Chapter 1383:
Brandon nearly snarled with rage.
“Macauley! What is it you want?”
Macauley didn’t even flinch. His tone stayed smug as he laid out his scheme in full.
“I got here early, you know. Security was ironclad—no chance in hell I’d get through. But then you made your move, Brandon. I still have no clue how you pulled it off or managed to snatch Millie out from under everyone’s noses, but the chaos you unleashed in Crobert was a gift. The whole city flipped upside down.”
He broke into a fit of laughter, so hard it nearly brought him to tears.
“People ran around in a panic, searching for the bride who vanished into thin air. The whole venue almost turned into a ghost town. At first, I didn’t get it, but something told me this was my golden ticket, so I stayed hidden. The rest just fell right into place.” Macauley doubled over, cackling.
“Brandon, you did all the hard work and handed me everything I needed!”
Brandon slammed his fist against the door, his voice rising with desperation.
“What’s your angle, Macauley? What is it you’re after? Don’t forget, Vivian’s fate is still in my hands!”
Macauley’s laughter cut off abruptly. He stared coldly into the camera, his face twisting.
“Fine. Bring Vivian to me, now!”
Millie’s hands shook, anxiety gnawing at her nerves.
It all made sense now.
If she wanted any hope of getting out alive, she had to play it smart—not impulsive.
Forcing herself to breathe evenly, Millie mapped out her next move in her head.
She spoke up, her voice steady and cold.
“Ari isn’t really my daughter. I adopted her from the orphanage. She’s not worth the trouble you’re causing.”
Millie knew the power of a hostage lay in their value. If Macauley thought Ari was worthless, he would see her as nothing but dead weight.
𝖀𝖕𝖑𝖔𝖆𝖉𝖊𝖉 𝖍𝖊𝖗𝖊: g⍶𝗅𝗇𝗈ν𝖊𝗅𝘀ꞏ𝖼𝗈𝗆
“Give it up, Macauley,” Millie said, her voice cold and convincing.
“If anything happens to her, it makes no difference to me. Ari is just another orphan I happened to take in.”
She shot him a look that was all calculation, letting her gaze flick away as if Ari barely mattered.
Millie put on a show of carelessness, setting the stage so Macauley might try to seize her as his next target—and drop the supposedly worthless Ari.
Macauley sneered, his lips lifting with open disdain.
“You actually believe you can deceive me? I know far more than you want to admit. You can’t have children, Millie, so you hold on to this girl as if she were your own.”
Millie let out a small laugh, cold and dismissive.
“That’s just what everyone expects to see,” she replied.
“All that panic and worry earlier? Just for show—to keep up appearances for the crowd. With the doors closed, there’s no point in pretending. If you want honesty, here it is. About being unable to have kids—” She broke into a peal of laughter, though her hand remained hidden, curled into a tight fist behind her back.
“If I wanted, I could adopt another child in a heartbeat. Myron and I would have people lining up to hand over their kids, from the Elliott family or anywhere else.”
With every word, Millie sounded at ease, but she was inching closer to the shelter of the stage, already planning to fake a fall at just the right moment.
“I’d rather this end with no more bloodshed,” she said smoothly.
“Turn yourself in, Macauley. You might even shave a few years off your sentence.”
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