Husband With Benefits
Chapter 649: Shocked

Chapter 649: Shocked

"Where is Lucifer?" Evana’s voice echoed through the hospital corridor as she raced towards Demon and Ian, her heart pounding in her chest, her face full of anxiety. She’d been thinking and hoping that Lucifer would be safe as she’d flown all the way when she’d heard the message he’d dropped on her voicemail.

She watched as Demon exchanged a quick glance with Ian before answering, "He’s with those people still, Evana. But the police are tracing him so..." And yet, the glance told her that everything was not so simple. The very fact was he was engaged.

"Are they tracing him or have they lost track of him? Don’t lie to me, Demon," she asked directly, knowing that this was the only reason that these people would be worried even more.

"I am not lying! They did lose track for a while, but the GPS tracker we put on the ambulance is now working. We can follow them at a distance."

Evana’s face paled as she struggled to maintain her composure. "And he is okay?" Her voice was barely above a whisper, betraying the vulnerability and fear she was feeling.

Hearing Evana’s trembling voice, Autumn, who had been sitting nearby, worried for Gabe, felt a cold chill run down her spine. She quickly realized the gravity of the situation—Lucy, Seb, and Erasmi were all missing. The absence of their presence was a stark reminder of the danger they were in. How had she not noticed this?

She knew that Gabe was being rescued by Lucien and that they were supposed to have caught Humphrey. But then why did Lucy not return yet. Horrified, "Why is Lucien still not here? If they’d successfully rescued Gabe, why didn;t he slip out?" she asked, her voice filled with confusion and concern.

"And Gregory has already been caught. Is Officer Humphrey not cooperating anymore?"

Demon sighed deeply, running a hand through his hair. "It’s much more complicated than that," he muttered. He then turned to the two officers standing inconspicuously on the side. "These people can explain better."

"Miss Autumn. I understand that the Frosts are all concerned for the safety gof Mr Luien but we do believe that it is for the best. The thing is, when you started to move against Savoy, you inknowingly pulled a thread that unraveled an entire web of crimes..."

That caught her attention and she turned to look sharply at the officers. "What do you mean?"

"Other than the reports of mysterious deaths in orphanages that Demon Frost gave us, showing a link between the donations and timings, and then Officer Humphrey’s constant warnings to Gabe, despite being pressurised by his own department to stay quiet, gave us a hint that something bigger was at play here.

"So we investigated deeper and have unravelled a plot, identifying one of the biggest human trafficking rings operating in the country. You see, we couldn’t get over the fact that a simple Commissioner of a small town would have so much power as to control every officer in his old precinct."

"As a result we ran all the old files related to missing children etc during the different times where he was posted in different places. Many of the unsolved kidnappings had partial finger prints which were never identified. From there we understood that Gregory was part of a much bigger crime ring and these people would do anything to get rid of him if he were ever caught."

"Other than trafficking, he’d been blackmailing a whole lot of people who now want him dead. His aide, Bianca’s death was one of these. The perpetrator tried to show that it was a revenge killing but in reality, it was a warning to Gregory that he better not be caught.

"Anyway, when Officer Humphrey contacted you and insisted that Gregory should die, we thought something was messy. And that is why we convinced Mr Lucien Frost to cooperate with us..."

While Autumn remained quiet,realizing the kind of danger she and Arabelle had just escaped, Evana asked," So, what is it now? And what about Lucien?"

"It seems Officer Humphrey was also duped..." The officers hesitated and continued, "We’ve now discovered the identity of the person responsible for this. When we took Gregory into custody earlier, we ran his prints against those in the system... Many of them matched."

"Also, did you know how he was able to blackmail those people? The idiot carried the list of his partners in crime and every dealing he had made in a small USB. It had been embedded into his ankle...He thought that no one would be able to get their hands on it if he had it on himself. However, when you hit him, his foot, already weakened from multiple surgeries there, collapsed under him...And we rushed him to the hospital later... Where the operating doctor found the chip...

The room fell silent as the enormity of the revelation sank in.

"And now?" Autumn asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "Who is the person behind this?"

"Its the woman who was playing his fiance for the court case. She has been known for trafficking quite a few children and women. She’d even found a buyer for Arabelle... Just like Humphrey tipped you off, he thought he was being kind to the woman who was allegedly duped by Gregory. He didn’t realise that she was the mastermind behind everything.

"So, what is the next step now?"

"We need to keep this quiet for now. The more people know, the higher the risk of someone tipping off the ring. Now that we have discovered the identity of the person responsible for coordinating these operations, our next step is to grab her and obtain a list of her buyers."

"Also, we’re going to arrest every person mentioned on that USB in a massive coup," the officer replied. "We’ve already begunn collaborating with multiple departments across the country to ensure no one slips through the cracks. This is going to be one of the largest coordinated operations in recent history. Thanks to your information, we can bring down this entire network."

"And?"

"Actually, that woman had a lot of power, as you might guess, with politicians and businessmen. We are going to need time to gather evidence and..."

As the policeman tried to continue, Evana cut off," I meant what about Lucien? What are your plans for rescuing him?"

"We’re doing everything we can. The GPS tracker is helping us monitor their movements, and we’re coordinating with multiple units to ensure a successful rescue."

Demon placed a reassuring hand on Evana’s shoulder. "Lucien is tough, Evana. He knows how to handle himself. We have to trust that he’ll hold on until we can get to him."

***

Lucien’s heart pounded in his chest as he lay still, feigning unconsciousness. He knew this was his only chance to take control and seize the woman while she was occupied with Humphrey. Every muscle in his body tensed as he waited for the right moment. And yet, feelingt he cold press of the needle with whatever medicine inside it, he knew the situation was precarious.

He recognised the woman now. He’d seen her a few times during those distasteful parties where they were required to deal with politicans and bureaucrats. So, this woman had been involved with Gregory and was probably trying to kill Saviy using Humphrey to save herself.

As he prepared to make a move, the sound of a phone ringing broke the tense standoff between the two people.

The woman answered the call with a sharp, "What?"

"Ma’am, Savoy’s been caught, but we haven’t found anything else," the voice on the other end reported.

The woman cursed as the voice echoed in the ambulance and screamed at Humphrey, throwing her phone to the floor in anger," Now she what you have done! I told you to make sure that Savoy was dead! Now he is in police custody!"

Humphrey frowned," But that is a good thing. We have evidence against him. So, it is a good thing, isn’t it? Don’t worry. He will definitely get his just rewards!"

"You fool! Everything is falling apart and you think this is a good thing?"

Humphrey’s eyes widened in sudden realization. "Why are you so insistent that Savoy dies? What’s really going on here?"

The woman smirked, her voice dripping with contempt. "I need to save myself, Humphrey. I’ve been using you for information from the start. You were just a pawn in my game."

Humphrey’s face twisted with a mix of betrayal and anger. "You used me?"

"Yes," she spat. "And now that Savoy’s caught, I have no other option but to use Gabe to get what I want."

Just as the words left her mouth, Lucien made his move. With a swift, practiced motion, he tackled her, knocking the needle from her hand. They struggled fiercely, each trying to gain the upper hand. Lucien’s strength was formidable, but the woman was cunning and desperate.

Before he could overpower her, the ambulance jostled violently, throwing them both off balance.

Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om