CHAPTER 223: CHAPTER 223

At that moment, without wasting any more time, Raymond clenched his jaw, his body as still as stone but his mind a storm of rage and calculation. The puzzle had already started taking shape, but now... now he had no doubt. Every instinct in him screamed the same name over and over.

"It’s Rebecca and Cecilia," he said firmly, like a judge delivering a sentence. "Those two are behind this."

Right then, his phone rang. The screen lit up with the number he’d been expecting—the same contact Benjamin had been dealing with.

Raymond didn’t hesitate. He picked the call immediately and held the phone to his ear.

"Sir," the voice on the other end said nervously, "I have something for you. I’ve successfully tracked Cecilia—the person who was last with Valentina. I’ve gone through her past movements, digital footprints, route patterns, all of it. I was able to dig out a whole year’s worth of her location data. It wasn’t easy—"

"Shut up," Raymond snapped coldly, his voice sharp and deadly. "Go straight to the point."

The man swallowed hard on the other end. "Yes, sir. The signal—both hers and Valentina’s—leads to the west side of the city. Not just anywhere on the west side, but deep... I mean deep, deep, deep into the outskirts."

Raymond’s eyes narrowed, and he turned his back to Benjamin, stepping toward the window.

The voice continued, slower this time. "It’s a place I haven’t seen in regular records, sir. It’s not exactly public, but... locals call it the K-Zone. That’s where the signal stops. That’s the last place they were both picked up."

Raymond’s eyes darkened as the pieces fully locked into place.

"And from the look of things," the man added, "it’s hidden. But something is there. I can feel it. An apartment, or a house... maybe even something worse. So that is where it is leading to."

At that moment, Raymond wasn’t smiling. His face was carved in fury, his eyes dark with a deadly glow that warned of the storm coming. Anyone who dared to have a hand in what happened to Valentina—anyone—was going to pay. And it wouldn’t be pretty.

Now that he had a name, now that he had a place—the K-Zone—there was absolutely nothing left to discuss. He was going there immediately.

Still holding the phone, Raymond’s voice came out cold and absolute. "You’ll get your money immediately. Once I confirm she’s there, I’ll double it. But I’m leaving now."

He was just about to end the call, already turning to grab his coat, when the voice on the other end quickly said, "Wait—there’s something else."

Raymond paused, his eyes narrowing. "What is it?"

The man on the phone cleared his throat, speaking quickly, clearly afraid of how Raymond might react. "After digging some more, I thought you should know... there’s something in the K-Zone. Something big. Not just a house."

Raymond didn’t say anything, but the silence itself was enough pressure.

"There’s a mansion. A very large one," the man continued. "It’s old, but still well-guarded. Belongs to a family called Black."

Raymond’s eyes twitched at the name. "Black?"

"Yes," the man confirmed. "They’ve been around for a long time now. Not much is known about them in the public space, but everything I’ve found says they do legit business. No scandals, no criminal records. They’ve kept things very clean. But that mansion... it’s the only one in the K-Zone. It’s been there for years, very quiet, very private. I don’t know if it means anything, but I thought you’d want to look into it. That is the one mansion in the K-Zone and it has been there for long.

Upon hearing what the man just said, Raymond’s jaw tightened. His fist slowly clenched around the phone, his knuckles turning white. He could feel the rage boiling hotter inside him. A mansion? In the K-Zone? That place was nearly abandoned, forgotten, nothing there but dead land and secrets. And now he hears there’s a mansion? Not just a house—but a full-blown estate?

He didn’t need to be told twice. Even if he wasn’t completely sure that it was the place where Valentina was being held, something in his gut screamed that it wasn’t a coincidence. Nothing about this felt random anymore. Cecilia and Rebecca had planned this for a long time—he could feel it in every part of his body.

Still, a mansion like that wasn’t something he could just barge into blindly—not because he was scared, but because he didn’t want to risk anything that could delay getting Valentina out. But make no mistake: if she was in there, it didn’t matter if there were ten men, ten thousand, or a whole army. He was going to crush anyone who stood in his way.

Even if it was the most powerful family in the country.

Even if it was a trap.

Even if the walls were bulletproof and the landmines were buried deep—he was going in.

He would turn the place upside down to get Valentina back. Because this time... this was her last reincarnation. If he failed now, there would be no second chance. No coming back.

At that moment, Raymond’s eyes were sharp like blades. His tone dropped into something darker than steel.

"Your money will be sent to you immediately," he said coldly, then ended the call.

At that moment, Raymond slowly turned to Benjamin, his expression still unreadable but his eyes carrying fire. "Do you know the K-Zone?" he asked, his voice firm and heavy.

Benjamin, who had been silently standing a few feet away, quickly straightened up, blinking as if pulled out of his own storm of thoughts. "Yes, I do," he answered without hesitation. "I know the place. But..."

He paused, frowning deeply.

"That place... nothing is in that place," he continued slowly, as if searching through his own memories to make sense of it. "It’s like a dead part of the city—no signals, no people, no real activity. Just silence and dust. A lot of people don’t even talk about it. But now..."

He looked at Raymond, realization slowly washing over his face.

"If that’s where the signal dropped... then it makes sense. That explains everything. The phone connection, the tracking issues... everything. That place swallows signals."