Chapter 108 Kidnap


    After some thought, Britney decided to invite Irene out to meet at a cafe. Irene had arrived twenty


    minutes earlier. Meanwhile, Britney was very punctual; she arrived right on the dot.


    This was the first time Britney was meeting Irene again after nine years. Irene''s appearance was still


    the same as that of nine years ago, as beautiful as always. Her beauty attracted the attention of all the


    customers in the cafe.


    Britney walked over and sat opposite Irene. Irene smiled politely at Britney and asked, "What do you


    fancy?"


    "Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee!" Britney replied.


    The waiter quickly brought over the coffee. After stirring the coffee with a spoon for a long time, Britney


    stopped and said to Irene, "You are much thinner than before."


    Irene smiled faintly and did not speak.


    Britney didn''t mind Irene''s silence. She sighed softly and added, "Time flies! In a blink of an eye, it''s


    been nine years!"


    Irene understood what Britney meant. She still remembered what they talked about when theyst met


    in a cafe. She said, "Don''t worry, Britney. I have always remembered what you said to me. I won''t cross


    the line."


    Her answer made Britney''s face sh with embarrassment. At that time, she wasn''t polite to Irene at all.


    Each word of her wasced with ruthlessness. She picked up her cup of coffee and took a sip, trying to


    hide her awkwardness.


    "I''ve also heard about your son''s illness. Such a young child, so smart and cute too. What a pity."


    "Yes, God really is cruel!" Irene answered lightly; her face was expressionless.


    "Irene, I want to ask you something." Britney had no choice but to cut to the chase. "Can you leave


    Nathan? I mean, I know your child needs treatment and I can offer my help. As long as you don''t show


    up in front of Nathan anymore."


    Irene knew that Nathan was the only reason that Britney woulde looking for her. If it was in the


    past, she would have agreed to leave Nathan without hesitation. But now, Eden was her priority.


    Nathan had said that the doctor he found was treating Eden very effectively. How could she leave at a


    time like this?


    "Irene, I know it''s not a good time for you, but I have no choice. As his grandmother, I am worried about


    his future and happiness. I don''t want to see him be lonely for the rest of his life."


    Seeing that Irene was silent, Britney pondered over her words, picking them carefully. "Nathan has


    always had you in his heart. Because of you, he has been single for nine years. How much more time


    does he have? Are you okay with watching him grow old alone?"


    "I never thought of letting Nathan grow old alone. Nathan is the best person I have ever met in my life. I


    regard him as a friend, a confidant, and an elder brother. I wish for his happiness just as much as you


    do," Irene answered.


    "I believe that you want Nathan to be happy, but do you know that Nathan''s happiness has always


    been tied to you? All these years, his heart has always been in your hands. I''ve let him meet dozens of


    other women, but he didn''t take a fancy to any of them... I''ve been so worried about him. Irene, I beg


    you, please stay away from Nathan!"


    "Do you honestly think my departure will change anything?" Irene smiled bitterly. "Back then, you asked


    me to stay away from Nathan so he could be happy. I listened to you and married Edric instead. I was


    married to Edric for five years, but Nathan remained single. Are you saying that''s my fault too?"


    "That''s..." Britney was left speechless. Indeed, Irene had been married to Edric for five years. Nathan


    had known that he would never have Irene back again, but still, nothing changed. True


    enough, Nathan''s current choice seemed to have nothing to do with Irene.


    "I don''t think I have control over Nathan. Perhaps I am part of the reason why he is how he is now. But


    if it weren''t for you, he wouldn''t have be like this," added Irene.


    "Irene, I had indeed made a wrong choice. Nathan''s parents died when he was a child, and I brought


    him up by myself. I have high expectations for him, so I want to find him a suitable wife to support him.


    I''m not doing anything wrong in my opinion. On the contrary, you''re the issue here. Why didn''t you ever


    tell me that you were Steven''s daughter? If you had even a trace of love for Nathan, you would not


    have let him go without a fight."


    "I don''t have a trace of love for Nathan?" Irene couldn''t help scoffing. All she had ever wanted was a


    rtionship formed from true emotions, but her identity kept getting in the way. Everyone around her


    was after power.


    True, if Britney had known Steven was her father, she would have approved of her and Nathan. But


    what about Irene''s feelings? Myra had died because Steven had an illegitimate daughter with Deborah


    whom he cheated on Myra with. There was no way she would be willing to admit he was her father.


    "Britney, if your father had an affair and then had an illegitimate daughter behind your mother''s back


    and caused her to die, would you still acknowledge him as your father?"


    "Of course I won''t!" After Britney answered, she looked at Irene in astonishment. "What do you mean?"


    "If you had paid a little more attention to Steven, you would realize that Lily is the same age as me."


    Irene turned to look out of the window.


    "I see!" Britney sighed. "I have misunderstood you. I''m sorry!"


