Unexpected Marriage With Mr. Leighton: Rebirth of the Villain-Chapter 285: I MISS YOU

"Are you sure that you are going to take that route?" Hazel frowned when she listened to Ranon.

She was sitting with her legs crossed, with Ashlyn leaning against her stomach, playing with her stuffed bunny, while talking to her now and then to get her mother’s attention.

Meanwhile, here Hazel was, talking to her husband, planning to kidnap someone.

Ranon had told her about the whole conversation with Daniel. He recalled everything calmly, as if he were telling someone else’s story.

Hazel recognized this sense of detachment in Ranon. Although he didn’t openly show it, it must be hard on him that the only person he considered a brother wanted him killed.

"Are you okay?" Hazel asked softly as she kissed Ashlyn’s head. She liked the scent of her baby. It calmed her nerves.

There was a long pause before Ranon answered her question. "I want to say that I am fine, but then I will be lying to you, and I don’t want that." Ranon’s voice was lighter when he added. "Now I am not, but I will be fine."

"Hm." Hazel felt her throat was dry. She kissed Ashlyn’s fingers. "When will you come home?"

"This evening."

Ranon had told Hazel before that Daniel was currently unconscious. He might have a light concussion, but at least Ranon had confirmed something: self-defense was not Daniel’s strong suit.

"Come home soon; Ashlyn misses you," Hazel said as she hugged her daughter.

There was a light chuckle from the other end of the phone. "What about you?"

Somehow, Hazel could imagine Ranon was smiling when he asked the question. "Hm. Not really." She hugged Ashlyn a little bit tighter. "Both of us miss you."

"I will wrap up this matter here as soon as possible."

Ashlyn then grabbed the phone and talked to Ranon. "Dada... miss you..." she parroted what Hazel said, which made Ranon laugh.

He lost Daniel as a brother, and his betrayal cut deep, but he had his wife and daughter. He would be fine.

"I miss you too, love; tell that to your Mama."

And when they hung up the phone, Hazel asked Peni to enter the room again to accompany Ashlyn, because she had a plan to share with the rest of the people. They had to move fast.

"Are you sure about this?" Logan asked nervously. "I don’t think this will work. What about Archie? Why don’t you focus on him? This plan will only harm my son."

The Lennoxes and the Barlowes were the ones who had kidnapped Archie. However, instead of going after them, the plan that Hazel shared was for them to go after Axel Duncan’s sister, Issabella.

Meanwhile, Axel Duncan and the Denvers were with the McKennas.

"It doesn’t make sense to me." Logan had learned a few things about their current situation, and it terrified him to know that Ranon had so many enemies in every corner of the cities.

It pissed him off because he had to get involved when he had no relation to whatever they were doing.

Just because Logan was related to Hazel, Ranon’s enemies had no qualms about harming his son. And now they have changed the plan.

"This doesn’t make sense."

"Calm down, young man," Arthur said agitatedly. He wanted to kick him out of the room because Logan kept panicking. His attitude didn’t help at all with the situation. "Hazel will go with the original plan. She will follow your son’s kidnapper’s instruction."

"So, what do you mean by this second team bullshit?" Logan pulled his hair in distress.

"I have explained to you before; I am not going to repeat it," Arthur growled in annoyance and then walked out of the room. If he had stayed there a little longer, he would have wanted to give him a punch or two.

It was Desgar who finally explained it again to Logan, because Hazel had no patience to repeat the same thing to her brother.

"Whether it is the Lennoxes, the Barlowes, the McKennas, or the Denvers, all of them have the same goal: it is the hit on Ranon. If Daniel rescinds the hit, whatever they are doing becomes useless. So, it will be easier to negotiate your son’s release."

Taking Issabella was a measure if Daniel wouldn’t do it willingly. Ranon could see that his brother still cared for that woman.

It was actually Issabella’s idea to put a hit on Ranon. She wanted Ranon to die the same way Luciano did: hunted down by the mercenary. Daniel had agreed to that.

