Bride of Retribution: Aloof Billionaire's Dominant Game

The passage of time felt unbearable. Luna Miller didn’t leave but found a corner and started playing a game on her phone. Her fingers were not as nimble as they used to be, but she seemed never to give up; even if her ranking wasn’t good, she still persisted.

From Charlotte Miller’s perspective, Luna’s immersion in her game was a good thing; at least she had found something she enjoyed.

The air suddenly grew quiet. Luna sat on the floor, drinking coffee and playing on her phone, appearing indifferent, but in reality, she was nervous; even her hand holding the phone was a little stiff. Annie Gray was just making tea and coffee, not daring to go back to sleep, staying with Charlotte on the sofa.

Whether from crying or the effects of staying up all night, Charlotte’s eyes were red and swollen, losing their usual luster and becoming dim.

She knew Amir was a man who could endure hardships, but she felt an inexplicable heartache for him.

How could Amir Hallow feign such helplessness? Even if he needed to imprison Atlas, there were a hundred places he could have used. Why did he have to lock his cousin in a dog cage? How could he bear to do such a thing?

Perhaps under the calm surface, resentment had long been brewing in his heart, never taking shape until Flix Hallow was relentlessly pursued. Only then did that dark, vulnerable corner of his heart get exposed, turning him into what he was now.

There are two approaches to dealing with someone like Amir. The first is to appeal to his conscience and persuade him to release Atlas, but now that the Mexicans have become involved, he surely won’t risk offending them.

Then there’s the second approach. Charlotte bit her lip hard, even drawing blood.

The air was filled with the scent of coffee and tea, and a faint, undetectable metallic tang of blood.

The second method might be ruthless, but as long as Atlas’s safety was not guaranteed, she was prepared to do whatever it took.

Love is compassionate, but when it comes to protecting a loved one, it can be cruel.

She never intended to scheme against others, but now she was being backed into a corner.

”Ethan, I need you to do something for me...” Charlotte dialed Ethan Baird’s number. She would use all available resources; she couldn’t bear the thought of the man she loved being kept in a dog cage for even one more second.

Stocks don’t sell quickly; if she tried to pledge them, there’s no guarantee any bank would take everything, given the recent volatility of the Hallow Clan’s stock prices. Banks wouldn’t dare to take the risk.

Locked up for seven days—could he drink water, eat, or even use the bathroom?

The thought of it made Charlotte’s heart ache.

”He was too careless. Don’t worry, darling, I’m working on something now.” Ethan sighed long and deep on the other end of the line. Even someone like Atlas Hallow could fall into someone else’s trap.

It seems you can’t even blindly trust your own family.

Charlotte paced back and forth in the office with her phone, her anxious footsteps almost striking sparks from the carpet.

Half an hour later, Ethan’s call came through.

”I’ve arranged for someone to be in there; a video will be sent to your phone in ten minutes. Charlotte, you’re playing a risky game—be cautious. I’m handling matters in Japan, and I’m catching the next flight back. No actions to swap the hostage until I return, understand?” Ethan worried Charlotte might do something reckless, like going alone to exchange for the hostage, which would be too dangerous.

”Got it.” Charlotte hung up the phone and still bit her lip as she stood by the window.

In the distance, the Hallow Clan’s building stood tall, with Atlas’s office on the top floor. Her eyes seemed blurred; she couldn’t tell if the office lights were still on.

Even though she told herself not to cry, she couldn’t hold back her tears.

In less than ten minutes, her phone received a video. The video lasted less than five minutes but was filled with an overwhelming sense of oppression.

Even she felt smothered and shut off the video before finishing it. Such things are meant to disgust others; she didn’t want to disgust herself.

She picked up the phone and dialed Amir’s number.

”What is it?” Amir could guess, even with his toes, that it wasn’t about her selling stocks to negotiate for the hostage—it had to be something else.

”I want to propose a trade, an equivalent exchange.” Charlotte quickly wiped her eyes. The harsh reality didn’t listen to tears. Her voice was choked yet resolute.

”A trade? Other than money, I don’t need anything else now.” Amir shook his head. He only wanted to secure a way out for his father. If he didn’t cough up the money for the Mexicans in three days, surely his father would die a horrible death in the streets.

”Is that right?” Charlotte hung up the phone, then sent over that video. She didn’t believe Amir Hallow would remain indifferent.

The video was five minutes long, and sure enough, after five minutes, her phone rang urgently.

Charlotte didn’t answer. She let the ringtone ring over and over, but she didn’t pick up.

Before this, she deeply wished to receive a call from Amir to get more information about Atlas, but now she wanted to play a psychological game with this indecisive man.

The phone rang for a while before she picked up slowly.

Before she could speak, Amir was already roaring on the other end: ”What do you want, you crazy woman? Stop immediately or I’ll...”

”Or you’ll what? Kill Atlas? I’m not underestimating you, but you really won’t do it because if you kill him, your father will die, your mother will die, and you will die too. What do you think?” Charlotte bit her lip. She didn’t know how many times she’d bitten through her lip today, but it was the only way to stay clear-headed.

”You have a child, yet you dare do this?” Amir found it hard to believe. The video he had just watched was incredibly shocking.

The room where his mother was detained suddenly had a new entrant—a woman, probably weighing nearly two hundred pounds, stocky with a face full of fat, wearing a black vest with a tattoo of a cobra on her arm. Upon entering, she stomped on his mother’s chest, and his already aged mother coughed intensely but couldn’t break free.

That grotesque woman, like a beast out of ancient times, spat on his mother’s face, then smiled so luridly it seemed as if she would tear someone apart and devour them in the next second.

”Are you saying I should be kind because I have a child? But you know I have a child with him, and Mia by relation should call you uncle, yet you dared to kidnap her daddy. Why should I be kind to you? Don’t impose double standards on me. If you dare hurt him, I will make your mother suffer the torment of Inferno,” Charlotte said calmly, but her words carried a ruthless edge in the darkness of night.

”So don’t provoke a woman... If he dies, I will be the world’s richest woman, but you’ll become a penniless orphan, and Mia will hunt you worldwide in the name of a daughter until the day you die. You’ll lose big on this trade.” Charlotte’s eyes turned cold as she said this. She didn’t want to become the world’s richest woman; she just wanted to be his woman.

”He is not in my hands.” Amir seemed somewhat flustered on the other end, his voice a bit dazed. He never expected such a thing to happen to his imprisoned mother.

”Provide me with the exact location. How many people are there? How many weapons? I won’t make things difficult for you; once he’s safely rescued, I won’t trouble your mom. As for Flix, he deserves death for plotting against his own brother and sister-in-law. There’s no path back for him, heaven won’t spare him. Even if I pay the Mexicans to release him this time, he won’t have a good end; if no one else gets him, heaven will.” Charlotte already guessed that Atlas wasn’t in Amir’s hands, but he surely knew where he was and how many people were there.

”Wait for my news...” Amir hung up the phone, perhaps needing time to think.

But Charlotte was in no mood to give him that time to think.

When her phone received the second video, she didn’t watch it, instead sending it straight to Amir.

Then she made a call to Flower Snake: ”I’ve done something and hope you can forgive my urgency. It’s like this...”

Flower Snake didn’t expect a woman to have such courage and determination. Although risky, it was indeed a smart move.

”Charlotte, if you were a man, even Atlas might not be your match. I will prepare the manpower, waiting for your word, but you must know your limits.” After Flower Snake finished speaking, he instructed the driver to head home. Fighting and rescuing were no longer things he could personally handle, leaving it to some of his men to accomplish.