“What else do you want? I’ve already given you everything you asked for!” Cristofer exclaimed.
Immediately after he talked, Victor sent a video. When Cristofer watched it, he saw the familiar décor of Room 1231 at the Grand Hotel. In the middle of the large bed, Estelle looked at the camera with fear and helplessness, her hands tied up.
Filled with anger, Cristofer shouted, “Victor, if you harm her, I will make you suffer!”
“Haha!” Victor’s laughter echoed from the other end. “How will I suffer?” he said casually.
“What exactly do you want? Tell me,” Cristofer softened his tone and continued, “I’ll give you whatever you ask for.”
“What if I want you dead?” Victor asked.
“Then I’ll die as you wish!” Cristofer responded quickly and without hesitation. “Let me talk to Estelle. I want to make sure she’s okay.”
Hearing this, Victor made a mocking sound and said, “Wow, you love her so much! Miss Hudson, did you hear that? Cristofer is even willing to die for you. Are you touched? If I were you, I’d marry him again.”
‘He is talking to Estelle!’ Cristofer thought as he listened to Victor’s words. His hand trembled slightly while holding the phone. He held his breath anxiously, waiting for Estelle to speak, hoping to find out how she was doing.
Cristofer wondered, “Is she okay now? In the video, she seemed so frightened, almost on the verge of tears! Being abducted by someone as dangerous as Victor, she must be extremely scared.”
As Cristofer thought about this, he felt like his heart had been torn to pieces. He then called out, “Estelle? Star? Can you hear me?”
Victor chuckled and replied, “I’ve turned on the speaker. Your Estelle heard you loud and clear. Miss Hudson, say something. If you stay silent, Cristofer might think I’ve harmed you.”
“Didn’t you do anything to me?” Estelle asked.
Though she was a bit distant from the phone, Cristofer could hear her clearly. Contrary to his expectations, Estelle wasn’t crying or frightened. Instead, she sounded remarkably composed and somewhat impatient.
“Have you both had your fun? I’m done with this. Why did you drag me into your feud? I owe you nothing!” Estelle declared.
Hearing her words, Victor warned her with a cold tone, “Miss Hudson, watch your words.”
Ignoring his warning, Estelle continued, “Listen to me, Cristofer and Victor. I want nothing to do with either of you anymore. It doesn’t matter which one of you is Mr. Mysterious. I’ll forget the meaningless past between Mr. Mysterious and me.”
Cristofer was stunned when he heard her words and asked in disbelief, “Meaningless… past?”
“Yes. What’s the matter? Do you expect me to cherish the memories of our past? The man I loved deeply is the one who hurt me profoundly. If you were in my shoes, could you accept it?” Estelle responded.
Cristofer was left speechless, his throat tight, unable to utter a word.
“Cristofer, please, I beg you to stay away from me. You’ve played the role of the perfect husband in public, and now everyone in Hadale believes that you deeply care about me. This means anyone can use me to threaten you, and I might be kidnapped or put in danger repeatedly in the future. I just want to live a peaceful life and not be dragged into trouble because of you anymore!” Estelle expressed with deliberate anger in her voice.
Cristofer remained silent.
Seeing Victor giving her a cold and dangerous look, Estelle didn’t wait for Cristofer to respond. She quickly added, “By the way, no matter what Victor has done, he’s your brother. He has endured a lot in these past years. Now that he’s returning to the Hans family, he should rightfully get what belongs to him.”
After a brief pause, Cristofer swallowed hard and said hoarsely, “… I understand.”
“He had a difficult life before, so it’s somewhat understandable that he acted irrationally out of jealousy. Please don’t hold it against him. Even though he kidnapped me, he didn’t harm me. He promised me a sum of money once he obtains the Hans family’s assets so that I can provide a good life for our children. He’s not a bad person. Please don’t become his enemy,” Estelle explained.
“He didn’t harm you? I saw the video he sent. He had tied your hands with a rope,” Cristofer said.
“He did that in a moment of impulse. Don’t make a big deal out of it. I don’t blame him. He has already untied me and assured me he’ll release me later,” Estelle clarified.
“Estelle, are you really safe now?” Cristofer said with a trace of doubt in his voice.
Estelle urgently continued without directly answering his question, “Anyway, please don’t make an enemy out of Victor. Do your best to satisfy him and compensate him. Promise me?”
Cristofer grew sadder with each word he heard. He swallowed hard and gently asked, “Estelle, I’m coming to get you now.”
“No! Don’t come here!” Estelle quickly and firmly refused without hesitation. “You hurt me and caused me immense pain before. But for my sake, you tried to regain your memory and got seriously injured. We’re now even. From this point on, we have no connection with each other. Don’t come here. I don’t want to see you anymore.”
After delivering these harsh words in one breath, she quickly leaned forward, reached for the phone in Victor’s hand, and threw it out of the window. A few seconds later, they heard a loud crash as the phone hit the ground.
Victor, still holding the phone posture, looked down at his empty hand. He sneered and said coldly, “As expected, women are all liars.” With that, he moved closer to Estelle.
Frowning, Estelle watched him warily and slowly retreated.
“What you said to Cristofer was so hurtful. He must be heartbroken now,” Victor remarked.
Estelle continued moving backward and was gradually pushed into a corner by Victor. In a moment of desperation, she grabbed the lamp from the tea table and pointed it at Victor, who was approaching her.
“Cristofer will give you the Hans family properties. Besides, he’s seriously injured now and poses no threat to you. Please let him go, okay?” she pleaded.
Without uttering a word, Victor snatched the lamp from her hand and threw it out of the window. The sound of the lamp shattering on the ground was much louder than the phone’s fall. Even from that height, they heard the harsh sound of the glass lampshade breaking.
“Intelligent women can be so troublesome,” Victor muttered, frowning. He shifted his gaze to Estelle, extending his large hand to grip her slender neck with increasing force. “I told you to call him here, but you didn’t want him to come, so you deliberately said those things to make him give up on you, didn’t you? Miss Hudson, I didn’t want to harm you, but you’ve ruined my grand plan.”