The Manipulated Villainess

After sitting still for a while without saying anything, the young leader finally shifted his gaze back to Cassandra Lim. The latter already hung her head low and he could feel how it was just a matter of time before she lost her consciousness. He tried to speak up but he was interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing.

He takes out his phone and after looking at the caller ID, he answered it. "I\'m listening."

When the leader listened to what the person on the other line said, his eyes flickered. "Alright. I got it. Get into action."

He puts down the phone and then makes another call. Putting the phone next to his ear, he commanded, "Get prepared. We\'re leaving this place."

* * *

Aston, Nathan and some other men reached the place in the countryside. It looked like an abandoned factory and just a little over an hour was needed to reach this place!

Was Cassandra really brought to this place?

They quickly gets off the car and rushed inside the worn-out gate of the factory. They were in a hurry but they were still cautious. However, even when they glanced around the area, not a single person was to be seen. 

"If this isn\'t a trap, then I\'m sure that they already left this place," Aston said to Nathan in a low voice.

Holding their handguns, the two men lose no time and rushed inside the factory.

There was no one inside.

Nathan quickly observed the place, hoping to find some clues. There was a chair and some ropes in one place and he halted when he saw the thing that was on the floor. Standing froze for a few seconds, he slowly walked forward and bent his knees to pick up the scarf.

He was with her when she left for the countryside and he remembered how he helped her wore the scarf, saying that the weather tends to be cold these days as it often rained.

Nathan Woo narrowed his eyes and hardly squeezed the scarf. "We are a bit late," he muttered.

Aston stood behind his friend and looked down at him. "We will get another clue soon, Nathan. I will also ask my friend to check the CCTV cameras around this area."

With the scarf in his hand, Nathan stood up and turned to his friend. "I think she is in more danger now. I should just confront Peter Jung and -"

"Nathan," Aston muttered and the Reyon Boss shut his mouth. "If Peter Jung knows about you, he will use it against you. He is someone who loves to play with others weakness. You know how he forced my sister to submission for a decade."

Aston took a step closer to his friend who stared at the scarf with a troubled face. Then he stretched out his arms and hold him in the upper arm. "You are not alone. We can solve this together."

Nathan slowly lifted his head and finally glanced at the actor. "I\'m scared. What if we never find her? I still have to repay her for -"

"If you are weak, then Cassandra will be done. She will be waiting for you. You know how much she loves you," Aston uttered, staring at his friend with a firm gaze.

Nathan remained quiet for a while and narrowed his eyes at the scarf until... he shifted his gaze back to his friend. "Let\'s leave and look for another clue."

There was a subtle smile on Aston\'s lips as he nodded. "Okay. Let\'s do that."

* * *

It had been a while since the sun had risen and last night was a sleepless night for many. With the trouble that Peter Jung caused, it was hard to expect a normal day for now. Aston still had a filming schedule for half a day and he couldn\'t cancel it. Besides, filming will be wrapped up after this and he will be free for a while.

The actor was supposed to move to his new house in the afternoon but now that Cassandra was captured, he wasn\'t sure anymore. He didn\'t want to leave alone Nathan for long. However, he decided to hire someone to do the work for him.

Nicole called Edwin last night and the latter informed her that they were in a safe place for now. She didn\'t want to make any more calls as she had some doubts.

She had a feeling that how Peter Jung learned Shara\'s location was by tracking Leon\'s call. She couldn\'t think of any traitor as only a very few knew that Shara and Norina Lee resided in her house. So, tracking calls was the one with the highest possibility.

After last night incident, she was sure that Peter Jung won\'t leave her alone and she must be careful than ever. As such, she decided to buy a new phone for a secret purpose. She used to have one to fool her stepmother but not anymore.

Peter Jung was sitting in his house and Colin Park was also with him. It\'s the first time they see each other face to face since that morning when the Director triggered the Prime Minister\'s rage. As such, Colin Park wasn\'t feeling that great.

