CHAPTER 164: THE BEACH HOUSE

Arthur didn’t respond immediately to the question, but he didn’t plan to give her the answer.

Silence filled the room, and finally, he shifted the conversation. "Actually, the main reason I brought you here is to ask about River."

Hazel had anticipated this topic; it seemed Arthur was eager to get to the main point.

"Could you tell me where River is now? I know you have been in contact with her. I will let you go once you answer all of my questions."

Hazel looked at him closely. This was the moment that she had been waiting for all this time. This was the main reason why she was here in the first place.

"I will answer all of your questions, but I also have a question of my own," Hazel negotiated. This wouldn’t be the first time for her to negotiate with her father, and she knew her way with Arthur.

Hearing that, Arthur contemplated the answer. He looked taken aback by the way Hazel was speaking.

Before this meeting, he had gathered information about the daughter of Greyson Rose, but based on what he had learned, Hazel had a very normal life.

There was nothing special about her. She didn’t have any particular talent that made her outstanding. The media was not interested in her life at all because it would only make a piece of boring news.

"What is your question?"

Hazel didn’t waste her time. "Tell me what you know about the reason for River’s disappearance." She needed to understand where Arthur stood in all of this and what the reason was for him to be very adamant about looking for River.

Was she only an important piece in his arsenal?

Arthur’s gaze hardened with the question. He took his time to formulate the answer. "The answer is complicated, Mrs. Leighton. This is a family problem."

He was trying to be vague with her, but Hazel wouldn’t allow him. "You do know that Aubrey and Arlo are the reason behind River’s disappearance."

That was not a question but a statement. Now, Arthur wondered how much Hazel knew about it. Did River tell her everything? But why? River was not reckless, and someone like Hazel wouldn’t be able to help her in any way.

Hazel didn’t hold real power.

"But do you know about their involvement?"

"How much do you know about it? Did River tell you?" Arthur narrowed his eyes. Hazel knew so many things for someone like her.

Not to mention, with the manner of her speaking, it almost felt like Arthur was talking to River herself. Though he favored Aubrey more than River, most of the time he would spend his time with River to talk about everything business-related.

And this was precisely how their conversation went. The feeling was the same. It shook Arthur a bit.

"You can say so," Hazel replied. Absentmindedly, she caressed her belly. A habit that she developed recently.

By this time, Ranon must have learned about her disappearance. She wondered how he reacted to the news.

Hazel would allow him forty-eight hours to find her, but more than that... Well, she would deem that man was not really good at finding people. She overestimated him.

"How close are you two?" Arthur leaned over. He observed Hazel closely. "I am sure you didn’t know River for long. She doesn’t have any friends."

Ouch.

Could these people stop mentioning the fact she didn’t have any friends? The fact hurt. Whose fault was it that she didn’t have any friends?

"Close enough for me to know that Aubrey was already pregnant with Arlo’s baby when he was still engaged to River. I am sure you already know about that, but when did you learn about it? Was it after or before River’s disappearance?"

The baby kicked in, probably because she felt Hazel’s strong emotion. She might be able to get over her feelings for Arlo pretty quickly, but their betrayal cut too deep for her to forget.

"Mrs. Leighton, you indeed know a lot of things about this family." If Arthur was shocked, he concealed it very well. Hazel couldn’t read what was in his mind. "Knowing too much is not good for you."

"I think I can handle the knowledge. But indeed, not many people are as knowledgeable as they thought they were."

It felt like Hazel was taunting him, especially with the fact that Arthur captured her for the reason that he didn’t know where River was and what actually happened on that day when she disappeared.

Arthur still harbored the feeling there was foul play with Aubrey and Arlo, but he didn’t have any proof for that.

The only proof he had told him otherwise.

"Tell me where River is." Arthur looked defensive now. This woman got on his nerves. She should be more cooperative. She didn’t have the upper hand right now. "I am being very patient with you right now."

"You didn’t even answer my question; why should I answer yours?" Hazel caressed her belly again when her baby kicked her.

"I am being nice here..."

"No, you are not," Hazel cut him off. "At the very least, you could have fed me first before we had this conversation."

Now Hazel realized why her baby had been kicking her. She was hungry, and her baby was apparently a foodie...

***

"Ranon... Don’t you think we need to handle this more delicately...?" Lucian walked quickly behind Ranon with Ares beside him; both of them exchanged looks.

"We need to make a plan first, Ranon," Ares added. Usually, Ranon was the sound of reason, but he was being reckless right now.

"This is the plan." Ranon signaled to his men that he had gathered to enter the cars.

"What plan? Did you leave me out of the discussion? I didn’t hear any plan." Lucian looked at Ranon and Ares back and forth.

However, even Ares didn’t know what the plan was.

"Get my wife and baby back." Ranon entered the car and started the engine.

"You can’t count that as a plan!" Lucian grew frustrated, but he and Ares immediately jumped into the car to follow Ranon, since he didn’t seem like he would wait for them.

And Lucian was right because even before he could close the door, Ranon had stepped into acceleration.

"Damn, Ranon!" Lucian regretted his decision to get into the same car with Ranon; he should have driven another car, knowing how restless he was currently.

Meanwhile, Ares put on his seatbelt. He knew better than to talk Ranon down on this matter since most likely he wouldn’t hear him anyway.

With them, there were a few cars with armed men.

Ranon was right; the plan was simple. He was going to get his wife and baby back.

It had been five hours since Hazel disappeared, and he didn’t know what happened to her and what the Lozens would do to her.

They could torture her to get the information out of her.

Ranon was very familiar with that kind of method. He had done that countless times too, since it was the most effective way to get someone to talk.

Even though Hazel was not as delicate as people thought she was, still, she wouldn’t be able to withstand torture. It would be entirely different from the corporal punishment she received from Greyson.

The thought of that alone boiled Ranon’s blood with anger.

However, he was completely wrong because it was not Hazel who was being tortured currently but the people around her.

"I can’t eat this! I have an allergy." Hazel pushed away her food, which contained shrimp. "At least, educate yourself on the people that you kidnapped!"

Hazel glowered at Sam. She knew him; she used to order him around when they had a mission together when she was River, and this man could be thoughtless.

Sam threw a dagger look at Hazel in response. He looked like he was so close to killing her because she had so many demands.

Arthur had left for a while to give Hazel some space as she enjoyed her meal.

Seeing her pregnant self reminded him of Aubrey. Called him sensitive, but he was not so heartless as to harm a pregnant woman.

Currently, he was in his office room, staring at his phone. He would rather not be disturbed, so he turned it off. He would face Aubrey later.

Meanwhile, after getting the food she wanted, Hazel looked around this room and opened the window to let the sea breeze enter. The taste of salt bit her senses, but it also brought a lot of memories for her.

She knew this place really well.

It was the beach house where her father had taken her when she was little. This was also the same place that little River had often visited at the tender age of five; she had a picture of it on her desk in the Lozen’s family house.

But this was also the place where teenage River had spent countless hours training as she grew older. This place held the echoes of her childhood, a mix of bittersweet and sorrow.

There was a time when Arthur acted like a loving father to River, but this place also bore witness to how their relationship slowly changed from father and daughter to boss and subordinate.

"The view from this window is still the same," Hazel muttered to herself.

"Have you been here? Do you know this place?"

Hazel was startled and turned around to find Arthur was already there. She immersed herself in memory; she didn’t realize he had entered the room.