Sweet Subterfuge

Chapter 577
Xavier had justified his actions by saying that this was the only way for them to get the money.
He dropped his bossy attitude and poured out his frustrations on lan. When he spoke about his struggles, he even shed
emotional tears.
lan’s heart was instantly softened. After thinking it over, he contacted Ron on Xavier’s behall
When they were carrying out the kidnapping, lan was constantly on edge. He warned Ron repeatedly. “Do not hurt the child.”
If they merely held Bethany captive, they still had a chance of getting off the h ook lightly, but if she was harmed in any way, the
consequences would be catastrophic.
lan’s conscience wouldn’t allow him to do something so cruel to a child.
Ron agreed readily. Initially, he followed lan’s instructions and sent videos of Bethany regularly, confirming that she was alive and
well. As time passed, Ron’s patience grew thin as Kevan continued to delay paying the ransom. He had called lan several times
to complain in arage.
In one of the videos that he sent lan could clearly see the bruises on Bethany’s face. Terrified for their lives, he quickly sent
money to placate Ron, urging him to not harm Bethany any further. However, once the money was gone, the effects didn’t last
long.
A week ago, Ron did not send any videos of Bethany at the designated time, lan panicked and called Ron, but his phone was
inactivated.
Refusing to give up, lan topped up Ron’s phone with a hundred dollars to reactivate it. Now the call could go through, but no one
picked. up the call.
Extremely worried, lan dropped everything he was doing and took a cab to Ron’s place in a ghetto. Ron was living in a run-down
bungalow. At 9 pm, the bungalow was in complete darkness.
Lan knocked on the door continuously and shouted Ron’s name, but he did not appear at the door. Instead, a neighbor shouted
in response, “Stop shouting! His place has been empty for two weeks, so he’s probably back in jail” lan’s heart sank to the pit of
his stomach

Ron’s family had long abandoned him. Even if he sought them out, he wouldn’t get any information about Ron from them. On the
other hand, he couldn’t go to the police station to inquire about Ron’s whereabouts either. In the end, lan could only return home
empty-handed, filled with anxiety and worry.
For the following week, lan had been desperately searching for Ron, but there was no sign of him. lan lived in constant fear as
he didn’t dare to tell Xavier about this, so he tried to hide the truth for as long as he could.
lan had hoped that the investment from Fantasy Utopia would make Xavier forget about the hundred million dollar ransom, but
he didn’t expect Xavier to still be fixated on that money.
“1—” lan hesitated as beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. The look of anxiety became more apparent on his face.
Finally, Xavier noticed lan’s uneasiness. He straightened up and stared lan down with a piercing gaze, making lan shudder
inexplicably.” What’s wrong? Did something happen with that friend of yours?”
lan hung his head to avoid meeting Xavier’s eyes. Stammering, his teeth chattered from nervousness. “Mr. Seymour, I’m sorry
but I can’t reach my friend I’m afraid that he has been arrested by the police.”