Issabella couldn’t do it on her own because the Duncan family was not strong enough. More so, four years ago, the Denver family was destroyed by the Lozens, and the survivors lived cautiously.

"Now, no more questions. Sit still, and we will do the work." Desgar patted Logan’s shoulder as he walked out of the room to make a phone call.

"This is not right." Logan shook his head. "This is not right..."

Hazel wanted to leave; she had already walked toward the door, but she couldn’t leave Logan alone when he was very distraught like this.

It was not like Logan didn’t understand the explanation, but his concern made him unable to think clearly.

Despite his reckless life, he had never come close to anything like this before. He didn’t know how this worked. His ignorance was not his fault; it was an unfortunate thing for him.

"Everything will be alright." Hazel walked back and then sat down next to him on the sofa. She patted his back as he stared at the ceiling. "I give you my word. I will bring Archie back. You can trust me in this."

Hazel trusted Ranon and his judgment. She would bet on his plan too. He knew his brother more than anyone else here.

And now, their plan depended on how deep Daniel’s feelings were toward that woman. And he had agreed to kill Ranon; it meant she was the real deal.

After all, Daniel had lost someone whom he thought of as a brother; he wouldn’t want to lose anyone dear to him anymore.

"How can you be so sure?"

"I just know."

***

Ranon waited for Daniel to wake up as he checked his phone and his laptop. He rummaged through his bedroom and tried to find anything that could be valuable information for him.

Meanwhile, he had asked Alfred to take a three-day vacation along with a few servants in this house, so basically, aside from Ranon’s people, there was no one else in the house.

"Drink this," Ranon said as he handed over a glass of water to Daniel.

Daniel grunted. He felt like his head was split in two. There was a big lump on his forehead, where Ranon slammed his face against the wall, rendering him unconscious.

"Fuck you, Ranon."

"Hm. Say whatever."

Daniel took the glass, but instead, he hurled it toward Ranon. Unfortunately for him, Ranon had good reflexes and easily dodged his clumsy attempt.

Ranon gave his brother a disapproving look and then poured another glass of water for him. "Try again." He handed the second glass to Daniel.

Ranon didn’t mean it, but it was the same as a mockery for Daniel.

Yet, he didn’t try the same thing again; this time, he drank the water because his dry throat was killing him, but still, he smashed the empty glass on the floor.

But Ranon didn’t flinch. He had dealt with Ashlyn and Hazel throwing tantrums; Daniel was not any worse than his girls.

"What now?" Daniel snapped at Ranon. He leaned against the headboard of his bed while Ranon was standing a few steps away from him.

"Rescind the hit on me."

"Do you think I will do it? You are so mistaken if you think I am going to do that." Daniel smirked. The room was still spinning, but he was very collected. "You will never find Issabella."

"Do you think so?" Ranon tilted his head.

***

"I found her," Rize said as he entered the room again after he received a phone call from one of his men. "She is in a mental institution."

"What?" Arthur frowned.

"She has been in and out of the psychiatric ward in the past few years since her sister’s suicide." Rize offered more information.

"Well, I am not sure it’s good news or bad news, but I have never had a break in a mental institution," Elric said, and then looked at Arthur.

No, Arthur had never tried one, either. Their target was always the mentally challenged people on the outside, not the inside. Hazel thought.

"Well, it will be tricky," Hazel murmured.

"I told you, focus on the matter with Gayle Lennox instead!" Logan said impatiently.

"Oh, shut up!" Arthur snarled. He had had enough with Logan.

And right at that moment, the call that they had been waiting for came through. The call was for Hazel to follow the instructions...

"Inform Ranon about what we found out," Hazel said before she took the phone call.

***

"A mental institution, isn’t it?" Ranon said after he talked on the phone with Elric. Elric also informed him that Hazel was on the move now.

Even though he returned home tonight, there was a high chance he wouldn’t find her there.

On the surface, Ranon remained calm, but there was a storm inside of him.

"Do you think you will get her out of there?" Daniel faltered. He didn’t expect Ranon to find Issabella this fast.

"If I can’t, then killing her will be faster, don’t you think so?"