Marriage with my daughter's father: Darling please be gentle - Chapter 247

Chapter 247: Chapter 247: The both have dissappeared

Lilac lay sprawled on the cold pavement, her breaths shallow and erratic, but her mind was anything but still. Doubts stormed through her head, battling with the sharp pangs of pain that radiated through her body.

God, why isn’t he doing anything? she thought furiously. Does he have the emotional range of a houseplant?

Through half-lidded eyes, she peeked at Reeve. The man stood stiffly a few feet away, shifting awkwardly from one foot to the other, clearly panicking but doing his damnedest not to show it. His eyes darted around the empty street, as if someone would magically appear and take responsibility off his hands.

She let out a low, pitiful groan. “Ah…”

Reeve flinched.

“Hey,” he called hesitantly, taking a step closer. “Are you… like, dying or something?”

Lilac groaned again, louder this time. “Everything… hurts,” she whispered, clutching her side with as much drama as she could muster. “I think… I think something’s broken.”

Reeve crouched beside her, wary but concerned. “You fainted,” he muttered. “Did you hit your head?”

“I don’t know…” she whimpered, trying not to smirk as she turned her face away. “I can’t feel my legs…”

Reeve paled. “Shit. You can’t feel your legs?!”

She bit back a grin. Hook, line, and idiot.

“I think I need a hospital,” she murmured, voice quivering. “But if you’re too busy, I—I guess I’ll just lie here… and hope someone finds me before dark…”

Reeve swore under his breath and ran a hand through his hair, glancing around again. “Damn it, you’re not giving me a choice here, are you?”

Her only response was a soft cough and a dramatic wince.

“Fine,” he grumbled, already reaching to lift her.

She let her head flop against his shoulder as he hoisted her up, sighing contentedly. “So kind of you, mister,” she whispered faintly.

He rolled his eyes and guided her toward the road.

Reeve just wanted to drop the lady off at the hospital and vanish. He had finally received the money. All that remained now was to disappear before anyone realized he was gone.

“Taxi!” he called, waving an arm.

A yellow cab glided to a stop, suspiciously smooth. The tires barely made a sound on the road. Reeve opened the door and helped Lilac in, careful with her despite the voice in his head telling him to walk away.

“Hospital,” he ordered, sliding in beside her.

The driver gave a short nod, face mostly hidden beneath a cap and the shadows of the cab’s dim interior. Without a word, the car pulled away from the curb.

Lilac remained slumped against the door, eyes closed, but her entire body had gone alert. There was a scent—masked under cologne—but faintly familiar. Wrong. Too wrong.

Reeve, still tapping his foot, glanced at the speedometer.

“Can you drive a little faster?” he muttered, irritation creeping into his voice.

The driver let out a low chuckle. “As you say, sir.”

Click. The locks slid into place with a mechanical finality.

Reeve’s body snapped upright. “What the hell?”

The cab jerked forward with a sudden burst of speed.

Lilac’s eyes shot open.

“Reeve,” she said sharply, “don’t panic.”

“What’s going on?” His hand fumbled for the door handle. Locked.

The driver spoke again, his voice now unmistakably amused. “You should’ve stayed out of this, Reeve. But I suppose the higher-ups enjoy surprises.”

Reeve squinted at the rearview mirror. His breath hitched.

“You…” His voice turned cold. “You’re Stanley.”

The man in the front seat smiled darkly. “Hello again.”

Lilac cursed softly beside him. “You said he wouldn’t recognize you.”

Reeve turned toward her, stunned. “You knew?”

Her eyes narrowed, annoyed. “Obviously. It was the plan.”

Reeve’s voice cracked in disbelief. “Plan? You trapped me?”

“You carried me into the trap,” she snapped. “You could’ve just left me on the sidewalk.”

He jabbed a finger toward the locked doors. “We’re being kidnapped!”

“Correction—you’re being kidnapped. I just helped him.”

Reeve gaped at her. His mind was racing to catch up with what she’d just said. “Why? What did I ever—?”

But before he could finish, he lunged for the door again, yanking furiously at the handle. Still locked.

“It’s useless,” Lilac said, almost gently from his side.

He turned just in time to see her lean in—and shove a folded handkerchief straight into his face.

“What the—?!”

His protest was muffled instantly. The sharp, chemical scent hit him like a wave—chloroform.

His limbs flailed for a moment, trying to push her away, but she held the cloth firmly in place, her expression eerily calm.

