One Night With A Mysterious Billionaire (The Heiress's Revenge)-Chapter 85: Excalation of emotion.

Sylvia, look for anyone suspicious inside the restaurant. Damon, check the front entrance. My team and I will focus on the taxi and its route," Roman instructed, his voice firm and controlled as he issued orders.

He was about to take his seat at the dining table, where a laptop sat open in front of him like everyone else’s. They had all gathered at Damon’s house to continue the search for Lena. With everyone volunteering, it has become easier to divide the work efficiently.

"I don’t think we need to do that," Liam said as he pulled out a chair and sat down at the table.

All eyes turned to him.

"Raymond already has a target," Liam continued.

"He said we should focus on searching for Mr. Smith and Ashley. I presume everyone knows who they are?"

Sylvia nodded, as did the others. Still, curiosity flickered in her eyes.

"Does Raymond think they’re responsible for Lena’s kidnapping?" she asked, her tone edged with concern.

"I don’t know," Liam replied, leaning back slightly. "But he sounded certain their faces would turn up. He specifically said we should drop every other search and focus on tracking these two across all cameras in the city, inside and outside the restaurant, from the day Lena went missing."

"I guess we won’t be doing much guessing then," Damon said with a low whistle. "If Raymond says they’re the culprits, I’d bet everything I have that they are. Some people just never learn."

He clapped his hands once. "Alright, let’s get to it."

At first, they weren’t getting anywhere.

Roman and his team focused on Ashley, while Sylvia and her group worked on tracing Mr. Smith. Hours passed with nothing substantial turning up. The tension in the room grew heavier with each passing minute.

"Why don’t we switch?" Sylvia finally suggested, rubbing her temples. "You guys take Mr. Smith, and we’ll handle Ashley. We’ve rewound these clips too many times and we’re still stuck. Maybe we’re missing something."

There was a brief pause before the others nodded in agreement.

They switched.

And this time, it didn’t take long.

"Got him!" Roman suddenly shouted.

He quickly lifted his laptop and placed it at the center of the table. Everyone gathered around, their eyes glued to the screen.

"There," he pointed.

Mr. Smith was inside the restaurant, dressed casually in a sweatshirt and sweatpants, a baseball cap pulled low over his face.

"Oh my God..." Sylvia whispered, her hands flying to her lips. "What is he doing in Vegas?"

Her voice trembled. "Did he really kidnap Lena?"

"We don’t know yet," Roman said calmly, though his eyes remained sharp.

They continued watching.

They saw Mr. Smith subtly hide himself when Lena entered the restaurant. Then, moments later, he stepped out and positioned himself at a corner, lingering there patiently.

"He waited that long?" Damon muttered, already irritated. "What a patient bastard."

As the footage played on, Lena eventually left the restaurant and got into a taxi.

Then it happened.

Mr. Smith made a subtle hand gesture toward the driver before the taxi sped off.

It was quick, almost unnoticeable. If the angle had been slightly off, they would have missed it entirely.

But they didn’t.

They all saw it.

"Oh my God, did you see that?!" Sylvia exclaimed.

"I can assure you, we all did," Liam replied dryly, his jaw tightening, frustration evident in his voice.

"What is your problem?" Sylvia snapped, turning to him. "Do you always have to be like this?"

"Like what, Sylvia?" Liam shot back immediately.

"Why don’t you tell everyone how I’m always like, since you seem to know me so well?"

"Why are you coming at me?" she fired back. "It’s not like you didn’t see it. Or are you angry because he was caught? Do you want him to get away with it?"

"Of course that’s what you’d make out of this situation," Liam sneered. "Why would I expect anything different from a brainless girl who hasn’t lifted a finger in her life?"

Slap!

The sound echoed sharply across the room.

Liam’s face snapped to the side, his lip splitting open instantly as blood trickled down. He touched it slowly, stunned.

Silence fell.

Everyone had seen it coming.

"You don’t get to call me brainless," Sylvia said, her voice shaking with anger. "If there’s anyone here who deserves to be called names, it’s you."

She stepped closer, pointing at him.

"You coward. Always retreating, always running when things get hard. You know what? I see you in Mr. Smith, always trying to use people for your own benefit."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..." Damon quickly stepped in, raising his hands. "Let’s slow down before we say things we can’t take back."