    "Britney, let me be frank with you. It''s not that I didn''t have feelings for Nathan, but rather I understood


    the disparity between our worlds. I didn''t have any right to like him, so I suppressed my feelings for


    him. Later, after you talked to me, I decided to leave. Now I don''t deny that I am part of the reason why


    Nathan is the way he is now. I didn''t choose him back then. Now that I''m burdened with my own


    baggage, I can assure you that I won''t hurt him. I will persuade him to find his own partner."


    Irene took a breath. "As for what you said about me leaving, I can tell you right now, that I won''t be


    going anywhere..." Suddenly, she noticed that Britney''s face had be pale, her eyes full of horror.


    Irene was stupefied, and then she realized that the cafe was surprisingly quiet. She turned her head


    and saw that there were a few masked people with loaded guns in the cafe.


    One of the robbers turned around and locked the door of the cafe, while the other robbers pointed their


    guns at the customers inside and asked them to gather together.


    Irene, who had never encountered such a situation before, was dumbstruck andpletely glued to


    her seat. Although Britney had lived her fair share of years on earth, she had only ever experienced


    wars and fights in the business world. Right now, the scene unfolding before them was a matter of life


    or death. Britney was scared out of her wits too.


    The robbers came over with guns and knocked twice on the table in front of them, indicating for them to


    gather together with everyone. Irene helped Britney over into the crowd.


    The robbers began to talk. The long and short of it was that they wanted cash. They had everyone take


    out their wallets and jewelry. For the safety of their lives, everyone did as they were told.


    Several robbers loaded their guns and aimed at them, while the other two began to collect their wallets


    and other valuables. When they reached Britney, she quickly handed over her purse. She even took off


    her ne and bracelet.


    The robbers took the wallet and opened it. There wasn''t much cash inside; it was mostly cards. The


    robbers were only after cash, so they took that out and threw the wallet back to Britney.


    Unexpectedly, a business card dropped out from her purse. The robber picked up the card and studied


    it carefully. His expression changed before he ran to the leader with the card and whispered a few


    words in his ear. The leader came over and stared at Britney for a while and asked, "Are you Britney


    White?"


    Britney knew it was useless to deny it, so she nodded.


    Irene''s heart sank; she had a bad feeling about this. The White family was pretty well-known. How


    could they let Britney go after knowing her identity? They were in trouble.


    Irene immediately said, "She''s not Britney. You''ve mistaken her for someone else!"


    "She''s not? I remember seeing a photo of her in the newspaper before." The leader of the robbers


    sneered. "Why don''t you call her and ask for confirmation?"


    Britney knew that it was useless to try and wiggle out of it, hence she admitted her identity.


    Sure enough, after confirming Britney''s identity, the leader simpered slyly. "I didn''t expect to meet


    Britney here. We would love to invite you back to ours as a guest. Don''t worry, we''re just looking for


    money, so we won''t hurt you!" He winked at another robber.


    The robber came up and dragged Britney out. Irene hurried forward to stop them. "You can''t take her


    away!"


    "Go away!" The robber pushed Irene aside. Irene fell to the floor, but she did not give up. She got up


    and continued to plead, "You guys are taking her for her money, right? Take me instead. I''m her


    granddaughter! Let me be the hostage! Leave my grandmother alone; she''ll prepare the money you


    want."


    "Are you really her granddaughter?" The robbers were a little suspicious.


    "Yes, I am Joanne. My grandmother is old and is not in good health. She won''t be able to take all this


    fright. You guys won''t want to cause so much trouble over some money, do you?"


    Joanne was from the White family, so naturally, the robbers had heard of her before. They


    contemted it for a moment. It was true that Britney was quite old; an ident was bound to happen


    if she were to be a hostage. However, Joanne was different. Therefore, they set Britney down and took


    Irene as a hostage instead.


    Irene was taken out of the cafe by the robbers. Before they left, they requested Britney to prepare 100


    million dors in cash. After the kidnappers took Irene away, the customers in the cafe quickly called


    the police. The police arrived and after a round of inquiries, they began tob through the city, in


    search of the kidnappers. The police told Britney that if the robbers called her, she was to inform them


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    right away.


    After a while, Britney was sent home. She was very worried about Irene''s safety. If it weren''t for Irene,


    she would have been taken away by the kidnappers. She had to pay the ransom to save Irene.


    When they returned to the White Mansion, Britney ordered the housekeeper to prepare the cash. When


    the kidnappers called, she would give it to them to save Irene. When Joanne came back, she stopped


    Britney after getting a hold of the situation. "Grandma, don''t you think this is the perfect opportunity?"


    "Perfect opportunity for what?" asked Britney.


    "To get rid of Irene," Joanne reminded her. "As long as we don''t pay the ransom, the robbers will


    definitely get rid of her. By then, Irene willpletely disappear. That way you won''t have to worry


    about Nathan anymore."


    "What did you say?" Britney looked at Joanne in surprise, as if she was a stranger. "How could you


    suggest something so sinister? Irene was taken away in order to save me. Do you feel like it is the right


    time to discuss this?"


    "I... I..." Joanne knew that she had misspoken. She had always acted gentle and kind. No wonder


    Britney was surprised when Joanne made such a suggestion.