Chapter 285: Unnecessary

In the Anderson’s mansion, Hilla sat beside Halle on the bed. Seeing Halle’s lost and sorrowful expression, she couldn’t feel more depressed for her.

…

“Halle, don’t worry. We will find Emily back.”

Hilla choked up when she thought of Emily. ’She is so small. How can she bear the kidnappers’ threats? What if she misses Halle? What if she feels cold or hungry?’ Hilla felt very frustrated.

She couldn’t imagine how Halle felt. If it was one of her twins who went missing, she would probably go crazy now.

Hilla looked at Halle, seeing that her eyes were filled with tears.

She didn’t notice when Halle began to cry.

She hurriedly comforted Halle, “It will be okay. We have clues now, don’t we? Emily will be back to you by the end of tomorrow.”

“Try to think on the bright side. Emily is a smart kid. She’s sure to make it back safely.”

Hilla wanted to wipe Halle’s tears, but Halle grabbed her hand and stopped her.

The tears in Halle’s eyes were crystal clear, making others feel heartbroken.

“It’s all my fault. If I had kept away from Horton, the Hutts wouldn’t target Emily to give me a warning. I knew I don’t deserve him. I should have avoided him at the very beginning. If I hadn’t been around him, Emily wouldn’t be taken away from me.”

Halle said with tears streaming down her face. Hilla had guessed out it was the Hutts who did it, but she still felt shocked and sad when she heard this.

She had expected that she just mistook. But now her assumption was confirmed. After all, who else would want Emily?

Even if Halle chose to tell everyone about Emily’s true bloodline, they wouldn’t face a better situation.

The Hutts wouldn’t accept an illegitimate daughter like Emily. Even if they did, there was no way they would accept her. Then, Emily would still be in a single-parent family.

Therefore, she thought it was better to keep Emily by her side.

Halle understood that she didn’t hold more feelings to Horton than guilt and gratitude.

Having married once, she knew how difficult and sad it would be to have no love in marriage. She did not want Horton to be in the same situation as she used to.

Moreover, living in a family where parents did not love each other, Emily wouldn’t feel happy either.

That was why she had always tried to avoid these troubles.

Ever since the Butts send people to “talk” with her, she had known that they would never allow her or Emily’s existence to threaten Horton’s career.

“If Emily was kidnapped by the Hutts, I will go and tell Bruce. He must have ways to bring Emily back.”

Knowing Emily’s whereabouts, Hilla felt a little at ease. She was just worried that Emily would be terrified to be away from Halle for too long.

Halle bit her lower lip and shook her head at a loss. “But what next? They wouldn’t let me and Emily stay around Horton. If they knew Emily’s actual father, they might even want to kill her.”

“Hilla, I’m so scared. What if Emily can never be back?”

She wanted to hate Horton and scolded him fiercely.

But she knew that it was useless. Now that Horton did not know Emily’s identity, there was still a chance for the Hutt family to let them go. Otherwise, Emily would face worse danger.

She didn’t care if she would marry again, nor did she care if she would be laughed at by others for the rest of her life.

She simply wanted Emily to be by her side and grow up safely and healthily. She wanted to accompany Emily till Emily had her own happy, little family. Instead of pursuing her happiness, she preferred to enable Emily to be happy. “Don’t say so. Emily will be back! I promise.”

Hilla comforted Halle. Feeling that she was shivering in fear, Hilla knew that Halle was helpless and panicked at this time.

The Hutt family had thrown Halle into a dilemma. Whichever choice she made, they wouldn’t let her live with Emily peacefully.

…

In the Hutt’s villa, Claus threw the cup onto the ground when he heard the latest news from Chris.

…

The cup was shattered, and the tea split all over. Chris bent lower for fear that he would be scolded.

“Not only the police but also the Anderson, the Jorgansen, the Key, and the Marley family had sent people to search for a two-year-old child. It’s ridiculous!”

Claus was so anxious that he walked back and forth in his study again and again.

Although he had thought that he might irritate the Andersons when he decided to kidnap Emily, he didn’t expect that they would call the police and join hands with the Jorgansen, the Key, and the Marley family to investigate.

…

…

He couldn’t understand why Halle can call on so many influential people to help her.

Being unable to figure out why he tightly clenched his fists in his pockets in frustration.

It was already very high a risk to challenge the Anderson family. It was almost impossible for him to deal with the other three families at the same time.

“Sir, what should we do now? I’m afraid they can’t hide any longer with so many people searching for them altogether.”

Chris was also worried. He did not expect the Anderson family to react so quickly and even ally with other families.

The entire River City was now under their close watch. They had no way to take Emily out of the city, not to mention to send her to the remote countryside.

“How would I know what to do? It is their stupid action that gets them into this trouble, so it is their responsibility to solve it.”

“But, Emily had the bloodline of the Hutt family after all.”

Chris frowned and said, “They are not some moral men. I’m worried that they might hurt Emily if they were cornered.”

“Are you suggesting that I should save them?”

Claus turned around and looked at Chris sharply. If he saved them now, everyone would know that this matter was their arrangement.

At that time, the fact that Emily was the daughter of Horton would be exposed.

“Go, make sure they won’t find out our connection with them. And cut off our contact with them. Let them take care of themselves.”

He could not afford to offend so many families merely for a little girl.

But still, he did not understand why these people would help Halle.

Chris immediately left the study. He knew the most important thing now was to prevent the benefit of the Hutt family from being damaged.

He could only pray that those people he hired would be humane enough not to hurt Emily.

