After the photos of the performers were taken, people started to leave the scene of the party. Colin said hello to Leona, and asked her to join huhim as he and some of his followers decided to continue partying at dinner outside the school grounds. Leona didn't accept their invitation, as she preferred to spend a quiet night.
Several school leaders wanted to invite Alex to dinner, but he declined politely. He asked them not to spread gossip about the donation to the public. Several of them praised Alex for being so unassuming.
Eddie, a roommate, was watching Alex. He patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Old Alex, you're so rich, yet you hid it from us."
Alex responded with a smile, "I had some money, but I've donated it all to the school. I'm poor again. I didn't deceive you. The money I had became like waste paper. I couldn't use it."
"Rich people really do talk differently. Money has become waste paper!" Eddie said with a grin. "You'll be the boss of our dormitory. You'll have a bright future, with so much wealth."
Alex laughed bitterly. He couldn't explain his situation to Eddie yet, so he didn't try. Eddie wanted to invite him to eat off-campus, but Alex said that he had some personal affairs to take care of. He asked him for his cell phone back.
After Eddie left, Alex saw that there were less than two hundred people left in the quad. Leona was walking among the crowd with her phone in her hand as if she were looking for someone. Alex hurriedly walked over to her.
"Leona, who are you looking for?" Alex asked.
"You're here just in time. Didn't you bring Lindsey? Where is she now? I can't get through to her cell phone." Leona was looking anxious.
"I don't know where she is," Alex replied. "Did I bring her here? Why are you asking me that?"
"No!" Leona was startled, and her heart trembled with fear. Alex didn't go to fetch Lindsey, and she couldn't get through on her phone. "What's happened to her?" She wondered.
At that moment, her phone rang. She was so scared that she almost dropped it. When she saw that it was her father's number, she immediately answered.
"Leona, I've sent a car to the school to pick you up. Now, you hurry home." Charles Marvel sounded very solemn.
"Is it Lindsey? What's happened?"
"Lindsey's been kidnapped by Hunter. He's called and asked me for ten million dollars in ransom," her father said in a deep voice. "Leona, you're also in danger right now. Come home immediately!"
Hearing that Lindsey had been kidnapped, Leona's body shook so violently that she nearly fell over. Alex rushed to help her.
"Get out of here," Leona snapped at him, pushing him aside. "Because of you, Lindsey's been kidnapped, I asked you to pick her up. Why didn't you pick her up? You lied to me that you'd brought her here."
Alex was stunned. Looking at the overexcited Leona, his lips trembled. He wanted to ask her when he had brought Lindsey. He had no recollection of having done that, but he knew that he would only make her sadder by asking, so he held back.
A BMW slowly drove into the quad. Shania, Leona's bodyguard, got out and helped her into the car. Before getting in, Leona looked venomously at Alex. Then, the car drove off.
Alex suddenly remembered his phone. He turned it on and, sure enough, more than three hours ago, Leona had sent him a short message: [Alex, I'm Leona. My sister Lindsey wants to come to the party. Can you pick her up for me? She's at the KFC. Her cell phone number is 138...]
Seeing the text message, Alex was full of regrets. If he'd had his phone with him and seen that message in time, Lindsey might not have been kidnapped.
Thinking of the kidnapping, he remembered that time in the Todd Mountain scenic area when Lindsey had told Hunter that he must resign. Now, Lindsey was suffering Hunter's revenge.
Alex was so anxious that he wanted to rescue Lindsey himself. But now that she had been taken, he didn't know where she was. However, he couldn't just wait around doing nothing. He tried calling Leona to ask what information the Marvels had, but she didn't answer his calls.
Deciding that Hunter had to be in Washington, he ran out to search for them. He looked everywhere, although he didn't really believe he would find her. From north to south, he searched bars, hotels, and abandoned buildings. He tried calling Lindsey's number, but no one answered.
He knew how unlikely it would be to find her in such a big city. By six in the morning, he felt his legs were going to drop off. He sat down on some steps to rest.
Suddenly, his cell rang. It was Lindsey's number! He immediately answered.
"Hello, Lindsey!" Alex said although he feared that the voice he would hear would be the kidnapper's. But surprisingly, it was Lindsey herself who spoke. "You don't have to worry about me, I'm all right," she said.
"You're all right, great. Where are you now? I'll go get you," he said.
"I'm in the Central Hospital." After she hung up, Alex jumped into a taxi and immediately headed to the hospital.
When he arrived at Lindsey's room, he saw her lying on the bed drinking from a bottle of water. Leona and her bodyguard, Shania, were standing beside her. There was also a distinguished-looking man, a little over forty years of age.
