Chapter 164


    “Why on earth did this damn woman team up with her uncle to kidnap Natalie? That’s Ludwik’s mother


    for crying out loud! Does Whitney have no heart?”


    “Keep it together. It might be a misunderstanding. Natalie’s frall and can’t be without oxygen. We’re


    working with the cops over here. Whatever you do, keep Ludwik in the dark!”


    Nn was struck dumb, his mind racing with panic.


    The car sped along the country roads. Whitney had stopped at a rural clinic and grabbed some


    emergency medicine and a first aid kit.


    Soon, the car veered into the mountains, Keegan’s assistant taking twists and turns, making sure


    Whitney could not memorize the route.


    Bent over her dead phone, Whitney realized the battery was t. Her face went ashen.


    Around midnight, the car pulled up to a dpidated farmhouse.


    Ignoring the hunger pangs, Whitney bolted from the car and barged through the front door.


    Inside, her uncle and two bodyguards were in disarray, the room a mess, and Natalie slumped in a


    chair, frothing at the mouth, her condition unimproved.


    “She’s rolling her eyes back! Whitney,” Keegan bellowed.


    Whitney felt a turmoil inside, her emotionsplex as she nced at her uncle, noticing he had stood


    up. likely on a prosthetic, limping as he moved.


    Tears spilled from Whitney’s eyes as she


    saw her uncle’s pitiful state, yet she also felt an overwhelming hatred. She rushed to Natalie’s side, her


    voice breaking. “Uncle, why must you do this? You’re driving us both to a dead end. You’re not well


    yourself; you know the pain of illness; why can’t you show somepassion to Mom?”


    “Who’s your Mom? Her? No! Whitney, don’t betray the Tennyson family!” Keegan burst out.


    He was too far gone, deaf to reason.


    Whitney felt despair.


    Bending down, she administered acupuncture to Natalie’s skull, pressed on a vital point on her throat,


    and forced the medicine down her throat, slowly halting her spasms.


    “You have to keep her hanging on. She can’t die. Ludwik has been inseparable from his mom since he


    was a kid. She’s my biggest bargaining chip!”


    Whitney felt as if a knife was twisting in her heart. Knowing how much Ludwik loved his mother, she


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    could not take the gamble.


    Was a path along the cliff’s edge; one misstep could lead to a deadly fall into hell.


    She could not take it any longer and suddenly knelt before her uncle, pleading, “Please, Uncle, let’s call


    it off. We’ll take Natalie back. She needs proper hospital care; she can’t be without her oxygen. If we


    take her back now, you won’t be a kidnapper, Uncle…


    “There’s no turning back! Your cousin is still in Ludwik’s hands, Who ever felt sorry for me? Whitney, I


    love you. That’s why I brought you here, so that you wouldn’t fall into the hands of that devil.”


    Whitney cried uncontrobly, knowing her


    She continued with the acup and s


    Whitney looked down with surprise, had a soft spot for her, yet he was so terribly mistaker


    still with a gentle gaze.


    Natalie’s icy hand touched Whitney’s trembling wrist.


    seeing Natalie’s eyes open, looking back at her with love and confusion, yet


    Tears streaming. Whitney silentlymunicated with her eyes and continued with the treatment.


    She turned to her uncle, urgently saying, “Uncle, we’re missing a crucial medicine. We need it now, or


    Natalie might not make it.”


    “What is it?”


    “An emergency medicine. I saw a clinic in the vige on the way here, but they might not have it. You


    guys need to split up and look for it, and fast.”


    Keegan frowned. “You three go. I’ll stay here.”


    Whitney whispered, “It’s an emergency, Uncle. You should go too. Look at Natalle; I obviously can’t run


    away.”


    Fearing a real death on his hands, Keegan grumbled, “I wouldn’t have taken her if that person on the


    phone had told me she was this ill!”


    Person on the phone?


    Whitney furrowed her brows in suspicion.


    Watching her uncle hobble out, and the cars drive away, Whitney sighed in relief. With thest needle


    in ce, she saw Natalie’s breathing ease and her eyes brighten.


    “Whitney…”


    “Mom, I’m so sorry…” Whitney choked up, quickly helped Natalie sit up, checked her pulse, and slipped


    the emergency medicine into her mouth.


    It was a ruse to send them away.


    “Can you move? We need to leave now. I’m taking you to the hospital!”


    Natalie understood the girl’s intention; her uncle had kidnapped her, and she was rescuing her.


    She nodded, her cough less violent.


    Knowing Natalie was somewhat better and confident in her medical skills, Whitney strapped a portable


    oxygen tank to Natalie and hoisted her up, ready to leave.


    With a dead phone and no lights in the vige, Whitney relied on her instincts, fleeing down the


    mountainside.


    She had to get Natalie home before her uncle returned. If they made it, the kidnapping would be


    undone, and she could beg Natalie’s forgiveness and exin, hoping Ludwik would forgive her uncle’s


    rashness since his mother was unharmed.


    The moon hung in the sky as she mustered all her strength, uncertain how long they had been walking.


    Seeing Whitney drenched in sweat and worried for the child inside her, Natalie insisted on getting


    down. “Whitney, we’ve walked so far. Your uncle probably won’t catch up now. Let me down.”


    Whitney looked towards the lights at the base of the mountain. A few more hours‘ walk should get them


    to road. Maybe they could catch ate–night passing car.


    “Mom, are you alright?”


    “I’m fine.” Natalie gripped her hand tightly, but after just a couple of steps, she suddenly clutched her


    abdomen and gasped in pain.


    “What’s wrong. Mom?”


    “It hurts. I have pancreatitis; it might be ring up.”


    Whitney knew she had multiple ailments; her condition wasplex. She immediately stopped, sat on


    the grass, lifted Natalie’s shirt, and applied acupuncture to her abdomen. Soon, Natalie vomited a trace


    of dark blood, and her pain subsided a little.


    In the chilling cold of the mountain vige winter, Whitney wiped her mouth, her hands trembling.


    Natalie bore the pain and tenderly touched Whitney’s pale face. She seemed to understand a little and


    said with a heavy heart, “Whitney dear, I don’t know how long I have left. If your uncle has a


    misunderstanding with him, you need to mediate. No matter how difficult it is, I believe it can be


    resolved.


    If I’m gone, he’ll truly be alone–because, as a kid, he was quick tempered and paranoid, never trusting


    a soul.


    You’ve got to take over for me, be the warmth he needs. He might act tough as nails on the outside, but


    he’s lost and floundering inside.


    Promise me, sweetheart, never to leave him. Have his children, love him, stand by him for a lifetime,


    will you?”


    Her mother–inw’s earnest hopes weighed heavily on Whitney’s heart, stirring a tumult of anxiety and


    guilt.


    th tears spilling over, she whispered, “Mom, I’ve been forced to do some wrongs, but I won’t hurt him


    again…. I want to love him as long as he’ll have me.”


    “He can’t hide it from me, he has real feelings for you,” Natalie replied with aforting smile.


    “Talk about a mother–inw and daughter inw getting along famously, thick as thieves.” Suddenly,


    from the shadows, an unexpected voice chimed in.


    It was familiar. Whitney’s head snapped up, and she stood up, her heart racing with rm.


    Was that ine’s voice?