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 nced 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 bepletely 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 thewyer gone to the station yet?"


    Oliver''s voice on the other end was slightly heavy. "Thewyer 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 ording 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 ke family is nowhere near as powerful as they used to be."


    A mix of emotions welled up inside me. Hearing Oliver''s words, I thought I about the decline of the ke


    crept into my mind.  fo


    family. Then, a bold idea t


    Could it be Lucas?


    But I quickly shook my head, pushing the ridiculous thought away.


    The key issue was, why would Lucas do this? He wasn''t short on money.


    novel


    His top priority right now was securing his position in the


    Schneider family.


    If he had really kidnapped Julian, the


    other members of the Schneider family who were already eyeing him with suspicion would never let him off easily.


    Lucas had no reason to act recklessly. Besides, thinking back to the cufflink, it didn''t seem to carry any special meaning.


    The gemstone embedded in it was a deep blood-redpletely different from Lucas'' usual style.


    Shaking off my stray thoughts, I focused on one thing-picking up Alex.


    ...


    The gates of the police station opened, and Alex walked out. The moment I saw him, my emotions flipped from excitement to grievance.


    Seeing him standing there unharmed, I could no longer hold back my tears.


    "Serena." Alex smiled softly at me at first, but then his brows furrowed. "Why are you crying?"


    There were still quite a few officers around, and Oliver was beside me, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn''t stop my tears.


    "Alright, alright." Alex gently patted my head. "How can someone your age still be such a crybaby?"


    "You look exhausted." My gaze fell on the stubble on his chin and his unkempt hair.


    A pang of sadness hit me. This was Alex, someone always so refined and well put-together. Yet now, he looked like this.