“Sleep tight, Reeve,” she whispered. “Don’t take it personally.”

His vision blurred. The world tilted.

The last thing he saw before slipping into unconsciousness was her eyes—dark, unreadable—and the faint smirk curling at the corner of her lips.

***

A few hours later, inside the dim, dust-ridden warehouse, Lilac stood silently before the man slumped in the chair. Reeve’s head hung low, his arms tied behind him, but the steady rise and fall of his chest told her he was still alive.

She frowned.

“Did I overdose him or something?” she murmured to herself, shifting uneasily. “It’s been hours and he’s still out…”

Kidnapping wasn’t exactly her field. Infiltration, manipulation, information extraction—sure. But this? The dead weight of guilt sat awkwardly in her gut. The longer he remained unconscious, the more her doubts gnawed at her edges.

Behind her, Stanley’s voice broke through the silence.

“You seem awfully concerned about him.”

Lilac didn’t turn. “I’m just wondering if the dosage was too much.”

“I saw the way you leaned on him earlier,” Stanley added, voice cool but charged.

At that, she turned slowly, her expression blank but her posture tense. “I was following the plan.”

Stanley arched a brow, clearly not buying her neutral act. “You didn’t need to make it look that real.”

Lilac held his gaze. “You told me to distract him. I did. I didn’t know there was a jealousy clause attached.”

His eyes darkened. “You looked comfortable—like you wanted him to carry you. And you hesitated before drugging him.”

“I committed to the role,” she snapped. “That’s what you hired me to do. If you wanted robotic, maybe you should’ve hired someone else.”

Stanley’s jaw ticked, the tension between them pulsing like a live wire. He looked at her like he didn’t know whether to yell or pull her closer—and it made her skin crawl.

She turned away, pushing the conversation aside. “This job’s gotten too personal.”

His silence lingered behind her like a shadow.

Then—

“Ah…”

The low groan pulled both their attention sharply back to the man in the chair.

Reeve stirred, his head twitching, eyelids fluttering against the dull warehouse light. He blinked rapidly, confusion clouding his face as he tried to focus.

Lilac took a small step forward, arms crossed.

“Welcome back,” she said with a faint smirk, waving at him like an old friend. It was the same innocent smile she wore before knocking him out cold.

Reeve’s brows furrowed, and then everything hit him at once. Her face. The cab. The lock. The cloth.

His expression twisted. “Y-You…” His voice cracked with fury. “How dare you drug me!”

Lilac’s smile didn’t falter, but it didn’t reach her eyes either. “Don’t take it personally. You were just inconveniently useful.”

Reeve tried to lunge forward, but the ropes bit into his wrists and ankles. “You lied to me—!”

Before he could finish, Stanley stepped forward and cut through the shouting with cold precision.

A gun clicked into place against Reeve’s temple.

“I won’t ask twice,” Stanley said calmly. “Cooperate, and you might leave this place in one piece.”

The rage in Reeve’s face didn’t vanish—it simmered—but his body stilled.

Gone was the man trying to be brave. What remained was someone who knew the odds had just turned fatally against him.

His breathing slowed. “You won’t shoot me. You need something.”

Stanley’s smirk was faint but dangerous. “True. For now.”

Reeve swallowed hard, his jaw clenching. He had spent months on the run—changing names, forging papers, vanishing between cities. He thought he was finally in the clear.

But even with all that preparation… he hadn’t seen this coming.

***

[J&K International]

“The merger has been approved as per your orders, Boss,” Sean announced, stepping into the office.

Kalix glanced up briefly before returning to the file in front of him. Though the deal had gone exactly as planned, there was a flicker of dissatisfaction in his eyes—something about it didn’t sit right.

Then he noticed the shift in Sean’s demeanor—the slight tension, the hesitation behind his otherwise calm tone.

Kalix’s eyes narrowed as he closed the file with a soft thud.

“Is there something else you want to tell me, Sean?” he asked, leaning back in his chair, posture crisp and professional, but gaze sharp.

Sean hesitated for a moment, his jaw tightening.

Despite all his efforts to reach Stanley through Lilac, it had all gone sideways. She’d seemed like the perfect in—cooperative, discreet. But now? She had cut him off completely.

“I tried reaching Stanley,” Sean said carefully, “through Lilac. But it seems I placed my trust in the wrong person.”

Kalix’s expression remained unreadable.

“She’s gone silent. Blocked all communication,” Sean admitted after a moment of silence. “They’ve both disappeared.”