Chapter 2042: Premeditation
Chapter 2042: PremeditationContent is property ? N?velDrama.Org.
The other side had premeditated everything. They never intended to extract any information from Elsa. The n to have Elsa infiltrate the ind, poison the water supply, and disrupt the wedding was merely a diversion. The real objective was to mislead them, making them misjudge the intentions and overlook the fact that Elsa''s actions were just a cover. While they were busy discovering and interrogating Elsa, thei adversaries used the opportunity to send their people through the reef tunnel into the underground passage, waiting for the right moment.
This exined how the intruders managed to infiltrate despite the ind being tightly secured and everyone being thoroughly checked. They had been hiding in the secret passage, waiting for Joyce to be alone before swiftly taking her away. The transport tool used to abduct her was likely a small submarine pod, as mentioned by the experts earlier. These pods could amodate two or three people, move stealthily underwater, evade most radar systems, and utilize advanced technology.
"It''s over. The maritime surveince was withdrawn after the wedding. No wonder we didn''t detect anything," Kane said, pping his forehead in regret. He had rushed over upon hearing about the discovery of the secret passage.
"It''s all my fault. I should have waited until everyone had left before dismantling the surveince system. Who would have thought something like this would happen after the wedding?" Kane kept ming himself, having guarded diligently for two nights only to fail at thest moment.
"They knew we would lower our guard after the wedding. That was their real goal. Disrupting the wedding was never their intention; their target was Joyce from the beginning. Whether the wedding seeded or not didn''t matter to them. We misced our focus, and now it''s toote to regret it," Luther sighed.
"Mr. Warner, should we go down and take a look?" Aaron asked, feeling equally heavy-hearted.
"Yes," Luther nodded.
Captain Stevens said, "I''ll lead the way." He then turned on arge shlight, its strong beam illuminating the entire passage.
They began descending. Contrary to their expectations, it wasn''t damp but grew colder as they went deeper. After walking about a hundred meters, they were astonished by what they saw-a massive air-raid shelter. The ind was hollow underneath, with strange rocks on the ceiling and jagged walls on both sides. No one would have guessed there was such a hidden world below.
Aaron eximed, "My God, such arge air-raid shelter underground. Even geologists couldn''t detect it."
Captain Stevens led them further until the path narrowed and became increasingly damp, with a distinct seaside smell in the air.
"It seems we''re nearing the sea," Kane remarked. "We took every precaution but never thought there''d be something underground."
Kane red at Luther, "You really picked this ce well. Even with all our defenses, we couldn''t guard against a secret passage."
Aaron shot Kane a nce, thinking he was being deliberately unhelpful. No one wanted this oue, and no one knew about the passage-not even archaeologists. How could Mr. Warner be med? Luther indeed felt guilty, his face darkening.
Aaron consoled him, "Mr. Warner, I believe their target was clear. Even without South Ind, they would have found another way. If not this time, then another. Don''t me yourself; let''s focus on rescuing Mrs. Warner."
Luther didn''t respond, his expression showing a hint of confusion.
The hard-won peace was shattered once again.
As they moved forward, light gradually appeared and grew brighter until they reached an opening in the cliff. The opening wasn''trge but could amodate several people standing. Golden sunlight streamed in from the sea.
Luther stood at the opening, looking out at the turbulent sea and foamy waves. At that moment, hisst bit of hope vanished-Joyce had indeed been taken.
He didn''t know how to face this reality.
Kane sighed as well and asked Luther, "Brother-inw, what should we do now?"
Luther looked at Kane, "Didn''t Joyce ask you to open a branch in Rohomes?"
"Yes, I''ve almost finished preparing," Kane replied.
"Leave immediately. Take with you the gun-shaped brooch you gavez Joyce and the pen-shaped gun Karl gave her. I''ll have someone bring them to you. They mighte in handy," Luther instructed.
"But if I find Joyce, why would I need these things? Can''t we just rescue her?" Kane questioned.
"I have a feeling it won''t be that simple. Just do as I say," Luther said with a furrowed brow.
"Alright, I''ll leave now," Kane nodded. Joyce''s safety was his top priority.
"Aaron, get those items for Kane from the safe," Luther ordered.
After Kane and Aaron left, Luther took out his phone and called Cecelia.
A momentter, Cecelia answered.
"Mom, just as the archaeologists said, South Ind has an unknown history. A hundred years ago, it was under Rohomes'' military jurisdiction. There''s a secret passage and an air-raid shelter beneath South Ind that leads to a cliff by the sea. Joyce must have been taken through there. Initially, there were probably Several people following Elsa who hid in the shelter and waited until after the wedding to act. By then, we had let our guard down and didn''t notice the small submarine poding and going. That''s likely how it happened,"
Luther exined. "I''ll leave here
soon; we need to discuss our next
steps."
Cecelia paused before responding, "Alright. There''s nothing else we can do now. I''ll keep the children calm and take it one step at a time." "Okay," Luther replied and hung up.
Standing at the opening with the
blue sea and sky before him and waves crashing below, he felt extreme frustration despite the fresh sea air filling his lungs. The situation was far from simple. Content
The peace he longed for seemed so elusive now that he and Joyce were separated. How could he quell his longing for her?
Closing his eyes, he sighed deeply.