “Just cut straight to the chase. How much do you want exactly?”

“You're indeed a straightforward person, Mr. Fairchild! No matter what, she's your woman, so it's not too much to ask you for twenty million, right?”

Xavier didn't bother yakking with him. “Name the time and place.”

“Sit tight first, Mr. Fairchild. I'll decide the time and place. After that, I'll notify you. But Mr. Fairchild, I hope you can play by my rules. Otherwise, you'll only be able to collect your woman's body.”

“Go on. I'm listening.” Xavier was unhurried, his speech brief and concise. It was as though he was merely discussing a not-so-important business.

“I want gold bars. Change the twenty million into gold bars. Most importantly, you're not to lodge a police report. If you do so, your woman will die a ghastly death.”

“Okay. But it takes time to change the money into gold bars.”

“In that case, I'll give you two hours. Drive over alone.”

At that, Xavier paused for a moment. “My leg is broken, so I can't drive alone. In fact, it's in a cast right now. If you spent any time investigating me before planning this kidnapping, you should know that I'm speaking the truth.”

Following that, the kidnapper discussed it with the others and relented right away.

“Fine, you can bring a driver along. But it must be a female driver. Now, the countdown to two hours begins. I hope you can get the gold bars ready as soon as possible. I'm looking forward to our meeting.”

After saying that, the kidnapper hung up without a second's delay.

Only then did the house return to its usual silence.