Even he was stunned. The argument had come out of nowhere, escalating too quickly, too intensely.

It was one of those fights that outsiders would never understand, like people who had too much history, too many unspoken words. The kind where even a drop of water could spark a storm, and the spectators would stand confused, unaware that the fight was never really about the water.

Sylvia let out a bitter laugh.

"The only thing I’m taking back tonight," she said, her voice breaking slightly, "is my love... and the years I wasted on you. The years I spent waiting."

She grabbed her bag.

"What did you think? That you’d just walk back into my life and we’d act like everything was fine?" she continued. "And then you insult my feelings and try to shut me up? No. That ends today."

Her eyes burned into his.

"You can go fuck yourself, for all I care."

She turned toward Damon.

"Let me know when Raymond gets back. I have something to say to him. Someone needs to put you self serving men in your place, and if no one else will, then I will."

She paused at the door.

"And one more thing... tell him I want Lena back tonight. Or I’m calling Mama."

With that, she spun on her heels and stormed out.

"Well... that went well," Damon muttered after a moment, dropping back into his seat.

"I’ve been waiting for that outburst since I saw her at the auction," he added. "Sylvia has always been a firecracker. Honestly, I’m surprised she kept her cool for this long."

He glanced at Liam.

"You’re lucky all you got was a slap. Why would you even say something like that to her?"

Damon stood and walked to the fridge, pulling out a pack of ice. Liam followed him silently.

Soon, they were in the sitting room, Damon seated, Liam pacing restlessly.

"I snapped," Liam admitted, pressing the ice to his lip. He winced as the cold bit into the wound. "I don’t even know what came over me."

He exhaled heavily.

"With Lena missing... and Sylvia being this close again... it brought back too many memories. I just lost it when it really hit me that Lena had been kidnapped."

Damon watched him carefully.

"So you imagined Sylvia in Lena’s place," he said slowly. "And you panicked. You thought... if something happened to her, you’d regret everything. All the years you lost."

Liam didn’t answer immediately.

Then he sighed.

"She always thinks she’s the one suffering the most," he muttered. "Like I don’t feel anything."

He ran a hand through his hair.

"Do you know how hard it is not to pull her into my arms every time I see her? Not to shut her up by kissing those lips that never stop talking nonsense?"

A faint, conflicted smile appeared on his face.

"She drives me crazy. And the worst part? She doesn’t even see it."

His expression darkened.

"She doesn’t know I haven’t been with another woman since her. Not once."

Damon raised a brow.

"You? Liam?"

"Yes," Liam said firmly. "Women... they repulse me. But not Sylvia. Never Sylvia. She makes me feel alive."

He paused, then let out a quiet laugh.

"You want to know something?" he asked, though he didn’t wait for an answer.

"I’ve always known she was in New York. Our ’first’ encounter wasn’t the first. I’ve been watching her... following her online, keeping track of her life."

Damon blinked.

"You’ve been stalking her?"

"I prefer ’keeping tabs,’" Liam corrected dryly. "But every time we meet, she acts like she’s the one who’s been waiting."

His voice softened.

"But the truth is... I’ve been waiting too."

He clenched his fists.

"And tonight... I just couldn’t take it anymore. The thought that she doesn’t even know how I feel, it drives me insane. Does she not see me at all?"

His voice rose with emotion.

"I don’t care about her father’s opinion. I’d go crazy if anything happened to her. And tonight... I realized just how much I still love her."

He hit his chest lightly in frustration.

"And it scared me."

Damon leaned back, studying him.

"All I’m hearing is a communication problem," he said finally. "You love her. She loves you. Yet both of you are acting like strangers."

He shrugged.

"Talk to her."

"She’s impulsive, yes, but she’s also reasonable. And she cares about you. I’m sure it’ll work out if you actually put in the effort."

He smirked.

"And as for her father? Fuck him. You’ve got me. You’ve got Raymond. And you’ve built a name for yourself."

He stood up, giving Liam a firm look.

"It’s time to go get your girl. Don’t let her slip away again."

Before Liam could respond..

"Guys! I think we found something!" Roman’s voice called out from the other room.

Damon immediately straightened.

"That’s our cue," he said, patting Liam on the back before heading toward the dining room.

A second later, Liam followed.