When Joshua woke up again, the strong smell of disinfectant flooded his nose.

There was a steady beeping from the machines somewhere nearby.

After a brief moment of disorientation, he shot up in bed.

Eliza and Aaron, who had been sitting by his side, were startled by his sudden movement. They quickly moved closer, concern etched on their faces.

“Joshua, are you okay? You scared me half to death!” Eliza cried out, her voice choked as she threw her arms around him.

Joshua had been unconscious for a full day and night.

Eliza had been terrified that he might never wake up.

Fragments of what happened before he passed out shed rapidly through Joshua’s mind. He broke free from Eliza’s embrace and locked his eyes on her, desperation written all over his face, silently begging for answers.

“Mom, where’s Xylia?” Joshua pressed, his voice tight with anxiety.

Eliza’s eyes darted away, clearly avoiding Joshua’s gaze. She fidgeted and tried to deflect, saying softly, “You just woke up. You need to rest a bit longer. I’ll call the doctor toe and check on you again.”

With that, Eliza quickly slipped out of the room.

Joshua didn’t hesitate–he ripped out the IV drip, tossed the nket aside, and tried to swing his legs off the bed.

Aaron stepped in to block him.

“Just wait a second,” he said.

“I’m not freaking out, am I?” Joshua shot back with a cold sneer, his bloodshot eyes boring into Aaron.

“Xylia was on that ne. I need to find her,” he said tly, making it clear he wasn’t taking no for an answer.

Aaron’s frown deepened as he watched Joshua’s steady tone.

He knew his son better than anyone. “The calmer Joshua gets, the crazier he is inside,‘ Aaron thought, anxiety knotting in his chest.

Aaron knew that if he let Joshua go now, there was no telling what kind of reckless thing his son might pull.

He reached out to steady Joshua, cing a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

Joshua didn’t even hesitate. He shoved Aaron’s hand off, hard, not holding back one bit.

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Aaron’s hand immediately flushed red from the force. ‘What an ungrateful brat!‘ he thought, his frustration surging.

‘Little ingrate!‘ Aaron fumed inwardly.

“If I’m guessing right, Xylia’s probably safe,” Aaron said, his voice steady, trying to calm Joshua.

Joshua’s movements slowed, then stopped as Aaron spoke.

He lifted his gaze to Aaron, eyes full of questions. “What do you mean?”

Seeing Joshua finally calm down, Aaron waited a moment, then pulled out his phone. His fingers flew as he pulled something up.

Aaron handed the phone over to Joshua.

“I got someone to pull the airline’s surveince footage. Check it out,” Aaron said.

Joshua grabbed the phone–he couldn’t wait another second.

The surveince footage stayed clear and uninterrupted all the way until thest ten minutes before takeoff.

Joshua could see Xylia standing at the entrance, waiting with her small suitcase by her side.

But exactly ten minutes before the ne was supposed to leave, the feed suddenly went ck—just like that, no warning.

And after that, it never came back online.

“The airline ims the surveince ckout was just some random technical glitch, but if you ask me, that’s way too convenient,” Aaron said, a hint of skepticism in his voice.

He took a seat on the bench by the bed, fixing Joshua with a steady, serious look.

“The authorities haven’t released anything official yet, but I’ve got some insider info. Apparently, there were a lot of shady things about this flight. I’m pretty sure there was a small bomb on board that took out the wing,” Aaron exined.

Joshua clenched his fists, his mind following Aaron’s line of reasoning.

“If someone could pull off something like this, it means they’ve got the means to smuggle illegal weapons, and they’re ruthless enough not to care who gets hurt,” Joshua said, his tone grim.

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Richard was the only person Joshua could think of–there was no one else.

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But if his aim was just to hurt Xylia, why would he take down a whole ne and sacrifice everyone on board?

‘Does that mean Xylia wasn’t his real target?‘ Joshua wondered.

Now that Joshua was finally awake, his mind was clear enough to start putting the pieces together.

He nced over at Aaron and caught that same look in his father’s eyes–they were definitely on the same

page.

Joshua swung his legs off the bed again, ready to get moving.

“Mom went to get the doctor,” came the update from somewhere in the room.

“I know my own body,” Joshua replied firmly.

Joshua threw on some clean clothes and strode out of the room. This time, Aaron didn’t try to hold him back.

When Eliza came back with the doctor, Joshua was already gone.

“Where’s Joshua?” Eliza asked.

“He left,” Aaron replied calmly.

“Weren’t you supposed to watch him? Xylia just got hurt–aren’t you afraid he’ll go off and do something crazy?” Eliza snapped, unable to hide her worry.

