A Vengeful Ex-Wife
Chapter 117 Illegal Imprisonment

Lorenzo asked Maria to go to the Leopard Club right now. Maria knew that if she went there, she would be digging her own grave. Even if she could escape death, she might still end up comatose. So she immediately refused, "Well, I'm on a business trip right now. I'll be back in two days. I'm so busy, so I have to go. Bye!"

She then hung up the phone.

As Lorenzo heard the beeping sound, he stared at his phone with creased brows. He was speechless. He could tell from Maria's hoarse voice that she had just woken up. How could she say that she busy on a business trip? Unwilling to give up, he called her again. However, he tried a few more times but got no answer.

Lorenzo failed on the task that James assigned to him, so he had to bite the bullet. He opened the door of James' office and walked in, trembling with fear. "Mr. Xi, that..."

"Send someone there," James interrupted icily.

He didn't need to hear Lorenzo's words to understand everything. He could already imagine what Maria had said to Lorenzo on the phone.

"Okay, Mr. Xi."

Maria ignored several calls from Lorenzo. She didn't care what he would think of her. After getting out of bed, she put on her slippers and turned on her laptop.

Then she sent out the photos she had prepared in advance. Maria would leave Stella to Alina and focus on dealing with James.

A few moments later, the doorbell rang while she was putting on some makeup. She put down the eyebrow pencil in her hand, walked to the door, and opened it. Without looking at the people outside, she said. "Wait a minute. I'm not done with my eyebrows yet."

The two bodyguards outside the door exchanged glances. They didn't even get the chance to voice out the words they prepared to say to her.

After a few minutes, Maria picked up a limited-edition handbag, changed into a pair of golden high heels, and opened the door again. "I'm ready. Let's go!"

The two bodyguards exchanged glances again. Then one of them made a gesture for Maria to walk first before they followed behind her to the elevator. They were both alert and vigilant, in case she fought with them at any moment.

A gray Mercedes-Benz was parked in front of the hotel entrance. One of the bodyguards opened the door for Maria, who got in.

The two bodyguards were in disbelief. They didn't expect her to be very obedient and well-behaved all the time.

The bodyguard in the passenger seat sent a message to James. "Mr. Xi, Ms. Song is in the car now. She hasn't put up a fight."

James frowned after reading the message. He wore a long face in the office the whole day, and there was a hint of suspicion in his eyes. He was wondering what Maria was up to this time.

The two bodyguards took Maria to a shabby duplex villa. She was not familiar with the place as she had never been here before.

She stood in front of the door and looked around. The walls were almost obliterated by cobwebs. She wondered if James wanted to give her a horrible sleepless night by bringing her into this villa. One of the bodyguards pushed the door open and said politely, "Ms. Song, please go in."

The villa was full of old and run-down furniture covered with dust. On the wall, there were several pictures of men and women, one of them was a gigantic portrait of a woman with long straight hair in a white gown. Its realistic look sent a chill down Maria's spine.

If it happened to be nighttime, with heavy rain, thunder, and lightning outside, and the lights suddenly went out, anyone would definitely be scared to death.

Without showing any signs of fear in front of the bodyguards, Maria walked inside the villa calmly. The musty smell that pricked her nostrils made her wonder if this villa had been abandoned for dozens of years.

Her outfit and makeup today didn't fit into this place. Thinking that she would be meeting James today, she made sure that she looked beautiful. Maria snorted derisively. She shouldn't fantasize that James would come. A neat freak like him would never condescend to step foot in a place like this.

What happened next was something she didn't anticipate. As soon as she walked in, the door behind her was closed and locked from the outside.

She trotted back to the door and pulled it open. However, it was tightly closed. Even the windows were all sealed. There wasn't even a small crack or opening.

Unhurriedly, she took out her phone and opened WeChat. She looked for James' WeChat ID in her contact list and started a voice call. This time, James didn't avoid her call. After just a few seconds, he answered the voice call.

