Chapter 252 – Finding the Secret Daddy for My Baby Novel

Filed To Story: Finding the Secret Daddy for My Baby Novel

“It’s Miss Tillman!” he exclaimed.

“Quick, get President Presgrave on the line.”

Elliot had only just returned to Presgrave Corporation when his phone suddenly rang. He glanced at the caller ID and answered the call before greeting perfunctorily, “Hello?”

“President Presgrave, we were following Riley’s subordinates and ran into them kidnapping Miss Tillman and her assistant.”

Having just stepped through the doorway of his office, Elliot’s gut twisted when he heard this. “What?”

“Yes. We are sure that the kidnappers have taken Miss Tillman and her assistant. We are now following one of the two vans.”

“Very well. Keep a close eye on the cars, and if she’s in even the slightest bit of danger, then you must do what you can to save her,” Elliot ordered as his gaze grew frighteningly calm, though he might go berserk with worry at any given moment.

Why did Riley kidnap Anastasia? Is it because she’s the woman I’m in love with?

He didn’t have time to dwell on whatever twisted reasoning Riley might have behind such an operation. Without another word, he rallied Rey and eight of his bodyguards before they hurriedly followed the direction in which the kidnappers were moving.

While they were on their way, Elliot and his men would continuously tune into the information and directions given by the bodyguards who were tracking Anastasia and her kidnappers. Right now, all Elliot could do was pray for her safe return. The thought of what those kidnappers might do to her while she lay helpless in the car brought an ominous gleam to his eyes, and he wanted nothing more than to catch up to that van and kill those kidnappers with his bare hands.

Even though they were accelerating at full speed, he still felt like they were going too slow for comfort. If Riley so much as touched a single hair on Anastasia’s head, he vowed that he would blast them all to kingdom come.

Presently, Anastasia was slowly coming to her senses as she lay on the ground in an abandoned house somewhere. A sack had been pulled over her head, and she could see nothing but darkness, though she did pick up the sounds of footsteps and people talking around her.

She struggled to break free of her restraints as she let out muffled cries. “Mmph!”

“Stop struggling. Miss Tillman. There’s no way you’re getting out of here alive,” said a weathered male voice.

For some reason, she found the voice extremely familiar, but she couldn’t match a face to it.

“You’re just like your mother, scrambling to die by my hands,” drawled a cold voice close to her ear.

Upon hearing this, Anastasia froze. My mother? Why did this man bring up my mother all of a sudden? Who is he? Judging by his words, he could very well have been my mother’s killer all those years ago. Who is he? Who the hell is he?

These thoughts clamored in her headspace, but just as panic and adrenaline filled her, the man spoke up once more. “Would you like to know more about your mother before you die, Miss Tillman? She could have actually escaped death all those years ago.” There was mock sympathy in his tone as he added, “Do you know who really killed your mother?”

Anastasia was still trembling with fear, but when she heard this, her fear was intermingled with curiosity. She was desperate, she realized, to learn the truth of her mother’s death.

“The actual person who killed your mother is none other than Old Madam Presgrave!” the man said insidiously, his voice loud and clear.

Although she had a sack over her head, she still struggled and moved around after hearing this, indicating that she refused to believe him.

“Skeptical, are we? Hah! Well, let me tell you exactly what she did when she found out that her precious grandson had been kidnapped!” The man elaborated icily and acerbically, “Old Madam Presgrave personally called up the mayor and told him that if he did not save her grandson and left him for dead, she would cripple the entire stock market. Given Presgrave Corporation’s power, she could have easily crippled the entire nation’s economy if she wanted to. Hence, she threatened the mayor and demanded that he bring her grandson back alive. As expected, the mayor took her threats seriously and quickly called the police headquarters.

“Not daring to dawdle on this, the station dispatched all their available uniformed officers and ordered them to bring Elliot back alive no matter what. Your mother happened to be one of those unfortunate souls who were sent out on the rescue mission. As far as Old Madam Presgrave was concerned, her grandson’s life was the only one that mattered, and she couldn’t care less about what happened to your mother.”

Shock rippled through Anastasia as she listened to the story. She could understand Harriet’s fear of losing her grandson, but she didn’t think that the old lady had so forcefully threatened the mayor.

“As such, your mother got a call from the top brass and went on duty. She could have been spared, but she dashed out to shield the little boy and took the stabbing in his place. She was determined to protect him even though she had taken thirteen stabs to the back and practically bled to death. She sacrificed herself for the little young master, all because of one phone call from the old lady.”

Anastasia felt like her heart might burst from the grief and pain. Hot tears welled up in her eyes and spilled over. Is that truly the reason why Mom died while on duty all those years ago?

“Can you imagine how much pain and reluctance your mother must have been in during her time of death? She was going to leave behind an adorable daughter who was barely even two years of age! I even heard her whisper, “I’m sorry, Anya…” while her life seeped out of her!”