Fuming, Eliza marched right up to Aaron andnded a smack on his head.

Aaron, old enough to know better but still getting scolded by his wife, nced awkwardly at the doctor, face flushing with embarrassment.

The doctor quickly looked the other way, suddenly finding his clipboard incredibly fascinating.

Aaron reached out and took Eliza’s hand, holding it gently.

“Don’t worry, Joshua knows how to handle himself,” Aaron said, doing his best to reassure her.

Eliza yanked her hand away. “If anything happens to him, you’ll have me to answer to!”

Noelle arrived just in time to hear Eliza’s sharp words as she entered the room.

She hurried over and said, “Don’t worry, Aunt Eliza. I’ll go after Joshua and make sure he doesn’t do anything reckless!”

With that, Noelle darted out of the room.

‘Awesome! Richard actually pulled it off, just like he promised.’ Noelle’s mind buzzed with excitement.

‘Now that Xylia’s out of the picture, I’m the only girl left by Joshua’s side.’

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“This time. I’ll make sure he’s mine—no one’s going to stand in my way!‘

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Once Noelle was gone, Eliza turned to Aaron, her voice dropping to a low whisper. “Are you sure this is going

to work?”

Aaron just nodded.

He answered, “Just wait.”

As Xylia started to regain consciousness, she instantly felt both her hands painfully numb, the blood in them barely moving.

Her nose was filled with that same unpleasant, all–too–familiar chemical scent.

She slowly opened her eyes, blinking, and saw Richard sitting calmly right across from her.

Richard spoke up, his tone cold and collected, “Ms. Sadler, I see you’re finally awake.”

The whole vibe screamed airne cabin, and Richard had twisted his seat around so he was sitting face–to- face with her, like he wanted a proper showdown.

The sharp hiss of cold air whistling past the ne’s fusge filled the silence, making everything feel even

tenser.

Richard had been absolutely sure Xylia would wake up freaking out, screaming, eyes wild with terror–he was bracing for a scene.

But instead, Xylia was way too calm, way more collected than he’d ever expected. Itpletely threw him off.

There was a hint of fear in her eyes, but her expression stayed calm and collected. Instead of panicking or demanding answers about why she’d been kidnapped, Xylia kept herposure.

She fixed Richard with an icy, deadpan stare.

Richard blinked. Even he had to ask, “You’re… not scared?”

For someone like Richard, who’d been through every kind of intense situation before, Xylia’s reaction was more than enough to pique his curiosity.

“My hands are numb. Can you untie me?” Xylia kept her voice even, shifting her wrists a little to emphasize her point.

She twisted her hands, feeling how tight the ropes were–no wonder her fingers were tingling and half–dead.

‘For real? Using in old rope to tie someone up–what year is this? Does he not even know handcuffs exist?‘ Xylia griped inwardly, rolling her eyes in her head.

Her skin stung where the rough fibers had rubbed her wrists raw–she really could feel the tender flesh getting scraped open.

Richard ignored her and just sized her up with that cool gaze, acting like she hadn’t said a word.

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“We’re stuck on your ne, surrounded by your guys. I don’t have a clue about self–defense, and even if you untie me, what could I possibly do? There’s no way I’d get away, Xylia said, keeping her tone steady–almost like she was stating a boring fact,

Xylia yed her card, tossing out the most reasonable excuse she could give him.

Richard hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he went ahead and untied her.

Xylia flexed her wrists, the shallow scratches on her skin still tingling.

Richard studied her, brows furrowed.

“You’re really not scared?” Richard asked, unable to hide his curiosity.

“Does it even matter? You’ve already brought me here, haven’t you?” Xylia shot back calmly, refusing to let any

fear show. fn043b The source of th?s content is Find1Novel/fn043b

On the surface, Xylia kept her cool, but deep down she was absolutely terrified.

After parting ways with Joshua at the airport, she’d been about to get on her flight when out of nowhere she needed a bathroom break.

With the line looking way too long, she figured she’d just duck into the restroom real quick for a speedy pit stop.

She’d barely turned the corner when someone suddenly pressed a towel over her mouth and nose, catching herpletely off guard.

Before she could even react, she was out cold.

Now, waking up to find Richard sitting right there, her fear only grew.

“Though Joshua never really told me what kind of guy Richard was,‘ Xylia thought, uncertainty swirling in her chest.

But after what happened at that nightclub, there was no doubt–Richard was trouble.

Now that she was in Richard’s hands, what terrified Xylia most was the idea of him holding her hostage- using her to force Joshua’s hand, making him do something he’d regret.

With that thought burning in her mind, she forced herself to look even calmer than she felt, determined not to let a single trace of fear slip through.

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