Samuel’s cheek swelled from the forceful slap, creating a stark contrast with the other side of his face.
He didn’t have time to dwell on it. All he wanted was for his grandmother to escape with his sister.
It was better for him to be the one held captive by Sampson rather than risking the entire family.
Meanwhile, Jessica had already run quite a distance, leaving Sampson behind.
Maria called again, urging Sampson to hurry. “What’s taking you so long? And what happened just now?”
Sampson couldn’t explain the situation clearly over the phone. He quickly responded with something along the lines of “I’ll be there immediately” and hung up.
He didn’t plan to chase after Jessica. With just one of them in his grasp, he could still use it to blackmail Dolores.
There was a nagging fear that Samuel might have some tricks up his sleeve. Sampson grabbed Samuel’s head and forcefully slammed it against the car door, causing Samuel immense pain.
A warm liquid trickled down his forehead.
His vision blurred, and consciousness faded as he lost consciousness.
Sampson tossed Samuel into the back seat, got behind the wheel, and started the car.
Not long after he departed, another car arrived. Abbott, having investigated and received the location from Sampson, had pinpointed a village near Dingqiao Bridge as the target.
There was nowhere else to hide.
Abbott followed with his team.
“Don’t worry too much. Your son is very clever. Nothing will happen to him,” Abbott assured Dolores over the phone.
Since Dolores had put the call on speaker, Matthew also listened in and learned that Sampson intended to kidnap Jessica and the children.
Ever since the revelation, Dolores had been consumed by anxiety but had kept silent, not sharing the news with Matthew.
“Clever?” Her eyes turned red. “He’s just a five-year-old child. How can he deal with an adult?”
She knew she was unfairly venting her anger on Matthew, but she couldn’t help it.
What if something happened to Samuel?
“It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have left home. I left them behind without a care, and now this has happened.” She blamed herself.
She never imagined that Sampson could undergo such a sudden transformation.
She had known him for ten years.
How could he kidnap her child?
Could someone’s heart change so drastically?
Her heart ached as if it were being torn apart.
Sensing her worry, Matthew reached out and squeezed her hand, holding it tightly.
He didn’t offer words of comfort because she didn’t seem receptive to them.
Jessica didn’t continue running. She tightly held Simona and hid herself.
When she saw a car approaching, she dashed onto the road to flag it down.
Abbott, driving the car, noticed someone from a distance. As he approached, he recognized the person standing by the roadside. He accelerated and pulled up next to Jessica, coming to a stop.
“Please help me! I encountered a dangerous person. Can you…” Jessica began to ask for help without even looking at him. But when she glanced at him, her words trailed off.
Although she had only seen him a few times, Jessica recognized Abbott as Matthew’s assistant.
Abbott got out of the car and opened the backseat door. “Get in, quickly!”
“Thank you.” Jessica got into the car with Simona in her arms.
Simona had been remarkably obedient. Jessica had informed her that they were being pursued by a bad person and that she must stay quiet.
So, when they hid, Simona kept her mouth tightly shut, behaving like a remarkably astute child.
“Samuel was taken away. Can you call the police for me?” Now that she and Simona were safe, Jessica asked Abbott.
“Don’t worry, I’ve already contacted them.”
Abbott motioned for her to look back. Jessica had been too anxious to notice the cars parked behind Abbott’s vehicle, including several police cars.
Jessica had been so consumed by her worry that she hadn’t stopped to consider how Abbott knew they were in danger.
After all, Samuel was just a five-year-old child.
Even though he could be clever and resourceful at times, in Jessica’s eyes, Samuel was still just a young boy.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Nelson and Miss Flores are already on the case. They will definitely rescue Samuel. Let me take you to a safe place first.” Abbott started the car, drove to Captain Boyce’s vehicle, and stopped. He approached Boyce, who was sitting in the passenger seat, studying a map. “You go ahead. I have something to take care of.”
Boyce glanced back at him. “Okay, I’ll handle things here. You go.”
He had identified the target location.
“Alright.” Abbott drove away, calling Matthew to inform him that Jessica and Simona were safe, providing some relief to Dolores so she wouldn’t worry excessively.
“But what about Samuel?” Jessica and Simona had escaped, but what about Samuel?
“He was taken by Sampson. Your mother likely discovered Sampson’s intentions. She probably couldn’t save both children in time.” This was Abbott’s speculation. After all, two five-year-old children couldn’t run very fast, making it easy for an adult to catch up to them.
He remained in awe of Jessica for managing to outrun Sampson.
Considering Jessica’s age and the fact that she was carrying a child, her physical strength couldn’t compare to Sampson’s. Escaping couldn’t have been easy.
“Please keep them safe,” Dolores pleaded, clutching the phone anxiously.
“Take them to the villa,” Matthew instructed.
Her current residence was too unsafe.
No one would dare trespass in his villa.
Furthermore, the security system and anti-theft alarms were top-notch, and he could arrange for security guards to protect the property.
After a moment of contemplation, Dolores realized she had completely severed ties with Sampson, and the Herbert family wasn’t an ordinary one. Going back to her own house wouldn’t put her at ease.
“Take them to the villa,” Dolores relayed Matthew’s words to Abbott.
“Okay,” Abbott acknowledged.
By now, they had entered the village. Dolores hung up the phone but continued to tightly grip it in her hand.
Holding onto something tightly seemed to alleviate her nervousness.
The car sped through the village, navigating the uneven and bumpy road.
Suddenly, Dolores caught sight of a familiar car and exclaimed, “That’s Sampson’s car!”
She urged, “Hurry!”
“Okay,” Matthew remained remarkably patient.
He understood her anxiety, and even though they were already driving at top speed, he responded calmly.
Sampson’s car was parked in the yard of a bungalow.
The low, worn-out blue brick wall surrounded the property, clearly showing a lack of maintenance.
Inside the yard, Sampson had only brought Samuel, and Maria was fuming with anger. “Aren’t you close to them? Where are the others?”
“They found out,” Sampson replied.
“How could they find out?” Maria shouted. “I told you not to mess up, but you kept messing up. If you had succeeded last time, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”
She was on the verge of losing her composure. “Sampson, was it a mistake, or are you simply too weak to handle them?”
Maria strongly suspected that Sampson lacked determination.
“I did my best!” Sampson snapped at his sister for the first time. “Because of this, Lola and I are finished.”
Even if he tried to force her into marriage by kidnapping her child, she would never treat him the same way. She had never truly loved him to begin with.
But at least she had been willing to be close to him and treat him like a close friend.
Now, he feared he had become her enemy.
“Don’t act like you’ve made sacrifices. You’re selfish to the core! Don’t forget, even before you accepted me as your sister, you hid the truth you had discovered from her.” Maria saw through him clearly; he was just like her.
He was skilled at wearing masks.
And now, his true nature had been revealed.