Chapter 477
She understood perfectly, but she was too afraid to push back. “I understand, but—”
“I already know what’s coming in two weeks,” Bryanna cut her off, rising from her seat. “Don’t say another word. Faye, help me upstairs.”
“Of course, Mrs. Yates,” Faye replied, moving to her side and guiding her carefully up the staircase.
Victoria watched her go, her face tight with anxiety.
If Colton truly chose Kristine over the Yates Group…
The mere thought of Kristine made the blood rise hot in her veins.
Back at the villa in Crestwood, the guards and household staff had been bound with rope and deposited in a heap on the living room floor.
Bobby had stopped by to see Colton and found himself caught up in it along with the rest of them — a cloth knotted across his mouth, unable to do anything but stare helplessly at the man sitting in the wheelchair across the room.
Asher caught Bobby staring and looked back at him with glacial eyes.
Even in that single glance, Bobby could feel the danger radiating from him. He was every bit as formidable as Colton — possibly more so.
“We’ve checked every room,” Danica called down from the second floor, slightly breathless and visibly tense. “Kristine isn’t here.”
After confirming that Colton had taken Kristine, Asher had ordered his people to track Colton’s every movement. For days, everyone had been holding themselves in a state of anxious waiting — until Asher, who was not a man given to impulsive decisions, finally exhausted his patience and came to Colton’s home himself to find her.
Both Tripp and Nathan had their reservations, but Asher gave the order and that was the end of it.
Finding the villa empty came as no surprise to any of them.
“I don’t think Colton would actually keep her here,” Tripp offered carefully.
“Then you don’t understand Colton at all,” Asher replied. He wheeled himself directly in front of Bobby and said, “Remove the gag.”
Tripp stepped forward and pulled the cloth free.
Bobby gulped in a long breath of air, letting it fill his lungs before he looked up at Asher.
Before Asher could speak, Bobby beat him to it. “I genuinely don’t know anything, Mr. Edwards.”
Asher gave a quiet, humorless laugh. His eyes were anything but amused. “You’re Colton’s right-hand man. Do you honestly expect me to believe that?”
Bobby pressed his lips shut and said nothing more.
“A simple question,” Asher continued. “Was Kristine brought to this house?”
Bobby looked at him, visibly wrestling with himself.
Asher straightened slightly. “I can already read the answer on your face. So here is my next question.”
Bobby flinched, then quickly steadied himself.
He had always been an open book around Colton. It stood to reason that a man of Asher’s caliber would see through him just as easily.
“Do you know where she is right now?”
Bobby shook his head without thinking — then immediately caught himself and realized how guilty it looked. “I honestly don’t know, Mr. Edwards. Please, just let me go.”