He thought of how Peter Jung was very similar to Garcia Han when angered. They were ones to never cross carelessly!

"Do you still think Nicole Yang is trustworthy?" Peter Jung asked him.

Colin Park had already heard what happened last night. So, he understood why the Prime Minister was asking him such a question.

"Even if she help your son, I don\'t think she will feel the same way about her stepmother. There\'s no way for them to work together," he responded.

"I also think that way but... " Peter Jung paused and recalled the Chairwoman\'s demeanor last night. "I think there is something more."

"We know that your son used to love her and fend her many times. I think they are just on good terms," Colin Park remarked. "About her shielding the two women, maybe she just wants to help Leon. I don\'t think she will know everything."

When Peter Jung maintained his silence, Colin Park spoke up again.

"What troubles you the most, sir?"

"Last night, I see the hatred in her eyes when she looked at me. It was beneath a seemingly calm and innocent gaze but... I\'m sure of what I saw," Peter Jung said. "I\'ve known her for years but she never looks at me like that. That\'s the first."

"Do you suspect that she might know something?" Colin Park promptly asked, confused.

"I\'m not sure, but something is not right." The Prime Minister shifted his gaze to Colin Park and said, "I think we shouldn\'t trust her until we prove that she is trustworthy."

"Then?"

"We must do something to test her. We should know how she really feels."

Colin Park nodded. "That will be good. It\'s better to clear up everything rather than being unsure." He paused and asked, "What about that female boss?"

"If there is news, my men will call me. She is strong-willed and more headstrong than her adoptive father," Peter Jung stated and shook his head. Before Colin Park could say anything, his phone went off. When he looked at the caller ID, he quickly picked up the call.

"Is there some improvement?" he promptly asked.

"She won\'t talk easily but... I called because there is another problem." It was that young leader who was on the other line.

"What is it?"

"Some men locate us last night but we manage to leave before they arrived. There is a chance that it might happen again."

Some men locate them? Were they the members of the Moyan Gang?

"I will look into that matter," Peter Jung said. "You should only focus on getting the answer from her, Mathias. You shouldn\'t fail."

"I understand," the young leader named Mathias responded and ended the call.

Peter Jung puts down his phone and wondered the possibilities of how Cassandra Lim was located. Did someone tail him or... did someone tracked his calls? Who might it be?!

*

After he finished talking with the Prime Minister, Mathias shifted his gaze to Cassandra who was still tied to a chair a few steps away. He briefly glanced at his wristwatch and then walked towards her.

One of his subordinates walked inside and placed some food on the table and left again right away.

Mathias narrowed his eyes at Cassandra as he stood in front of her. Then he removed the rope that tied her right hand to the chair and offered the food to her. "I ordered it for you. You should eat."

Cassandra didn\'t even bother to look at the food and only turned her head away.

"You won\'t last for long if you remain this way," Mathias said but it didn\'t change anything.

Then he returned the food to the table and picked up a bottle of water. "Drink this at least."

Cassandra remained the same. She didn\'t even glance at the water or the man who offered it to her.

Mathias let out a breath and also returned the bottle of water. Then he took a seat opposite her again. "The two men who came for you last night, I know who they are."

This time, his words were enough to make the Moyan Boss shifted her gaze to him. Last night, he ordered some of his men to hid near that factory and know who comes for her. Though it was dark, they managed to take some photos and identify them.

"One is a famous celebrity but the other one is the Boss of the Reyons. That\'s what I heard," Mathias said and then looked at Cassandra with a nonchalant face. "I also heard that... the Reyon Boss seems to specially care about you."

"Shut up," Cassandra uttered, glaring at the leader.

"You know what I mean, right? I don\'t love to use someone\'s weakness against them. So, don\'t force me to do that," Mathias simply said, ignoring the fiery expression of Cassandra Lim.

"What do you say? Will you have a second thought this time?" he added as he eyed the food on the table.....