"James Xi, what is the meaning of this? Do you really have to do this?" Maria's voice was very calm, and there was even a clear hint of ridicule.

James couldn't help but frown. Indeed, she was fearless. It might be better if he let her stay overnight there. He then said, "Wait there!"

Maria didn't get angry. After all, he just trapped her and didn't hurt her physically. She chuckled and gently reminded him, "Mr. Xi, you are illegally detaining me."

"Ms. Song, you are exaggerating," he answered at once. The tone of his voice remained the same.

Maria smiled in silence. Of course, how could a person easily admit that he had committed a crime?

She walked around, feeling bored. She then said, "Mr. Xi, you are just wasting your time. This trick of yours won't work on me anymore. I'm not a little girl, and I'm not afraid of haunted villas, okay?" Maria had always believed that ghosts weren't really frightening. They were just spirits of dead people who were missed by their loved ones, like Arthur. Why would she be afraid of them?

This time, James felt like his blood was boiling. He should have reminded himself beforehand that Maria was totally different from other women. But anyway, freaking her out was not his purpose of sending her there. Not in the mood to argue with her more, he just said, "Have a good rest tonight." The truth was, James hadn't figured out what to do with Maria yet to vent his anger more savagely. Maria didn't want to continue mincing words with James either, so she hung up. She didn't want to stay in this villa for a long time. She looked around, trying to think of a way to escape. Perhaps this place was used to imprison people before. The windows and doors of the villa were tightly sealed. Even the stairs to the second floor were blocked by old furniture. It would be too difficult for her to go upstairs.

If James would ask someone to set this villa on fire, she would undoubtedly die since there was no escape way.

With this thought, she dialed another number. "Hello, police station? I was illegally imprisoned..."

Half an hour later, some unexpected visitors showed up in HL Group.

Lorenzo hurriedly knocked on the door to James' office and came in with a slightly strange expression. "Mr. Xi, someone is looking for you outside."

James looked up and was about to say something when he saw two policemen behind Lorenzo. He put down his pen and nodded to the two policemen. "Yes?"

One of the two policemen stepped forward, showed his badge to James, and said sternly, "Mr. Xi, we're from the Municipal Public Security Bureau. Here's my badge. Someone reported that you illegally imprisoned her. We need you to come with us."

James didn't move.

He sardonically smiled and asked in a flat tone, "Go with you?"

But deep inside him, he was already cursing Maria for being so bold. 'Good job, Maria Song! And you really dared to call the police!'

"Yes, please," the policeman said in a serious tone. "Where's the complainant?" James asked.

"We have already rescued her. She's in the police station now, giving her statement. Mr. Xi, please?" the policeman answered.

Still, James didn't stand up. Instead, he glanced at Lorenzo and said in an unfriendly tone, "Lorenzo, deal with this."

He was the CEO of HL Group. Who would expect him to go with the policemen just like that?

If people saw him leave the company with the policemen, HL Group would be in trouble. Even the whole H City would also be in an uproar.

Lorenzo was efficient. Within a few minutes, the two policemen received a phone call and left.

He saw them off, so James was left alone in his office with a darkened expression.

His hands balled into fists and he thought, 'Well done, Maria Song!'

That day, Ethan was also brought by several bodyguards to James' office. He actually planned to run away out of town, but James' men suddenly arrived. He knew that he could not escape anymore. As soon as he saw James, he said with a pleading look, "James, I'm innocent."

'All right. Stella said that she was innocent. And now Ethan says he's also innocent. So, does it mean that Maria is the only one who is at fault?' James thought inwardly, feeling enraged.

He didn't say anything and just watched Ethan's exaggerated performance. "James, you know that I will never dare to lie to you. But that enchantress Maria! She said that she is pregnant with your child, who is supposed to be my godson. How can I disobey a pregnant woman? Right?" For Ethan, he was the most innocent. He thought that Maria was only teasing James, making fun of him. But he didn't expect that she would be so bold to set James up.

Ophelia