"Walker Grant, don’t you care about your woman’s life?"

The moment the call connected, William Quinn went straight to the threat. "Call your men off. If anything happens to me, my people will stop at nothing to kill Chloe Reed. They’ll carry out that order first, and only then will they scatter."

Walker Grant’s tone was chilling. "Are you really declaring war on me?"

William Quinn scoffed. "You’re the one who lied to me first. You knew damn well I’ve been looking for her, yet she was right there with you. You all hid her from me, conspired to trick me. So how can you blame me for dropping the pretenses?"

Walker Grant stated coolly, "Fine. Since you don’t want to live in peace, then you’ll spend the rest of your days on the run."

With that, he hung up the phone.

William Quinn cursed under his breath and tried to contact his men abroad, only to find that many of them were unreachable.

He knew Walker Grant had power abroad, but their forces had never clashed before, so he’d never understood its full extent. Now, he suddenly realized Walker Grant was not as simple as he seemed on the surface.

’He must have been hiding his true power.’

"Can you please not hurt Chloe?"

Just then, Iris’s timid voice broke the silence.

William Quinn looked at her, a flicker of confusion in his blue eyes. "Why? Is she someone important to you?"

"Yes." Iris nodded. "She’s my best friend. I don’t want anything to happen to her."

"Ha..." William Quinn looked at her, a sudden realization dawning on him. ’There are so many ways I can make her stay with me obediently.’

He reached out and caressed her face. "Alright. As long as you stay with me obediently and don’t try to escape, I won’t send anyone to kill her. But if you dare to run, I can’t guarantee I’ll keep my word."

Iris’s face grew even paler. She nodded, trembling. "I’ll be obedient."

’The demands of a madman are always different from a normal person’s.’

’Maybe when he gets tired of this, he’ll let me go?’

"Such a good girl."

William Quinn pulled her into another embrace, and the vexation in his heart vanished instantly.

’If he could avoid it, he certainly didn’t want to be enemies with Walker Grant. His goal was already achieved—she was by his side. Once they returned to the place that was his, all he had to do was live his life in peace.’

William Quinn sent a message to Walker Grant.

...

The helicopter was soon outside the country’s borders.

Walker Grant received the message, and his eyes darkened.

William Quinn had told him that as long as he called off the pursuit, he wouldn’t touch Chloe Reed. Otherwise, he wouldn’t mind them all going down together.

"What’s happening? Did you catch up to them?"

Chloe Reed, standing nearby, asked anxiously.

Walker Grant put his phone away, looked at her, and shook his head. "No. His people were there to extract him. Once they were out of the country, my men were jammed."

Chloe Reed’s face was pale, her expression lost and helpless. "Then what do we do now? Iris has been taken away... Will she be hurt? She must be terrified. We have to find her."

Walker Grant gripped her by the shoulders and said, "Iris will be fine."

Chloe Reed looked at him. "How can you be so sure? You were the one who said William Quinn is a madman."

Walker Grant said, "We can’t go after her so openly. That will only provoke William Quinn and might make him do something reckless. I’ve sent people to tail them secretly and see where they end up. Then we’ll wait for an opportunity to make our move."

His gaze was unusually grave as he looked at her. "Chloe Reed, you can’t get distracted. You can’t panic. Don’t forget, Vera Holloway is still out there, watching you like a hawk."