Anastasia shook her head furiously, not wanting to hear any more of this as torrential anguish seized her.

“Yet, here you are now, in love with the boy who had been the reason for your mother’s death all those years ago. Do you think your mother is going to rest in peace in the great beyond?”

The man was crouching right in front of her and rubbing a liberal amount of salt in her wounds. The fear in Anastasia was now gone, and it was replaced by a surge of strong hatred. She knew that the man was her mother’s killer.

Just then, he let out a bark of ominous laughter, and it was such a familiar sound that her mind felt as if it had imploded with the recollection. The man was none other than Elliot’s uncle, Riley. It had to be him.

He was the one who killed my mother all those years ago! The sudden realization filled her with anger as she struggled violently. Although she knew she couldn’t do anything, her instincts were urging her to unleash vengeance on this man.

“I heard that the Presgraves have been trying to repay your mother’s noble sacrifice all these years. I’m sure Old Madam Presgrave sorely regrets threatening the mayor back then; if she hadn’t done that, your mother would have been spared. The young master’s life is worth more than gold, but that doesn’t mean your mother deserved to have hers taken away. Sadly, this world will never be fair; the rich simply buy their way out of death, and common folk like your mother would simply have to surrender to fate.”

Anastasia wanted to make Riley shut up and get him to stop talking about all these. She didn’t want to hear about them at all.

However, Riley was a twisted man who thought his gloriously wicked deeds demanded an audience, and Anastasia made for an excellent listener. More to the point, the sadistic side of him would never allow him to let slip the chance to torture someone. The sight of Anastasia’s obvious anguish and discomfort filled him with satisfaction that he thought he had long forgotten.

“If I were your mother, I would hate that I’d given birth to an ingrate and a traitorous daughter like you. You could have had any man you wished, but you chose to love Young Master Elliot, who lived only because your mother died so gruesomely!”

Stop it! Shut up! Anastasia wanted to scream at him. She knew what Riley was trying to do; he wanted her to hate the Presgraves.

“Boss, we’re running out of time. Let’s send her on her merry way,” one of Riley’s subordinates piped up from somewhere.

“I’m sorry, Miss Tillman, but I suppose you share your mother’s ill fortune and will have to die by my hands. Don’t worry, though. You’ll be reunited with her soon!” Riley chuckled.

Fear and rage coursed through Anastasia like a potent cocktail as she realized that he was planning to kill her, though she didn’t know why. What good will my death do for him? Is this his way of getting back at the Presgraves and challenging them? Or does this have something to do with my relationship with Elliot? Does he want to take my life so that he can break Elliot’s heart and destroy him emotionally?

While this was happening, half a dozen vehicles manned by bodyguards were speeding over to the location, driving through the muddy and mountainous terrain as they appeared like ghouls.

Riley’s henchman who was stationed outside the abandoned house as a lookout couldn’t respond in time, and he quickly cried out, “Boss!” However, when the leading car drove forward and made to knock him down, he quickly dodged and leaped into the drain that ran along the side of the house. In the next second, a loud bang filled the air as the car rammed into the front door of the house, causing the entire wall to cave and topple down.

The man in the driver’s seat was immediately greeted by a scene that made his blood boil.

Anastasia was curled up on the ground with a sack pulled over her head and her wrists bound.

At the sight of the car and the fallen wall, Riley jumped in shock. He knew that Elliot had sent people to keep tabs on him, but he didn’t think they would arrive so soon. With lightning speed, he grabbed hold of Anastasia and hauled her up from the ground, pressing a blade to her neck as he sneered. “My darling nephew, have you come for a visit?” he said.

“Let her go,” Elliot thundered with the rage of a hellish creature, his gaze obsidian and mutinous.

“Tsk, tsk. Do you truly love the girl so much? You’ve gone soft, Elliot. I didn’t think the Presgraves were capable of producing a romantic like you. There goes our family honor,” Riley mocked insouciantly. Without warning, he ran the blade along the alabaster skin of Anastasia’s neck, drawing a thin line of blood.

“Let her go, Riley!” Elliot yelled, his voice quivering with rage and panic.

Riley found that this situation was turning out very much in his favor. He scoffed and said, “I’ll let her go, but on the condition that you immediately transfer fifty percent of the shares in Presgrave Corporation to me. Otherwise, if I’m going down, then I’m taking her with me.”

Just then, he pulled the sack off Anastasia’s head to reveal her pale and anguished expression. There was a rag stuffed in her mouth to muffle her cries, but her eyes glistened with tears as she stared at the man in front of her—the man who would do anything to save her.

“Fine. I’ll give you whatever you want, but let her go first,” Elliot announced firmly with a nod of his head.

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