Meanwhile, Charlotte was preparing to return home after a long work day.
But as she recalled the phone call she had just received from Ethan, she became worried. She had this feeling that something was wrong.
Charlotte took out her phone to call Ethan, but her screen instantly lit up. The call came from an unknown number.
She casually brushed her finger across the phone screen to answer the call. "Hello?"
A stranger's voice emerged from the other end. "You're Charlotte Reed, correct? Listen up. Your niece is now in our care.
If you don't want anything to happen to her, you should come to the Spirits Pub and pick her up immediately. If you tell anyone about this, you'll end up collecting her corpse! Think about this very carefully."
Charlotte worried, and her heart dropped to rock bottom. She felt chilled all over and nearly dropped her phone.
When she came to her senses and was about to ask another question, the caller had already hung up.
Charlotte gazed at her phone, perplexed, as panic gripped her.
Was Sophia kidnapped? But didn't Ethan tell me he was going to pick her up? How did she get up in the clutches of kidnappers?
Oh, right!
At the time, Ethan inquired whether she had gone to pick up Sophia. She assumed he had already learned of Sophia's kidnapping and had phoned her to ask! Sophia was having difficulty, but Ethan probably didn't inform her because he didn't want her to be concerned.
Charlotte blamed herself for failing to notice something wrong and believing Ethan was only asking a casual inquiry. How naïve of her!
During the recent phone call, the caller directed her to the Spirits Pub, a location she was familiar with because it was where she almost drank the drink that Alan Carroll, the Spirits Pub's proprietor, had tainted.
In that case, the people who kidnapped Sophia must have returned for her. They must have gotten and used Sophia this time to frame her. She suspected Alan Carroll!
She'd implicated Sophia.
Charlotte was troubled and anxious. The only thing she wanted to do was phone Ethan and explain everything, but what the caller said made her too afraid to make the call.
If those people indeed did anything terrible to Sophia, there would be no turning back, even if she repented herself until death!
Charlotte couldn't afford to bet! She could not phone Ethan to inform him lest Sophia will be in deep trouble.
She finally decided after biting her lower lip fiercely.
Since Alan's goal was her, she should be the one to resolve this situation! At the very least, she needed to get Sophia back safely! Sophia has nothing to do with what happened on the previous day. She is innocent!
Charlotte left the office, called a cab, and went straight to the Spirits Pub!
The cab soon arrived at the entrance to the Spirits Pub. Charlotte approached the receptionist, her head raised, and announced coldly, "My name is Charlotte Reed. I came. Where is Alan Carroll?"
An underling dressed in waiter's attire had long been directed to stand at the front desk. After hearing Charlotte's words, he went out. "Miss Reed, Mr. Carroll has been waiting a long time. Come with me."
The underling then escorted her to a secluded room on the bar's second floor. He knocked on the door and said, "Mr. Carroll, Charlotte Reed is here."
"Bring her in!" he yelled excitedly.
When Charlotte heard this voice, she couldn't help but be disgusted. After entering the private area, she noticed Alan smiling hypocritically while sitting on the couch with a scantily clad woman in his embrace. He even put his hand freely into her garments.
"Where is Sophia?" Charlotte inquired directly. She didn't even say hello.
"Hello, Miss Reed. I had a difficult time inviting you here. Why do you seem to want to kill someone? This is not proper. Even if you're beautiful, your expression will hide it. You should smile more often because you look prettiest when you smile," Alan said, sighing and clucking his tongue against the roof of his mouth.
Charlotte was not in the mood to listen to his nonsense and replied angrily, "Cut the crap! Where's Sophia? You just wanted me to arrive. Now that I'm here, let the kid off! She has nothing to do with this."
"Hah, Charlotte Reed, you're pretty silly. Get the facts straight. You are now the one requesting that we release that little bastard. Is this the attitude you should take while begging someone? Luisa said carelessly, raising her head while lying in Alan's arms and glancing at Charlotte.
"You... Luisa? Is that you? What are you doing here?" Charlotte realized the woman dressed skimpily and cuddling up in Alan's arms was Luisa! What a small world to see her cousin!
Charlotte immediately figured out the essence of the situation. Sophia went missing at the kindergarten, but the staff had always been quite careful about control and would not allow strangers to take children away. She assumed Luisa must have misused her status as Sophia's relative to persuade the instructor to let her take Sophia away before turning her over to Alan Carroll! What a scumbag cousin!
Charlotte became increasingly irritated as she reflected on the situation. Looking at Luisa, she yelled, "Luisa Thorn! How can you use such a horrible approach to kidnap Sophia? She's only six years old! Are you still human? She is even your niece!"
Luisa sprang up, marched over to Charlotte, and slapped her hard on the face!
Smack!
"Shameless bitch, you have no right to teach me a lesson! Hmph, your lousy brother-in-law put me in such a scenario, ruining my future marriage. I took away that tiny scumbag so he would fear and bend down and beg me! I am just waiting for the right time!" Luisa yelled angrily.
"Luisa Thorn, you bitch, how dare you slap me?!" Charlotte has always been a hothead. After ranting, she slapped Luisa hard on the face.
"A heartless thing! You will not spare your six-year-old niece! You deserved to be dumped! You have such a vicious personality. What man would dare to marry you?! Try throwing vulgarities and smacking me again." Charlotte cursed furiously as she grabbed Luisa's hair with all her strength. She then scratched Luisa's cheek with her other hand.
Charlotte was quite violent when she was angry. She was utterly pounding Luisa into submission, leaving him with no way out. Luisa could only scream in misery and ask for help.
Alan sat on the couch, his head resting on his hand, and watched the two ladies fight with great interest. He had no intention of stopping them at all.
The scene of two beauties smacking and yanking on each other's hair was too intriguing! Especially when they are relatives!