SWNOVELS Departure with a Belly Chapter 384
Chapter 384
Bane stood still and fixed his gaze on the woman. “There’s no need for that, Victoria.
The waitress can stay for a meal.”
“It’s fine. I don’t have an appetite now.” After finishing her words, Victoria walked over to
the couch and lay down before shutting her eyes. She seemed like she didn’t want to
talk any longer.
The waitress had no idea what was going on, but she could tell that their conversation.
didn’t turn out too well as the woman was ignoring the man. That’s odd… The man was
really gentle when he was talking to her. Why aren’t things working out?
Since the woman didn’t seem interested in her food anymore, the waitress got to her
feet. “I won’t bother you guys anymore, then.” The waitress headed toward the door
after that.
“Hold on.” Bane stopped the waitress before he walked over to Victoria and gazed at
her face. Her eyes were still shut tight. “I’m sorry. I was being overly cautious. I
shouldn’t have been so suspicious of you, and I was wrong to have done that. Why
don’t you get up and have something to eat?”
However, regardless of what he said or how gentle he sounded, Victoria remained as
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Chapter 384 Seeking Help
still as a dead body. She completely ignored him. “Victoria?” Victoria continued to lie
still in her spot. “Should I carry you over to the dining table?”
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Victoria opened her eyes abruptly, only to find Bane’s gaze inches away from hers. She
was shocked to find him so close to her, but she managed to calm herself down
quickly. “Is that all you know how to do?” she hissed.
He curled his lips into a smile. “I don’t have a lot of tactics, but I keep those that work,”
he replied. Victoria looked away for a moment before she sat upright. “I’d like to have
some time on my own. Since you don’t want anyone to come close to me, you can bring
the waitress away now. I don’t want you to bother her in the future.”
“I’m not going to bother her. I just want her to stay for a meal with you. You haven’t
eaten in a long while,” Bane stated.
“I’m not in the mood to eat.” This particular conversation kept going around in circles,
but Victoria was too stubborn to give in. She didn’t even want to meet his gaze.
Eventually, Bane had no choice but to head off with the waitress. The waitress could
tell that Bane was rather glum after he left the room, so she tried to comfort him. “You
shouldn’t be too sad, Sir. Your girlfriend isn’t asking for too much–she probably just
wants someone to have a meal with her. If you really want to make her happy, perhaps
you can consider getting her some flowers and chocolates,” the waitress suggested.
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Bane forced a smile when he heard the waitress‘ suggestion. “Yeah. Thanks. I’ll think
about it.” Bane’s emotions were all over the place after the conversation he had with
Victoria earlier, so he wasn’t in the mood to speak to the waitress. The waitress could
tell that he was rather gloomy, so she excused herself without saying much else.
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Once both of them left, Victoria hurried into the washroom to make a call. If Bane asks
the waitress about any of this, he’ll probably take some time to question her. This is the
only time I get to call for help. As for what happens later… Well, I shouldn’t care too
much about that now.
Victoria hesitated for two seconds before she dialed Alaric’s phone. Beep… Beep…
Victoria panicked after a while. Why isn’t he picking up the call? There’s a time
difference, and it should be nighttime there since it’s daytime here. Did Alaric silence
his phone? If he did, then he probably won’t hear my call. Victoria didn’t want to wait for
too long, so she eventually thought of calling Summer.
Summer picked up the call from the unknown number, and she was shocked when she
heard the familiar voice of her best friend coming from the other end of the line.
“Victoria? Did you change your phone number? Also, why are you calling from a
different region? Aren’t you back in the country?” Summer was a true friend–she was
quick to sense that something was wrong.
“I want you to remember everything that I say, and I don’t want you to interrupt me as I
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speak.” Victoria ignored Summer’s questions and spoke in a stern voice. Summer could
immediately sense the severity of the situation as it was rare for Victoria to be so
serious. “Okay,” Summer uttered with a solemn nod. At the same time, she tapped on
her phone’s recording button just to ensure that she wouldn’t miss out on anything that
Victoria said. She would also have a recording if she forgot anything.
“My location shows that I’m in Mauldin now, and I’m located in a high–end hotel that’s a
twenty–minute drive away from the international airport. There are two 24–hour
convenience stores outside the hotel, and I’m on the 16th floor. I don’t think I’ll be here
for long. There are about two to three men keeping watch outside the doors, and I
might be transferred elsewhere tonight, but I’ll try to find ways to keep myself here for a
while more. If I fail to do so and end up getting brought elsewhere, I’ll find a chance to
contact you again in the future.”
Summer froze after hearing Victoria. Did she get kidnapped? At that moment,
Summer’s superior showed up in search of her. He turned around when he saw her on
the phone, as he figured that he could talk to her later. “Hey, hey, hey,” Summer called
out for the man to stay. Erik Ludson, whom Summer often referred to as ‘the devil‘,
walked over when he saw the anxious look on Summer’s face. “What is it?”
Summer turned on the loudspeaker of her phone before she spoke to Victoria. “Hey
Victoria, I told the dev–I mean, I told Mr. Ludson to come over and listen to our call.
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He’s smarter, so I’m sure he’ll be helpful.” Erik heard the words that had nearly slipped
out of Summer’s mouth, and he figured that she was calling him the devil. If he were
being honest, this wasn’t the first time he had heard Summer calling him the devil.
Previously, he even heard Summer complaining to her best friend about how she was
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single because he kept ordering her to do work. However, Erik hadn’t expected Summer
to accidentally expose herself today.
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Erik had been about to confront her about the nickname he was given when Victoria
began to repeat herself on the other end of the line. Upon hearing Victoria’s words, Erik
narrowed his eyes before speaking into the phone. “Are you able to send us your
location? I’m sure you can do that on WhatsApp.”
Even though Victoria had a new phone number now, she would have to register an
account if she were to send any texts, and this would be too time–consuming.
“That would take too much time. I got the SIM card from a waitress, and I’m not sure
when someone is going to find out about it,” Victoria explained.
“Someone? Who’s the someone?” Summer asked in a curious tone. Victoria pressed her
lips together without responding for a while. “How about this,” Erik uttered in a patient
tone. “You can put your headphones on or put us on loudspeaker,” he started.
Summer widened her eyes in surprise after hearing Erik’s words. “Are you mad, you
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devil? Victoria was obviously kidnapped. How could you tell her to put us on
loudspeaker at a time like this?” Summer hissed.
“She’s not whispering, so I’m sure she’s safe for now,” Erik responded calmly. He
pretended not to hear what Summer just called him.
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“Oh, that’s true. You should go along with what he said, then,” Summer added. Victorial
didn’t bring her earphones along, so she had no choice but to turn on her loudspeaker.
“Now, I’m going to ask you some questions, and you’ll just have to answer me as best
as you can. At the same time, register a new account and send your location over if
that’s possible,” Erik uttered.
“Sure.” Victoria seemed to calm down a little, and she turned on the shower in the
washroom before locking the door. Then, she stood in a corner that was further away
from the door before she got to work.
Erik was evidently a capable and independent man who started a business of his own-
he remained calm and rational despite the urgency of the situation.
Every question he asked Victoria turned out to be useful. He tracked her movements
from the starting point all the way up until she lost consciousness, and he noted down
all the routes she took after waking up. Then, he gave her some instructions for what to
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do if she were to be caught by someone.