<b>Chapter </b>74
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Xylia buried herself in Joshua’s arms and sobbed, all the grievances and hurt she’d been holding back finally pouring out.
Joshua untied her with trembling hands, gentlyforting her as he worked.
His hands trembled, and his gaze was icy and terrifying.
Sadie, who’d been standing off to the side, was scared out of her wits by Joshua’s sudden arrival. Seeing those guys beaten to the ground, she didn’t care about anything else. She snatched up her camera and dashed to the door.
But just as she reached the doorway, Joshua’s bodyguards blocked her way.
Sadie stood rooted to the spot, her face ghostly pale. “You… you guys…”
Joshua stood up, still holding Xylia close. Then he turned to Sadie with a predatory, bloodthirsty re.
“Looks like you are really enjoying this, huh?” Joshua sneered, ncing at the guys sprawled all over the floor, a cold smirk ying on his lips.
“Well then, why don’t you enjoy it yourself?” he said.
“No!” Sadie realized exactly what Joshua meant and tried to run away, but the bodyguards caught her in an instant.
The camera ttered to the floor.
Joshua carried Xylia out, giving a cold order to the bodyguards as he walked. “Keep recording,” hemanded.
The bodyguards nodded, picked up the camera, and set it up again.
“Joshua, you can’t do this to me. Let me go. Don’te any closer,” Sadie screamed, her voice echoing through the warehouse as the door mmed shut behind them, cutting off her cries.
Xylia curled up in Joshua’s arms, still crying, her emotions in turmoil. It was as if she’d shut out the world,pletely unaware of anything happening outside.
Even if she knew, she wouldn’t have spoken up for Sadie.
She wasn’t the kind to repay evil with kindness.
When she finally snapped out of it, she found herself sitting in the car, bundled up in Joshua’s coat.
The privacy screen in the back was already down.
Joshua gently took her wrist and carefully tended to her wounds.
<b>10:30 </b><b>Fri</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b>12
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“Don’t be scared. You’re safe now.” His voice was soft now, nothing like the icy, ruthless guy he’d been back in the warehouse.
Xylia opened her mouth, but no words came out.
Her chest felt so tight that she could barely breathe.
Joshua’s heart ached for her.
“I’ll take you to the hospital and have you checked out,” he said.
Xylia shook her head. “I don’t want to go to the hospital.”
“Then let’s go to the apartment. The one you used to stay in is still yours. I go over and clean up whenever I get the chance, so it’s always nice and tidy,” Joshua suggested.
Xylia agreed with a nod.
Right now, she didn’t want to go home. No ce felt safe to her anymore.
But at least with Joshua by her side, she could calm down a little.
When they arrived at the apartment, Rachel was already waiting by the door.
Seeing Joshua and Xyliaing, she hurried over and gave Xylia a quick once–over. “Are you okay?” Rachel asked, her voice full of concern.
“Take her inside and give her a proper check–up,” Joshua said.
Rachel nodded.
She took Xylia into the bedroom to give her a check–up, while Joshua stayed in the living room, calling in some food.
After that, he called his assistant. “Dig up everything on Sadie tonight and expose it online. It’s time the Zimmer family paid the price,” Joshua said, his voice cold and merciless.
Beneath his silver hair, those eyes that were once soft and warm now held a wintry chill. It was enough to make anyone’s blood run cold.
After hanging up, he got a message from Eliza.
Eliza: [Hey, you promised to throw us a wee party. Noelle is back with us this time, so you better get your butt home.]
Joshua’s expression darkened even more when he read the message.
After sending a quick reply to Eliza, he turned his gaze toward the bedroom door.
His eyes were gentle, but beneath that softness was a tangle of emotions,plicated and hard to <b>read</b><b>. </b>
<b>10:30 </b><b>Fri</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b>12
After Rachel finished checking Xylia over, she frowned.
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“It’s nothing major. Your wrists and ankles are still injured. I brought some ointment. Let me put it on for you,” Rachel said.
“Thank you,” Xylia murmured.
“Don’t mention it. Good thing that Joshua showed up when he did. Otherwise, who knows what you might’ve gone through?” Rachel said.
Xylia nodded.
Even now, she was still a little shaken up.
She looked at Rachel. “But how did you guys know I’d been kidnapped?”
“You didn’t show up all morning, and your phone kept going straight to voicemail, so I called Joshua. He…” Rachel paused.
Then she went on casually, “He called Yana, and once the Garcia family found out, they checked the security cameras and figured out where you were.”
“So that’s how it was. Seriously, thank you guys,” Xylia said softly, her voice still a little shaky.
After Rachel finished applying the ointment, she looked at Xylia.
Joshua had already told her everything that had happened, down to the details.
Rachel had thought Xylia would need some time to recover, but it turned out she was tougher than expected.
When Rachel first saw Xylia at the door, she’d noticed the fear and wariness in her eyes.
But now, her face gave nothing away, as if the whole ordeal had never happened at all.
But after she went through something like that, it was only natural she’d have some kind of trauma response.
Rachel gave Xylia a gentle pat on the shoulder and said softly, “Come on. Let’s walk out.”
Xylia nodded.
As soon as they stepped out of the bedroom, Joshua walked over. “How is she?” he asked.
“She’s fine. Her wrists and ankles are pretty banged up, but I put some ointment on them. Just make sure she ices them before bed tonight,” Rachel replied.
Joshua nodded.
Rachel nced at the time. “Something’se up, so I have to head out. See you guyster.”
After Rachel left, Xylia turned to Joshua.
“Thank you for today,” she said softly.
Joshua looked at her, worry flickering in his eyes. “Are you… really okay?”
“I’m really fine,” Xylia said.
She gave Joshua a gentle smile, trying to put him at ease.
Even seeing her smile, Joshua still couldn’t rx.
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This wasn’t the first time Xylia had been kidnapped. She’d been through it before, back when she was
overseas.
Back then, she acted like nothing was wrong, but the trauma stuck with her for ages. She’d wake up from nightmares every single night.
Thinking of this, Joshua felt like he’d let Sadie off way too easy.
“Food is on the way. Eat some and then try to get some rest,” Joshua said.
Xylia nodded. “Thank you.”
During dinner, Xylia barely spoke, keeping to herself.
Joshua kept watching her quietly, and after a while, Xylia finally broke the silence.
“Seriously, I’m fine. Do you still think I’m that little girl from back then?” She brought up the old days with a grin.
Joshua searched her face for any signs of distress, but seeing nothing, he finally rxed a little.
“You’re still just a little girl to me. Of course, I’m worried about you,” he said.
His shameless attitude made Xylia’s cheeks flush red.
‘How can Joshua go from all cold and stoic to being such a pain?‘ Xylia thought.
After dinner, Joshua kept Xyliapany until she finally drifted off to sleep. Only then did he flop onto the couch in the living room.
He figured he’d better stick around tonight and keep watch over her.
Meanwhile, at the Ford Mansion, Connor had been trying to call Xylia over and over, but her phone kept going straight to voicemail.
Something felt off, and he had a bad feeling about it. Without wasting another second, he ordered his people to track her down.
The <b>living </b>room was thick with tension, like a storm was brewing.
Orion coughed a few times, his wrinkled face flushing red from the effort.
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“No matter what, we have to find Xylia. We finally got in with the Garcia family. We can’t mess this up now,” Orion said, his tone urgent.
Connor didn’t say a word. After a few tense seconds, he snatched up his car keys and got to his feet, face grim and determined.
Right now, he couldn’t care less about the Garcia family. Xylia’s cab had headed out toward the suburbs. No way this was normal.
He had to find her.
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