Benton was as anxious as ants on a hot skillet, repeatedly calling Shakira. "Shakira, at such an important moment, you can''t just let us down." Maris came rushing in to check the bathroom. I''ve looked throughout. She is not in the restroom." Colleagues searched the entire office but found nothing. They all looked pale. "What do we do now? The auditors are strict. Having something go wrong just before the inceting means passing the audit will be nearly impossible." Benton''s expression changed, "It must be that scumbag, David. He''s envious of us and did something sneaky to hide Shakira. We can''t just take this lying down. I''m going to talk to Mr. Lopez" Benton didn''t waste a moment; he dashed straight to the top floor, shouting and making amotion to see Mr. Lopez. Naturally, the secretaries couldn''t allow him in and kept him outside.


    In a panic, Benton noticed Walter, who had just exited the VIP elevator. He shouted, "Mr. Lopez, Shakira is missing in thepany. Please help her."


    Walter''s brows furrowed. His cold gaze swept over Benton with a chilling intensity. "What did you say?" he asked, moving his wheelchair closer. His handsome face was dark and stormy. "Say it again, what''s going on with Shakira?"


    Benton trembled all over and shrank back like a quail. "Shakira is gone missing," Walter said nothing and took out his phone to dial a number.


    From the phone came a faint automated voice saying the line was turned off. Brian didn''t dare dy. "I''ll start searching right away."


    Benton kept his head low and his heart skipped a beat. He thought, ''Who is Mr. Lopez calling? Is it Shakira? Why would Mr. Lopez have Shakira''s phone number?''


    Shortly, Brian returned. "Ms. Nelson''s phone was found in the trash bin in the restroom of the Marketing Department. She wasst seen in the basement parking area about thirty minutes ago. In her call log, she contacted Mr. Reynolds and Mrs. Nelson this morning." After a pause, Brian said, "Mrs. Nelson used an unfamiliar number to contact Ms. Nelson." Walter''s expression turned extremely sour. He snatched the phone. "To the Nelson residence."


    In the living room of Nelson residence, Reba sat at the head of the table with a confident and proud elder''s demeanor, smiling as she looked at Joe, who was seated next to Yvette. "Joe, how''s work goingtely?"


    Joe politely responded. "Everything''s good. Thank you for your concern, Auntie Reba."


    "You''ve been dating Yvette for a while, and I have long considered you part of the family. You''re a wonderful person, and I believe you feel the same way," said Reba.


    Reba paused, then continued with a smile, "I heard from Yvette that you''re interested in smart technology development. She''s interning at the Lopez Group and is about to start coboration in this field.


    "Since you''re interested and the Ortiz family is strong in this area, why not take this opportunity to work together on the project? This will give you two more time to be together."


    Yvette didn''t say anything but clung to his arm, looking at him with eyes full of silent pleading. Joe hesitated, unsure of what to say.


    Yesterday, Grandma called him into her study to talk about Yvette''s visit along with Lopez Group employees. Now, Reba is calling him back to discuss it again, clearly using her seniority to pressure him into agreeing. Joe thought, ''Isn''t it disrespectful to the Ortiz family to push us like this repeatedly?'' Thinking of Grandma''s sincere reminders that Yvette might not be as simple as he thought, he was now a bit uncertain himself.


    Sat,


    Joe didn''t express his dissatisfaction but replied politely, "Auntie Reba, I do want to spend more time with Yvette, but since I''m in a non-management role at thepany, I''m afraid can''t give you an answer on this


    Reba smiled, but her words carried a clear hint of urgency. "You''re the future heir of the Ortiz family. At your age, Finn, Walter, and Kyle were already managingpanies. You should have a talk with your family about letting the young people take charge." Joe''s face remained expressionless, and he didn''t reply. This made Yvette anxious, and she quickly looked at Reba.


    Reba furrowed her brows and was about to rify further when a loud crash sounded from outside. "Oh no. The front gate''s been smashed."


    Reba''s face changed. "What?" They rushed outside to see their grand ck and gold gate reduced to scrap metal by a tall, rugged SUV


    Reba was so furious that she nearly lost her bnce. Her finger trembled as she pointed at the gate. "Who the hell dared to do such a reckless thing."


    "It''s me." On the other side, the door of a Maybach swung open, and Walter was sitting in the back seat, watching them with a cold expression.


    "Walter?" Reba was stunned. "Are you out of your mind?" As soon as she finished speaking, dozens of men in ck came out from the car behind, rushing into the courtyard and tightly surrounding them.


    The servants at the Nelson residence had never seen anything like this before and ran away in panic. Out of courtesy, Joe stepped forward to protect Reba and Yvette, who were turning pale, behind him. He spoke quietly, "Mr. Lopez, what do you really want?" Walter looked at them expressionlessly. "Give her back to me."


    Joe was shocked and took a moment to catch on. "Who? You mean Shakira?"


    Reba''s expression changed suddenly. "Lunatic. Just for Shakira, you smashed our gate like this?" Walter maintained hismanding aura with those few words. "Give her back to me."


    Reba was about to grind her teeth to dust. "She''s not here at all. I called her this morning and asked her to apologize to Yvette. She just hung up on me."


    Joe spoke up too. "I can vouch that when I came over, I really didn''t see her." Walter remained unfazed as if he didn''t believe Reba''s response.


    At that moment, his phone buzzed with a few messages. Walter opened them and his eyes narrowed slightly.


    It was a message from Sean, stating he had found a rough location for Xanthe. Walter quickly skimmed through their chat history and realized that Xanthe was missing.


    Walter thought, ''Shakira suddenly left thepany because of Xanthe. "Brian, give me the surveince footage from the Marketing Department," said Walter.


    Brian quickly found the part on hisptop when Shakira was entering the restroom and handed it to Walter. Walter watched it several times and then suddenly froze the frame.


    Fiona followed Shakira all the way down to the parking lot and kept a 7-foot distance from her. Waltermanded coldly. "Let''s go."


    With a singlemand, the Maybach, leading a convoy, sped away from the Nelson residence. The intense scene vanished


    in an instant.


    Reba, looking at her destroyed gate, angrily swore. "That scoundrel. I''m calling the police. I''m pressing charges." Yvette quietly guessed. "Mom, maybe something happened to Shakira, so Mr. Lopez..."


    3.20%2


    Feelingpletely humiliated, Reba had lost all sense of reason. "No matter what happens to her, she brought it on herself. She deserves it. Why keep a troublemaker like her around?"


    Hearing this, Joe''s expression turned serious. "Mom... It''s okay, its okay. Don''t be upset. Yvette tried to calm Reba down. She kept her head lowered, with her eyes showing a glint that went unnoticed. Inside an abandoned building, Shakira curled up on the ground like a pile of mud and was being beaten by a group of men. Her body was covered in dirt and her once wless skin was now bruised and purple. "Alright. Don''t kill her," Fiona finally spokezily, and only then did the men stop their actions.Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    With her whole body injured, Shakira forced her eyes shut, sweating heavily as she breathed silently. Looking at Shakira who gritted her teeth without saying a word, Fiona smiled cruelly. "Not bad, you can really endure. No wonder you''re Matthew''s prized student." "Especially your hands, they''re really skillful." Fiona chuckled lightly, taking a small knife from a man''s hand as she moved closer to Shakira.


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