Faux Vows, True Desires
Chapter 134

"Hugo, what's the deal?"

"Mr. Blue, I could ask you the same thing. You had me busting my ass and throwing resources at kidnapping this girl, but you didn't tell me she was no average Joe's daughter. Why didn't you mention she's part of the Anderson family, the richest people in Pinehurst?"

"My guys got her in the car, and we were tailed within minutes. They set up checkpoints everywhere, forcing us to switch vehicles and routes. In the end, we had to ditch the girl just to get away." He'd put in a lot of man-hours and effort, only to abandon the mission for survival. Hugo was miffed and felt like a fool.

He'd been in this line of work for a while and rarely messed up.

This blunder was all because Mr. Blue had hidden some crucial info about the girl.

Mr. Blue looked shocked, "She's one of the Andersons?"

He rushed to explain, "Hugo, I swear I didn't know she was an Anderson. How could she be?"

"She's publicly announced her marriage to the Anderson heir, Stefan Coleman. You didn't know?"

"Look, Hugo, I genuinely didn't have a clue. If I'd known, I would've definitely told you. When did she become an Anderson?"

"It was announced a few days ago."

Mr. Blue instantly replied, "There you have it! It was just announced a few days ago. My guys spent a lot of time confirming that she was the one we were after. I had her background checked thoroughly, and she wasn't an Anderson then."

"I hired you guys for a lot of dough. Of course, I wanted you to succeed. It would've saved us both a ton of trouble. I had no reason to withhold her other identity and set you up for failure. That would just burn a hole in my pocket."

Hugo figured Mr. Blue's blunder made sense after listening to his explanation.

"Also, you always prep and plan in detail before a job, which takes time. Did you know she was an Anderson then?"

Hugo was at a loss for words.

"So, was this just a fluke?"

"Definitely a fluke. Who'd have thought that an ordinary girl could end up marrying Stefan?"

With Hugo's failure to kidnap Lucinda Moore, even Mr. Blue, who wasn't too familiar with Pinehurst, now knew not to underestimate the Andersons.

"Hugo, when your guys ditched her, were they moving or parked?" Mr. Blue asked with concern.

If she was thrown out of a moving vehicle, Lucinda could be severely injured, which meant the big bucks he spent hiring Hugo to kidnap her weren't totally wasted.

Hugo pushed him away, walked over to the couch, picked up a glass, and downed a few gulps of ice water before grumpily saying, "The Andersons may keep a low profile in Pinehurst, but they're real big shots in business. They dominate when it comes to connections and wealth. If we hadn't hurt her, we might've escaped. But if we did, that means we would have pissed them off. I don't fancy running from the cops." "So, you guys didn't hurt her?"

"Hurt her? All I could do was safely return her. How could we hurt her? My guys stopped and gently took her out of the car. Luckily, she was still out of it. Otherwise, it would've been a real mess."

If the girl had struggled or fought back, his guys would have had to get rough. If she had any marks on her, Stefan would never let him see another peaceful day again.

Mr. Blue was stunned.

He'd shelled out a fortune for nothing. He'd had Lucinda in his grasp, and all he had to do was get her on his private plane.

But that girl really had luck on her side!

"Mr. Blue, I came here to confront you. Now that I know it was all a misunderstanding and an accident, I don't blame you. But you still owe me the rest of my pay. I want you to settle the account now. We're not doing business again."

After getting his money, he'd need to keep a low profile for a while.

Mr. Blue's lips twitched because he wanted to haggle, but seeing Hugo's cold stare and his menacing men, he had no choice but to pay up.

Hugo took the money, left with his men, and even had them haul off some antique decorations from the hall on the way out.

This pissed Mr. Blue off, but he didn't dare cuss him out.

Once the room quieted down, Mr. Blue angrily swept everything off the table, including the coffee pot and cups, shattering them on the floor.

A flashy woman came down from upstairs, went over to Mr. Blue, rested her hand on his shoulder, leaned against him, and cooed, "What's got you so worked up?"

Mr. Blue shoved her away, and she fell onto the couch.

"Just leave me alone for now. Go do what you're supposed to."

"Go. Get me a cigar."

The woman got up, fetched a cigar for him, and lit it.

After finishing the cigar, Mr. Blue said angrily, "That girl is too lucky. She survived 20 years ago, and 20 years later, she's still lucky. She even found a powerful backer!"

"Why not tell your family that you know where she is? You might even gain their favor and get some benefits."

"If she goes back, she'll get half the inheritance, and her parents might even reconcile. If her father investigates what happened back then and traces it back to me, I'm finished. By then, the kid you're carrying won't have a penny to inherit."

"If she kicks the bucket, not only can I get half of her father's dough, but I'll finally be able to bury all the stuff from two decades ago deep down, with no one to ever bring it up again."

What he wanted was not just half of the inheritance but also the head honcho spot in the family. Otherwise, if the truth came out, his whole family would be in deep shit.

He treated the young girl, who should technically be calling him uncle, coldly and ruthlessly, all in the name of self-preservation.

The woman was his mistress and was now carrying his love child.

Mr. Blue laid out his thoughts plainly and simply. The woman lightly rubbed her belly and said, "Looking at it your way, we really can't let her be, huh? But you've botched it a couple of times already and shelled out a ton of dough. Next time, we've really gotta make sure everything's spot on before we make a move."

"That's a given."

Mr. Blue suddenly turned and said, "What are you still doing here? Go upstairs or outside. Don't you see that I'm about to light up? Don't let my kid breathe in secondhand smoke."