SWNOVELS Departure with a Belly Chapter 445
Chapter 445
It was an unknown number.
It wasn’t just Victoria. Everyone in the car subconsciously sat straighter when they
heard the sudden ringing, which pierced through the silence, Jarring them from their
worries.
Terrance stared at the phone nervously before turning to look at Victoria, requesting,
“Miss Selwyn, can you put the call on speaker when you answer it later?”
Victoria hummed in agreement. Her face was devoid of any expression when she
answered the call and turned on the speaker. When everyone in the car saw this, they
reflexively tempered their breathing, worried that the other party would hear that there
were interlopers in this supposedly private conversation.
When she picked up the call, she parted her lips before finally saying, “Hello?”
Cheerful and low–pitched laughter sounded from the other end of the phone, followed
by Bane’s voice, “You came, indeed, and faster than I imagined.”
Victoria replied nothing. As expected, Bane knows my every movement. Well, I’m the
least bit surprised. Given his capability and connections, he can certainly track my
movements with relative ease. He doesn’t have to specifically trace my whereabouts
either since he was the one who gave me the incentive to go abroad. Besides, he
Chapter 4451 Will Walt For You at the Same Place
simply has to ask any of my acquaintances, and they will gladly tell him anything he
wants to know.
“It seems that he truly holds a significant spot in your heart, eh…”
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Victoria sensed a tinge of dissatisfaction in Bane’s voice when he dragged out the last
letter of his sentence.
“Otherwise, you wouldn’t be so anxious.”
She couldn’t help furrowing her brows when she heard Bane saying that. After a while,
her face became placid as she said flatly, “The anxious one is you, no? After all, you are
the one who has a clear grasp on all my movements.”
In fact, Victoria even suspected that Bane knew what her current facial expression was.
“Heh… You’re right, though. In that case, let’s just think of me as the anxious one.”
“Now that I’m here, do you mind telling me how Alaric’s current condition is?”
“There’s no rush. Since you are already here, there’s no reason for me to harm him.”
Victoria frowned. What a presumptuous statement! I’ve never thought that Bane would
end up this way. She took in a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, before
continuing, “What do you want for his release? Also, what’s your proof to show that he
is with you? Where’s the evidence?”
Chapter 445 I Will Walt For You at the Same Place
“Victoria.” Bane started calling her name again, “Based on how close we are, do I
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honestly still need to provide any evidence? You should know well if I’m telling the truth,
no?”
Meanwhile, Terrance, who sat next to Victoria, frowned upon hearing Bane’s words. He
would have criticized Bane if he wasn’t worried about angering the clearly unstable
man.
However, before Terrance could express his displeasure, Bane’s voice sounded once
more, “Otherwise, you wouldn’t have left the country so soon, would you?”
Victoria pursed her lips and asked, “What do you want?”
Bane fell silent for a moment. Then, he replied, “You know what I want.”
She bit her lower lip in response.
“I will wait for you at the same place. Come alone,” he instructed.
Terrance tried to voice his protest upon hearing those words. However, Victoria
stopped him before he could jeopardize things. Nevertheless, Victoria attempted to
achieve a semblance of a compromise with Bane after pondering things over. “I can’t
possibly do that. I have zero idea what you will do to me after going there alone.”
“You’re the one I want. I promise you I won’t harm Alaric as long as you make your way
to me.”
Victoria felt her frown deepen. Even though I really don’t want to go there alone, I’m also
aware that he won’t harm me. After all, Bane didn’t injure Alaric when he took me away
back then. Well, perhaps Bane let his guard down that time because he didn’t expect
that Mr. Hudson would betray him and abscond with me. Otherwise, I would most likely
still be held captive in that place right now.
“I will wait for you, Victoria.”
She immediately had a bad feeling after she heard that. “Don’t…” Unfortunately, she was
too slow and was too late to stop him, for Bane immediately ended the call just as she
anxiously tried to say something.
Beep… Beep… Beep… The dial tone pierced through the air, making the atmosphere in
the car tenser.
After a while, Terrance took the phone. “Miss Selwyn, uh…”
“Stop looking at the phone. You probably can’t get through even if you call that number.
Bane has disposed of it.” Bane has made himself clear. He wants me to go over and
meet him. In addition, I will have to make this trip alone. Otherwise, he won’t comply.
Moreover, the reason he is so confident is that he knows he has leverage over us. He
has a clear sight of my movements, yet he hasn’t ordered his men to approach me at
all. Instead, he wants me to go on my own free will. Victoria closed her eyes. It seems
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that Alaric is indeed in his hands. What the hell happened? How did Alaric lose to
Bane? Did Bane pull one over Alaric?
“Miss Selwyn, you can’t go!” Terrance uttered angrily. “He’s just baiting you.”
“Yes, I can tell. What of it? Do you have any idea on how to locate Alaric’s
whereabouts?”
He stared at her, unable to find the words to retort. After a while, he said, “The men we
deployed are already trying their hardest to track Mr. Cadogan.” When he saw that
Victoria was ignoring him, he added, “I’m sorry, Miss Selwyn. I’ve been incompetent. I
should have stayed behind and helped Mr. Cadogan in the first place.”
There was really no point in placing the blame when things had gone this far. None of
this would help matters at all. Besides, Victoria couldn’t be bothered to think of
what–ifs. Still, she comforted Terrance, “Don’t think that way. This has nothing to do
with you. Instead, you guys were dragged into this mess all because of me.”
“Don’t say that, Miss Selwyn. You and Mr. Cadogan have been a couple long before
Bane was in the picture. Moreover, the children who were taken away were Mr.
Cadogan’s children too. Of course, he would save you. As for me, I work for Mr.
Cadogan, so naturally, I have to protect you from harm too.”
Now that they had heard each other out, there was really no point in continuing this
discussion, for they knew it was pointless.
Chapter 4451 Will Walt For You at the Same Place
After approximately more than ten seconds of silence, Terrance took the initiative to
speak, “Why don’t we devise some strategies?”
Victoria looked at him and asked, “Do you have any plan in mind?”
“We can’t possibly let you meet him alone, yet he requested for you to go over by
yourself.”
She nodded. “Yeah, so?”
“So, Miss Selwyn… Where is this place he mentioned? How are you going to find him
later?”
Terrance’s questions made her consider Bane’s words seriously. According to what
Bane said on the phone earlier, he would wait for me at the same place. Same place? Is
he referring to the villa we previously stayed in? Somehow, I feel that things aren’t as
simple as they seem. Victoria turned around and inquired about the situation regarding
the villa from her recollection. Soon, she received an answer. The villa from the past
was empty. Those who were dispatched had already searched the villa. Alas, they
found nothing, and that villa was as empty as a ghost town.
She furrowed her brows upon hearing the news. Where would Bane be then if there
was no one in that villa? And where is this place he keeps bringing up? After all, he
clearly knows that I have arrived in this country. That villa is obviously the only place we
had been to while we were in this country last time.
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“So, Miss Selwyn, please tell us if you know the location of the place he mentioned just
now. That way, we can deploy someone over in advance, and our men can respond
promptly once Mr. Cadogan is found.”
“I’m afraid that won’t work.” Victoria shook her head and dismissed Terrance’s plan.
“Why?” As soon as Terrance heard her say that, he instantly became anxious. “Miss
Selwyn, could it be that you really intend to follow his instruction and go there alone?
You can’t! You shouldn’t do that! It’s too dangerous!”
“That’s not what I mean.” Victoria felt her eyes flutter shut as she explained in
resignation, “You said that the villa was empty. But that is the only place I’ve ever stayed
in this country. So, my only clue is a dead end, and I don’t even know where to start
looking.”