The Queen's Back

Barbara observed Lydia's contemplative expression and said, "Since you think my designs are inadequate, I'll take them back and make some revisions, though they might not be as good as Mona's"

After leaving, Barbara glanced back at Lydia and smiled slightly

Barbara thought, 'I don't dare to do that to Mona. But Lydia dos I may let her take care of it.

Lydia sat alone, gazing at the television in the distance, quietly thinking. Yes, as long as Mona is absent that day, she won't have the opportunity to participate in the design competition, and her designs won't get showcased. Whether Barbara's designs could surpass Mona's would no longer matter. It would be my victory

With this thought in mind, Lydia began to devise a plan.

ly chilly

The day before the Nathontown design competition, the sky was overcast, and it was slightly

As soon as she got off work, Mona stood by the road trying to hail a taxi. The cold wind seeped into her sweater, sending shivers down her spine. She had finished work early and wanted to go to the Carter Group to see Maxwell.

While Mont was waiting, a black van suddenly pulled up beside her. Two men jumped out and grabbed Mona, dragging her into the vehicle.

The whole incident was so sudden that Mona didn't even have a chance to scream for help. They covered her mouth and pulled her into the van.

From the time the men got out of the vehicle to when they forced Mora inside, it took mere seconds.

The speed of their actions was so swift that the people around didn't even notice that Mona, who had been waiting for a taxi at the corner, was suddenly gone.

Before Mona was dragged into the van, she hurriedly threw her bracelet on the ground, the one Elara had given her, hoping someone would notice she was gone in time.

As the clock neared five, Maxwell rubbed his temples after staring at data all afternoon.

His eyes felt fatigued, so he took some eye drops and let them soothe his eyes before closing them for a moment. Then he picked up his phone to inform Mona he was on his way. Once he got into his car, he checked his phone, but there was still no reply from Mona, making him frown.

Normally, Mona would reply instantly at this time, but today felt different. He reassured himself that Mona must have gotten caught up in something, yet a sense of unease gnawed at him.

He subconsciously sped up on the way to the Clem Group, fearing something might have happened to Mona.

Upon arriving at the Clem Group, Maxwell didn't see Mona waiting outside, so he headed to the Design Department

Elara informed him that Mona had left the office at four o'clock, raising more alarms in his mind. He called Mona, but it went straight to voicemail.

Mona's phone never just died unexpectedly. It further deepened Maxwell's suspicions that something was wrong.

Maxwell quickly called Bernard, saying he had lost a valuable watch outside the Clem Group and needed to review the surveillance footage.

Bernard immediately arranged for someone to take Maxwell to the monitoring room.

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With a grim expression, Maxwell entered the room with the staff, while Elara, scared by Maxwell's demeanor but more concerned about Mona's safety, boldly followed.

The surveillance footage from the Clem Group was fast-forwarded to just after four. After clearing the room, Maxwell began to review the footage and saw Mona being dragged into a black van.

A shiny bracelet fell to the ground. Elara recognized it as the one she had given Mona. She was surprised to see that Mona had kept it, as it was a small, inexpensive gift,

Mona was generally aloof at work and didn't engage much with her colleagues, but if someone was sincere with her, she would gradually let them into her heart.

Elara felt that Mona genuinely considered her a friend now,

After he watched the footage, Maxwell's expression darkened as he immediately called Nigel. "Contact the head of the transportation department and the police chief. We need to find the vehicle that abducted Mona outside the Clem Group immediately." In Nathontown, having the nerve to kidnap his wife in broad daylight, especially the heiress of the Clem family, was something that was hard to understand. This person clearly had a death wish.

Hanging up. Maxwell stormed out of the security room with a saillen face.

A cold wind blew in his face, bringing a hint of chill.

The once sunny afternoon turned gloomy as if a heavy downpour was about to hit at any moment.

Maxwell's heart grew heavier with worry for Mona.

He had dealt with kidnappings before and managed to come through each time, but Mona was different. She had been protected since child, not used to such suffering. If he could, he would gladly take her place. Maxwell steeled himself and resolved to rush to the police station before the rain started, concerned that Bernard and Jane might panic about Mona's safety and fall ill. He planned not to tell them anything-

Mona had been kidnapped, possibly for ransom or revenge, reminiscent of their encounter abroad.

He couldn't think of any enemies Mona had, with the only suspect being Barbara

After being unconscious for several hours, Mona gradually regained her senses.

As she looked around, she saw the desolate surroundings and found herself in a rundown warehouse.

There was nothing but dust and the chair she was tied to, with no other objects in sight.

A short distance away sat four masked men, playing cards on a floor covered with old newspapers

Then she noticed a tattoo of a tiger on one man's hand, remembering it was the same man who had covered her mouth and dragged her into the van.

She wondered who would kidnap her in Nathontown. Barbara surely would think of it, given that Mona had been a thorn in her side. But Mona.didn't think Barbara had the guts to pull it of

Teddy, who was with Barbara, didn't have the guts for that. She had known this from their previous relationship. Even now, he wasn't the chairman of the Powers Group, and his influence was still limited, making it unlikely that he could pull it off. Then there was Gordon. After that incident where she knocked him out, he likely held some resentment against her and had

G

the capability to do it.

It seemed most likely culprit.

ordon was t

As the card game neared its end, the four men simultaneously turned to look at Mona. Seeing she was awake, they approached her. "Awake? Want something to cat?" one of them said, his voice lacell with a hint of bravado