Love Began with the First Meeting
Chapter 585 Kidnapping Mark (Part Two)

Yesterday, Shirley had taken Mark to the hotel for dinner. That was the first time he had seen Richie. He had almost thought it was Brian who was standing in front of him. He could hardly tell the two people apart except for the age difference. He had wondered who that was, but he didn't ask Shirley. Then after Shirley had told him Richie's name, he connected all the dots. He also recalled how Shirley had introduced herself when they first met so Mark figured out who Richie was from there.

Shirley was very happy that Mark finally knew who she was. She had been thinking about how to introduce herself and Richie to Mark these days. Unexpectedly, her smart grandson had worked out the puzzle by himself. It should have been a happy family reunion, but too many things had happened that day.

***

In QY Island, Brian was having a meeting while Molly was reading a magazine in the lounge. But not one single page had been turned after a long while. She raised her head every now and then, looking towards another room through the glass window. The meeting had been ongoing for more than three hours now. They had even skipped the meal. The secretary had brought her takeout food instead but she barely touched it. Her brows were furrowed in worry.

All over the news was the bombing at the amusement park - things were definitely serious. She put the magazine down and walked to the glass window. The expression on Brian's face was cold as usual. He listened and wrote every once in a while.

Molly lowered her eyes, turned around, and sat back on the sofa. She watched Brian. Her heart tightened. Somehow, she found it difficult to breathe. She pressed her lips together and called Eric.

"Hello, hello, look who's missing me," Eric joked.

Molly frowned and scolded, "How can you be in the mood to joke right now?"

Eric raised his brows and asked, "Little Molly, are you worried about me?"

"..." Molly was silent.

"Don't be embarrassed. Just tell me. If this thing led you to call and worry about me, then it was worth it even if I lost the Empire," Eric continued teasingly.

"Eric Long!" Molly roared.

"Eric sounds better," Eric said casually.

"..." Molly was wordless. She rolled her eyes and asked hesitantly, "Eric..."

"Don't worry," Eric interrupted her. He knew what she was going to say. "Let men worry about these things. Brian will take care of the things on QY Island. I am not worried. And things here are in control too. I won't let things get worse. Don't trust the media. What they say is groundless, okay?"

"Okay," Now she felt much relieved, "Eric, is everything going to be fine?"

"Yes, I promise," Eric answered earnestly. "Don't you believe in Brian and me?"

"No, that's not what I mean. I'm just..." Molly looked down and then continued, "I have this bad feeling."

"Relax, okay? All you need to do is take good care of yourself so we won't have to worry about you. Brian and I will take care of the rest."

Eric's words worked like a tranquilizer. They talked for a few more minutes before hanging up.

She looked again towards the meeting room. The air there remained tense.

For those who were busy, time flew by but if you were waiting, time ticked away extremely slowly. The sun was starting to set. When the night fell, QY Island was lit by various kinds of lights. The meeting that had lasted almost all day finally came to an end. Brian stood up and said, "Stick to the plan. If things go wrong again this time, don't bother going back to Dragon Island. That goes for all of you."

After that, he left. The people in the room looked at each other awkwardly.

"Mr. Brian Long, we caught a sniper," Tony reported when Brian walked out of the meeting room. "He's trained and well-prepared. But we don't know yet whom he works for." Brian stopped to look at Tony, "Take him to Aaron and tell Aaron I'm coming over later," he said.

"Yes, sir," Tony left right away.

Considering the bombing at the amusement park, the things that had happened in A City, and Daniel's escape from the rehabilitation center, Brian assumed that his enemy's scheme was working from two angles: one was for Mark and the other was for Molly. Once they controlled them, they controlled Brian. He remembered how worried he had been when he had gone back to the villa and Molly wasn't there. He had called her immediately. When she told him that she was by the lake, he immediately went to her.

Brian assumed that his enemy's people must have been lurking around the villa and that they just hadn't found the right time to attack yet. When he made his way to the lake, he kept thinking about what his enemy could possibly want. But Brian had been admittedly careless too as he underestimated his enemy whoever it was.

Chester was only a distraction from the beginning.

When the car stopped at the makeshift office, a ray of light was reflected on the rear-view mirror from the sunshine and the glass in the building. As the head of the XK Intelligence Agency, he knew right away what was going on.

He got out of the car calmly and walked into the building, holding Molly's hand. Instead of walking straight, he had walked in a zigzag line, which would make it difficult for the sniper to aim. Snipers wouldn't pull the trigger if they didn't get a shot.

Brian's eyes darkened with anger when he recalled all this, but it was gone quickly. He opened the door of the lounge and stopped at the doorway when he found that

Molly had fallen asleep on the sofa, leaning against the cushion, with the magazine still in her hand. His heart ached. He walked over and sat down on the end table, looking at Molly. The cold expression on his face softened. "Um..." Molly moaned with a frown. Her forehead was sweating.

"Mol, Mol," Brian called quietly. Molly was startled. She opened her eyes and looked at Brian. After a while, she came to her senses and sat up.

Her eyes seemed still vacant. "Bri, is the meeting done?"

Brian nodded. Molly didn't look well. His brows furrowed with worry. She had been having nightmares. But when she woke up, she couldn't remember any of her dreams. She didn't even know that she was having nightmares. "It's late. Let me take you to dinner. Do you want that?" Brian asked.

Molly was still feeling a little dizzy. She nodded subconsciously. Her head was buzzing from the bad dream. Her mind was wandering.

After a simple dinner near the villa, they went to Aaron's villa. Aaron controlled the whole parliament of QY Island. Now the Leng Group was also in his hands. He had become more powerful than ever. His residence occupied the entire east coast.

Under Brian's order, Tony had informed Aaron of his coming. He had heard of the bombing at the amusement park. Although he didn't take care of the matter directly, he had been investigating it in secret. QY Island was his turf. The bombing was a bold act and it was a humiliation for him.

"Molly," Ximena smiled when she saw Molly. "It's good to see you again."

Molly nodded. Then they went to the drawing room. They drank tea and chatted. Aaron and Brian walked out of the house and came to the back yard. They stopped in front of a small building.

Aaron gestured to the doorman to open the door, which was done respectfully. Aaron led Brian in. Then they took the elevator and came to the basement. Nothing surprised Brian. As a man capable of manipulating QY Island's economy, it was only natural for Aaron to be scheming and careful.

"Did he talk?" Brian asked.

Aaron shook his head. "He tried to kill himself and was stopped. Most possibly, he is Red Leaf's death saint hitman."

If the mission failed and the hitman got caught, he had to kill himself. That was Red Leaf's rule.

"Humph!" Brian didn't give a damn what kind of rule Red Leaf had. He only knew they would talk if he wanted them to.

The basement reeked of blood while the drawing room was fragrant. Ximena and Molly really clicked after the cocktail party. Although they didn't meet very often, they talked about a lot of things when they did.

"Molly," Ximena put down the British cherry blossom cup and said, looking at Molly seriously, "do you think Mr. Brian Long loves you?

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