"This must be Lindsey's father, Charles Marvel", Alex thought.
He tapped on the door to announce his presence, and everyone in the room looked over. When Leona saw him, she felt her resentment rising and asked him coldly, "What are you doing here?"
"Let me see Lindsey. And I want to explain to you what happened yesterday," he replied calmly.
"No, my father and I can take care of Lindsey. You can go back to the university," Leona said. She didn't want to hear his explanations. Thinking that Lindsey had been kidnapped because of him, she felt uncomfortable.
Hearing her speak to him so decisively, Alex could not help but feel sad. He looked gloomy. He thought that Leona was still angry and turned to leave.
"Alex!" Lindsey suddenly exclaimed. "You sit outside for a while, and then come in to see me later."
Alex saw that she looked pale, but there was no trace of resentment in her expression. He nodded, feeling relieved, and sat down on a chair in the corridor.
"Lindsey, who is he?" Mr. Marvel asked in a puzzled tone of voice.
"He's a friend of mine," she answered. Looking at Leona, she said in a soft voice, "Leona, this had nothing to do with him. Don't blame him."
"But yesterday I asked him to pick you up. He didn't go, and he lied to me and said that he had brought you. If it wasn't for him, you wouldn't have been kidnapped by Hunter," Leona said sullenly.
It turned out that Hunter had been dismissed by the Marvel family because of what had happened at Todd Mountain. He had no financial resources, and he couldn't help but bear a grudge against the Marvels. He wanted to kidnap Lindsey and extort a large sum of money from them. He and the head of the area's security section had devised a plan to kidnap her, which they had put into practice the previous day.
But the Marvels were one of the top five families in Washington. After learning that Lindsey had been kidnapped, they immediately mobilized their own family forces and the police. In the early hours of the morning, they had caught Hunter and successfully rescued Lindsey. Lindsey felt ill because she had been confined in a very small space.
"Well, let's not talk about it. Everything's turned out all right," Mr. Marvel said. He looked at Lindsey. "David Drake is coming back from England tomorrow. Can you pick him up at the airport if you're in good health?"
"I could..." Lindsey nodded, but her face went pale.
"Lindsey, I think you'd better stay in the hospital tomorrow," Leona said, sitting beside her bed and leaning on her shoulder. Looking at Lindsey's pallid appearance, Leona was very worried. "I'll pick him up for you. I'll tell him about your situation, and I'm sure he'll understand it."
Charles nodded and said, "That's okay." To Lindsey, he added, "You take care of yourself."
Father and daughter talked for a while, but he had some business to attend to, so he soon left.
Lindsey smiled at Leona. "I'm all right now. You go back to university."
Leona smiled back and said as a joke, "Is it because you want Alex to come in to see you?"
"No, I'm concerned about your studies, okay?" Lindsey replied shyly, as she blushed.
"Debbie." Alex saw Leona when she came out of the room, and he quickly stood up. "Yesterday, I'd given my cell phone to someone to hold for me. I didn't see the message you sent."
Leona looked at him and said coldly, "I will not ask you for help in the future. Moreover, I will tell you for the last time that I am Leona, not Debbie. Please don't transfer your feelings for Debbie onto me again."
With that, Leona and her bodyguard left.
Looking at her retreating figure, Alex thought, "I'm sorry, Debbie, I made you angry. I won't be so rash in the future. I'll use a subtler way to get you to accept me."
When Alex went back into Lindsey's room, he saw her sitting up in bed smiling at him. He walked up to her and said sincerely, "I'm so sorry you were kidnapped."
"It had nothing to do with you. I don't blame you at all," Lindsey said. Then, she recounted what had happened the previous day.
"By the way, didn't you want to see the New Year party yesterday? There's a video on the university website. You can open it and have a look," Alex said, laughing.
Lindsey shook her head and said slowly, "I don't want to see the New Year party, I want to see a person."
"Your sister? Her performance was so good that she won an award," Alex said.
Lindsey shook her head and said with a smile, "I don't want to see my sister, but a benefactor of mine."
Alex was stunned when he understood that she was referring to him. Seeing Lindsey's eyes twinkle and look so soft, his heart almost melted. He sighed and said, "What is there to see? Just a little loser from the street."
Lindsey looked at him for a few seconds and asked, "Alex, you know I was kidnapped yesterday. What are your feelings about that? Were you worried about me? Or were you just afraid that my sister would blame you?"
Alex was stunned and replied seriously, "I know that you've been kidnapped. I've been very anxious and full of self-reproach. I searched for you all over Washington. As for your sister blaming me, that was unexpected."
Hearing his words, Lindsey beamed, lowered her head, and tears appeared in the corners of her eyes.