Chapter 2

George scrambled to get away from me. He hesitated for quite a long time before he finally gasped, "No... I didn't mean to kidnap her. Someone gave me 300 thousand dollars to make sure she would never set foot in Austony again."

Instantly, my mind went blank.

According to my memories, the reason for this kidnapping was supposed to be that George was jobless and couldn't find himself a wife. Never had I known that he had an accomplice.

I slowly walked up to George and gave his leg another whip. "Who gave you the money? Don't lie to me."

My reaction frightened George. He shrank back and instinctively rubbed his legs.

"It is Daisy's little sister. She promised me 300 thousand dollars to make sure that Daisy would never set foot in Austony again," he muttered as his voice trailed away. "What a large sum of money... I lost my head for a moment."

Once again, I was shocked.

I had heard Mom talk about her parents, who were partial to their son, gave her leftovers as food, and made her work at a young age to pay for their son's education. Never had Mom told me that she had a little sister.

I glared at George and walked up to him step by step. "You're lying! Daisy doesn't have a sister!"

George quickly lifted his head, and there was panic all over his face. He said, "No, I'm not. Daisy's little sister is Grace Dotson. Grace told me that she could lead an affluent life because there had been a mix-up of babies years ago.

"Not long ago, Daisy was found by her real parents. Grace is afraid that she will lose everything she has now, so she turned to me for help."

As a sense of sympathy washed over me, I couldn't hold back my tears and let them roll down my cheeks.

My poor mom had been through a lot.

Because of the mix-up, she had to live with the couple who were partial to their son, abused her, and made her work at a young age to provide for their son.

After her real parents found her, malice came sooner than happiness did. To keep her position in the Dotson family, Grace intended to confine my mom in the mountains forever.

"Mom, please don't cry!" George panicked at the sight of my tears. He perplexedly took two steps forward and paused there for fear of the whip in my hand.

"I quit. I won't kidnap Daisy. You have my word. Look, I am throwing away the rope and the black cloth. I won't keep in touch with Grace anymore. Stop crying, okay?" he said.

"No!" I wiped away my tears, stared at George, and said word by word, "You should keep in touch with Grace and do as she says."

George was dumbfounded. His mouth moved, and it took him quite a long time to make a sound. "What? Didn't, didn't you want me to make an honest living? Why did you change your mind?"

I couldn't help but smack him on the forehead. "Who told you to kidnap Daisy? I want you to kidnap Grace," I snapped.

I bent down, picked up the rope and black cloth from the trash can, and shoved them at George.

"Listen, call Grace, tell her to get the money ready, and make an appointment with her. Make sure that she will personally come with the money. You may use the double-check of that large sum of money as an excuse. Tie her down once she is here. Understand?" I quickly said.

Holding the rope and the black cloth, George stared at me in shock. It took him a few seconds to come back to his senses.

"Oh... I see. I will call Grace right away." Speaking, he ran away with the rope.

In less than two minutes, George reappeared dejectedly and explained, "She didn't answer my calls... I have called her three times in one breath."

I frowned. "Why?"

George scratched his head. "In fact, I don't have her real phone number. She contacts me whenever she wants to, and her phone number keeps changing. I asked her why, and she said that it was a precaution."

I snorted. How prudent Grace was! It seemed we couldn't lure her out via calls.

I looked up at the sky. It was getting dark. George and I shouldn't waste our time there.

I shifted my gaze to George. "Did Grace mention the Dotson family? Do you know where they live?"

George nodded. "Yeah, she did. They live in the rich part of Austony. I've once seen their place from a distance."