…

Inside Claus’s study, Chris reported to Claus, “Sir, you have a call from Ms. Holt.” …

Being afraid that Claus might go mad, he avoided eye contact with Claus when saying so.

As he expected, Claus frowned impatiently when hearing this.

“Hang it,” he said coldly.

Instead of following his order, Chris conveyed Halle’s words first, “Ms. Holt said that if you don’t answer her call, she will come to visit you together with Mr. Horton.”

Being afraid to face his anger, Chris lowered his head even more.

There was no doubt that Claus would be furious to hear this since it was obviously a threat from Halle.

’She dares to threaten me with Horton!’

He put on a mocking sneer, “I didn’t expect that she should learn to negotiate.”

Although he was reluctant, he still picked up the phone.

Before Claus spoke, Halle said anxiously, “I know Emily was taken away by your people. What can I do to make you return her to me?”

Although she sounded calm, she knew how scared and worried she was now. “What are you saying? I’m afraid that I didn’t catch you.” “Emily is missing.”

“Maybe you should call the police rather than me, Ms. Holt. Or are you trying to frame me of kidnapping you kid just because we have had some small quarrels before?”

Claus said indifferently as if he had never known Emily.

To him, Emily was nothing but a disgrace to the Hutt family, a stumbling block for Horton. He wouldn’t care about whether Emily was alive or dead.

Halle bit her lower lip and gripped her phone tightly.

She knew that he was the one who plotted all this, but she couldn’t make him confess.

“Emily is just two years old. She doesn’t know anything. Don’t hurt her, just come at me.

“Emily is my only daughter. If anyone dares to hurt her, I swear I make you pay for this.

“I know what you want by kidnapping Emily. You want us away from Horton. I promise you I’ll take her to leave far away from him and never see him again.

“Just give Emily back to me!”

Not receiving any answer, Halle got impatient.

It tortured her every time she thought of what kind of terror Emily was suffering. She didn’t want to waste another second.

She wanted her daughter back, right now!

However, Claus didn’t respond and hung up. Halle nearly broke down and sat down on the ground.

She had agreed to give in, but Claus still didn’t want to let her go. She now understood there was no use begging for their mercy. The only way out was to stand up against them.

She would never give in to them again.

…

It was a long and tough night for everyone in the Anderson family.

Hilla had to take care of her children, and so she couldn’t stay by Halle’s side all the time.

The entire Anderson family was silent and still. The few of them sat on the sofa for the entire night without leaving.

“It’s a pity that we couldn’t see the kidnapper’s face. Otherwise, we could find that villain more quickly.”

Margaret thought of the CCTV footage they just saw. They could just see a vague figure carrying a big bag, put it in the trunk, and drove out. The license on that car turned out to be a fake one.

Normally, trespassers wouldn’t get in the Anderson’s mansion so easily. Therefore, this kidnapper must have a helper inside this house.

The guests today were either rich or noble. Within the relationship network of the upper class, none would want to challenge the Anderson family abruptly. The only person who had a grudge with the Andersons was Stefan.

Margaret frowned and peeked at Stefan.

Stefan instantly glared back. Margaret thought that he shouldn’t dare to glare at her if he was guilty. It looked like he was innocent.

“Guys… I think I have seen the person in the footage before.” Everyone heard the weak, nervous and cautious voice. They looked over and saw Lori in the corner. Margaret was surprised, “Why are you still here?”

Everyone was so concerned about Emily’s disappearance that no one noticed that Lori was in the room.

Lori was a little awkward and collected all her courage to say, “I seem to have seen the man in the video just now.”

Her voice was still low.

“Where?” Julian said coldly as he pulled Margaret into his arms.

Lori thought for a moment, “Just before the banquet began, in the garden, I saw this man talking to another man, and called someone.”

“What did they say?”

Lori shook her head, “I was too far away to hear them.”

Moreover, as an orphan, she didn’t dare to interrupt any of the guests today since they were all important people. Therefore, she just had a glance and then left in a hurry.

“If you didn’t hear anything, how could you help us?”

Margaret frowned and looked at Lori.

Lori pursed her lips, “I saw his face. I can draw it down.”

It was not until then that everyone came back alive. Lori quickly drew the portrait. Although she had never studied painting as a profession, she was interested in sketching and often practiced it. Thus, she could sketch a general human figure.

“This person is not our guest.”

Margaret said coldly. They could now be sure that this kidnapper was a trespasser.

Horton picked up the painting. “I’ll tell others to find the man on the painting!”

Now that they acquired the look of the kidnapper, it was much easier to find him and Emily.

An hour later, they found the whereabouts of Emily.

“Emily and the kidnappers are hiding in a remote village in the outskirts of the city.”

There was an abandoned farmer’s house at the end of the village, and the kidnappers were hiding there with Emily.

It seemed that they knew that many people were searching for them, so they didn’t dare to go out.

“Do you find Emily?”

Halle hurriedly ran downstairs and grabbed Bruce’s arm.

“Don’t worry, I will bring Emily back now.”

Halle grabbed his wrist and said, “I want to go too. Emily will be scared if I’m not

there.”

Bruce nodded after hesitating for a while.

And Horton immediately followed them without hesitation.

Margaret also wanted to go with them but was stopped by Julian. “The kidnappers would be alerted if you all go. They can cope with this.”

Riya pursed her lips and whispered, “I think it’s unnecessary for Bruce to go.”

She thought, “It could have been a wonderful opportunity for Halle and Horton to become closer.”

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