Most of the hostages were young, affluent men and women attending Jasmine''s debut.
Under the stern gaze of the Walkers, they frantically called their families, voices shaking as they exined the dire situation.
Calvin Walker demanded ten million dors from each family in exchange for their safety.
Sophia, too frightened to contact her grandfather, decided to call her grandmother instead.
"Sophia, I''ve been waiting for your call," Grandma Lancaster answered, her voice bright with joy and anticipation.
"I assume we''ve secured the partnership with the Kingston family, right? Do you want a grand wedding with Chris tomorrow?"
Sophia''s heart sank, a lump forming in her throat.
She took a deep breath. "Grandma, the Emerson family got the partnership. We lost it."
"What do you mean, we lost it?" Lady Lancaster''s voice sharpened with disbelief. "We didn''t secure the deal with Kingston," Sophia repeated softly.
"But we paid a hundred million! How could we not get it? Did the Emersons offer more?"
"No, Grandma. Alex was right. Jerry was fired from Kingston; he doesn''t have any influence anymore." "What?" There was a stunned silence as Lady Lancaster tried to process the news.
"But we still have BioHealth Solutions, don''t we? That''s worth a hundred and fifty million."
"Grandma, Kingston has already cut ties with BioHealth. It''s practically on the verge of bankruptcy."
"What?" The shock hit Lady Lancaster like a physical blow
She sank into a chair, her strength leaving her.
"Can we sell BioHealth quickly to recover our losses?" she asked desperately.
Sophia sighed. "When I found out, I asked our financial manager to check BioHealth''s records. Today, they took out a loan of a hundred million dors."
"What does that mean?"
"It means we''ll have to cover BioHealth''s debts too."
A heavy silence hung between them.
"This isn''t some kind of joke, is it?" Lady Lancaster''s voice was faint, almost pleading.
"No, Grandma," Sophia whispered.
After another long pause, Sophia realized there was nothing more to say.
"I have to go now. There''s something I need to do."
She ended the call and turned to find Alex watching her.
"You''re not asking for money to save yourself?" Alex''s voice was gentle, his eyes searching hers.
Tears welled up in Sophia''s eyes.
"The Lancasters don''t have any money left," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.
Suddenly, Calvin grabbed Sophia''s hand, a predatory smile spreading across his face.
"That won''t do," he said smoothly.
"You might not make it out of here alive without paying. But I''ll let you off the hook
if
f you can pleasure me."
"You''re disgusting!" Sophia snapped, yanking her hand away.
"I like a woman with temper," Calvin sheered, his eyes turned lustful.
"Makes me horny," he said, grabbing her wrist again, his grip like a vice, suffocating and relentless.
He leaned in closer, his eyes raking over her body with a hunger that made her stomach churn.
His breath, hot and invasive, brushed against her skin.
“You''re beautiful,” he whispered. “I''ll make you scream for me. You''ll beg for more, I promise."
A low, vulgarugh escaped his throat, sending a wave of revulsion through her.
Sophia tried to pull away, but his hold was relentless.
"Let her go!" Lyra shouted, stepping forward to intervene.
214
But one of Calvin''s men intercepted her, grabbing her arm with a leering grin.
"Don''t worry, sweetheart," Calvin said. "We''ll get to you soon enough.'' "Calvin, “Jasmine spoke up. "You orchestrated all this just to kidnap me. Stop involving everyone else."
Calvin chuckled darkly. "Princess, the world doesn''t revolve around you. I do as I please. Now, keep quiet, or I''ll let my little brother have his way with you everywhere."
"Disgusting!" Jasmine spat, her eyes shing with contempt.
"You should take your hands off her," came a calm voice from behind.
Calvin turned to see Alex standing there, his expression unreadable.
"And who might you be?" Calvin sneered.
"That''s not important," Alex replied evenly. "Let her go."
Calvinughed mockingly. "And if I don''t?"
"Then you''ll regret it in your dead."
Calvin''sughter grew louder.
"You think you''re some kind of hero? This isn''t a fairy tale
He gestured to one of his men, who promptly shoved a male guest to the ground
and pressed a gun to his head. “I''m going to have some fun with these lovelydies," Calvin announced, his eyes glinting with malice.
"And if you make a move, my friend here will stter this guy''s brains all over the floor. So, what''s it going to be, hero?"
Alex''s face remained calm, "I''ll just have to take you both down."
Calvin smirked. "You have no idea who you''re dealing with You''ve got guts, I''ll give you that."
"No," Alex said quietly. "But I do know that if you don''t let her go, you and all your people here will be a dead man in five seconds."
The room fell silent.
Calvin let out a boomingugh.
His men, quick to follow their leader''s lead, erupted intoughter, the sound growing louder and more mocking. "Seriously? Who does this guy think he is?" Calvin sneered, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Let''s see how you n to kill all of us in five seconds. And remember, if I''m not dead in five, you will be."
Ten walkers raised their machine guns, all aimed at Alex''s head, surrounding him.
In seconds, they would turn his skull into a beehive of bullets.
Alex held his gaze for a moment, then simply said, "Execute."
Elsewhere, Lucas Walkerughed. "Alfred, your time is almost up. Make your
decision now, or your daughter dies."
Alfred Kingston stood rigid, his mind racing. He had already received a call from
Jasmine, fully aware of the dire situation.
“Fine,” Alfred said finally, his voice heavy with resignation
His daughter''s life meant more to him than anything.
"Smart choice," Lucas sneered. "You should have agreed sooner."
Suddenly, Alfred''s phone rang. ncing at the caller ID, he quickly answered.
A single, reassuring sentence came through the line:
"The Kingswells are here."
A slow smile spread across Alfred''s face,