After Divorce I Married a Tycoon-Chapter 69: This Is Unlawful Confinement

"What did you say?" Claire Mercer felt a chill envelop her, as if she’d been plunged into an icy cavern.

Her voice trembled as she asked,

"You’re going to marry me off to that... that Mr. Bower?"

"That’s right," said Judith Caldwell.

"You’re just used goods. You should be thanking your lucky stars that a man like Mr. Bower is willing to marry you."

Claire Mercer let out a laugh of pure fury.

Never mind that Mr. Bower was in his fifties.

He was short, fat, and greasy.

When he laughed, his fleshy face quivered.

And his gaze was utterly lecherous and vulgar.

Despite being covered in rolls of fat, the look on his face screamed debauchery.

The mere sight of him was enough to make her sick to her stomach.

And yet, they were...

...planning to marry her off to a greasy old perv like him?

She had her suspicions, but...

...hearing the truth out loud was still impossible to accept.

"You... you actually..."

"You want to marry me off to that vile, greasy old man..."

Judith Caldwell said,

"Mr. Bower is a man of considerable standing in Rhonia."

"He may not be on the level of a great family like the Sinclairs, but he’s still an influential figure in Rhonia."

"Marrying him will only benefit you. There are no downsides."

’Only benefits? No downsides?’

"Is that so?" Claire retorted with a sneer.

"Since he’s so great, why don’t you marry Scarlett Jewel to him?"

Judith Caldwell snorted coldly.

"Who is Scarlett, and who are you?"

"Scarlett is carrying a Sinclair heir. She’s destined to marry into their family."

"And you? You’re nothing but the Mercer family’s adopted daughter."

"There’s a world of difference between your stations in life."

"How could you possibly compare yourself to Scarlett?"

"I will not marry that... that Mr. Bower."

Claire’s tone was resolute.

"So you’d better give up on that idea right now."

Judith Caldwell snorted coldly. "Whether you marry him or not is not up to you."

"Don’t blame us for this. You brought it on yourself by being such a disappointment."

"We thought you could finally contribute to the Mercer family by marrying into the Sinclair family."

"But you turned out to be a useless fool."

"You couldn’t even keep a man’s interest, and now you’ve been thrown out by the Sinclairs."

"Since you’re such a failure, you’ll just have to do as we say."

"We worked so hard to raise you, now it’s time for you to repay us."

"Repay?" Claire Mercer scoffed.

"Over the years, every time Oscar needed a transfusion, who do you think gave him blood?"

"If I ever owed you a debt, I’ve paid it back in full long ago."

"I don’t have time for this nonsense," Judith Caldwell cut her off impatiently.

"The matter of you marrying Mr. Bower is settled. It’s useless to object."

With that, Judith Caldwell shot a look at the maids.

The two maids understood and immediately flanked Claire, grabbing her by the arms.

"Take her to her room and watch her carefully," Judith Caldwell ordered.

"Yes, Madam..."

And so, the two maids held Claire Mercer tightly.

They began dragging her up the stairs.

Claire Mercer kept struggling.

But what was her strength against two other women?

"Judith Caldwell, this is unlawful imprisonment!"

"Let me go right now, or I’ll call the police!"

"Call the police?" Judith Caldwell laughed mockingly.

"Go on, call them. See if they’ll do anything about it."

In the end, Claire Mercer was locked in that dark, damp little room.

The door was locked from the outside.

No matter how Claire Mercer twisted the handle, the door didn’t move an inch.

And the room was windowless, making escape impossible.

’Damn it...’

’That Judith Caldwell is despicable.’

’They’re actually trying to force me to marry that greasy, vile old man in his fifties.’

’They’ve even resorted to imprisoning me.’

’They’re willing to ruin my entire life for their own gain.’

Claire Mercer was filled with hate.

The Mercers were just as despicable as the Sinclairs.

’I won’t let them get away with this.’

’I will expose their vicious true colors for the world to see.’

’But what can I do now?’

’How am I going to get out of here?’

’If I call the police, they probably won’t do anything, just like Judith said.’

’I know Julian Mercer has connections at the station.’

After thinking it through, she took out her phone.

She decided to message Adrian Sutton and see if he could help.

When she opened her phone, she saw that Adrian had already sent her a flood of messages.

"Are you okay?"

"Are the Mercers giving you any trouble?"

"If they are, remember to call me."

"Why aren’t you replying? Did something happen?"

"Please reply when you see this, so I can stop worrying."

"..."

He sent her a message almost every few minutes.

Each one asked if the Mercers were giving her a hard time.

Every single message radiated concern and anxiety for her.

Claire quickly texted Adrian, telling him everything the Mercers had done that evening.

Adrian Sutton’s eyes fell on the message she had just sent:

"Julian Mercer and Judith Caldwell are planning to marry me off to a greasy old man in his fifties."

He was so angry he almost smashed his phone.

He had thought the Sinclairs were despicable.

But hearing from Claire that the Mercers wanted to marry her off to that Mr. Bower...

He felt a burning desire to tear the Mercers limb from limb.

Suppressing his rage, Adrian texted her back.

"Are you still at the Mercer house? I’m coming to get you."

"They’ve locked me up. They won’t let me leave the Mercer house."

That message made Adrian, who was already seething, feel like he was about to explode.

"I wanted to call the police, but Julian Mercer has connections at the station, so the police probably won’t do anything."

"Don’t panic. I’m coming for you right now."

After sending the text, Adrian immediately called Hughes.

In less than ten minutes, two police cars appeared at the main gate of the Mercer family villa.

Adrian Sutton arrived with them.

When they saw the police cars suddenly pull up outside their house, Julian Mercer and Judith Caldwell exchanged a look of bewilderment.

"What’s going on? Why are two police cars parked outside our house?"

"How should I know?..."

Julian Mercer was also very puzzled.

"Well, call Director Lawton and find out what’s happening."

"All these police cars showing up... anyone who doesn’t know better would think someone in our family broke the law."

Julian Mercer had just taken out his phone when the police were already being led into the living room by the butler.

The pair went downstairs, their hearts filled with apprehension.

"Officers, what can we..."

The officers said nothing. Their sharp eyes slowly swept over the couple before scanning the rest of the living room.

Julian Mercer and his wife exchanged another look, their hearts pounding with anxiety.

While they ran a legitimate business, they were also involved in some shady dealings on the side.

’The police are at our door... Don’t tell me they’ve found something out?’