chapter736

"You shut your mouth!" Mandy snapped, her voice trembling with anger and fear. Jackson was so close to his promotion. He had warned them over and over not to mess anything up. Tonight had already spiraled out of control, and there was no way she could let Jackson get dragged into this too.

Her eyes scanned the room and landed on Lydia. This was all because of her. Only now did Mandy realize that everything Connor had done tonight was for Lydia. "What's going on between you and Connor? Why is he helping you?"

Lydia's name had never come up in the Capital before. It was only this summer that she'd made headlines as the top scorer in the national exams. How could some college student from the countryside be connected to Connor?

Lydia met her gaze with a calm defiance. "You don't deserve to know."

She wasn't about to reveal that she was the real Norwood heiress. When the time came, everyone would know exactly how she and Connor were connected.

Connor, honestly, was dying to tell everyone that he was Lydia's fianc . If it weren't for those snakes crawling around in the shadows of Southeast Asia, he probably would have. He needed to take care of them, and soon.

Byron spoke up again, his voice steady. "Mrs. Gibson, if you would."

Mandy's hands clenched so tightly her knuckles turned white. She glanced anxiously toward the front door, but there was still no sign of Benjamin.

I'll go to the station with you," she said, but not until my husband gets back.

"If you'd like Mr. Gibson to come to the station with you now, that's fine with us, Byron replied, all official business.

Right now, Benjamin wasn't

involved. The evidence from Leopard and the phone records pointed straight at Mandy and Rosie as the ones behind the kidnapping. Mandy had been hoping Benjamin would come home, and somehow protect her and Rosie from being taken away. But now, it was obvious she couldn't count on that.

She couldn't let Benjamin get dragged into this mess. If he went down too, who would be left to help her and Rosie? Damn Connor! Damn Lydia! Jackson would never let them off the hook for this.

"Fine," she said. "I'll go."

The police led Mandy and Rosie away for questioning. Connor didn't stick around. He walked Lydia home, where Kylie and Cameron were waiting for them with a table full of food.

Just as the group left, Benjamin finally got home. The moment he stepped inside, the butler rushed to him, panic written all over his face. He explained that the police had taken Mandy and Rosie, and that Connor and Lydia had been there too.

Benjamin's heart sank. "How long ago did they leave?"

"About seven or eight minutes ago, sir. Please, you can't get involved. Your wife and daughter have already been taken. If you get mixed up in this, it'll only make things worse."

The butler, Ryan, had been with the Gibson family for decades. He was loyal to the core. Tonight's situation was a nightmare The Gibson family had been caught red handed, and there was no easy way out. If Benjamin got pulled in too everything would fall apart. It's

Connor who they were dealing now.

Benjamin understood just how bad this was. He'd thought the plan tonight was foolproof. Who could have guessed Lydia would be tied to Connor? Now Connor

had them right where he wanted them.

"I get it, Ryan. I'm going to find Jackson."

The whole thing was too

even

complicated to explain to Jackson over the phone, and Jackson was busier than ever these days. Sometimes Benjamin couldn reach him directly and had to go through his aide, Harvey. But tonight, he needed to see Jackson in person.