The Contract Said No Strings Attached (Charlotte) novel Chapter 409

Steven’s voice trembled with worry. “Are you boys alright?”

The four little ones shook their heads, signaling they were unharmed.

Ethan piped up, “Did Grandpa send you to rescue us?”

Steven nodded at once. “Yes, Master Ethan. Don’t be scared, I’ll get you all out of here.”

But if anyone looked afraid, it wasn’t the kids—it was Steven himself. The gang of thugs standing by the door had him shaking in his boots.

Borg and Cedric strode over, their voices icy. “Did you bring the money?”

Steven lifted the case in his hand. “There’s a hundred million here…”

Borg’s face hardened. “A hundred million? Do you think we’re idiots? We asked for two billion—not a cent less!”

Cedric snarled, “Are you looking to die? Bringing just a hundred million and thinking you can trick us? None of you are leaving here!”

Steven stammered, desperate, “Gentlemen, please, just hear me out. I also brought—”

He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a small, velvet box. Opening it, he revealed two dazzling diamonds. “Look, these two stones—there just wasn’t enough time to scrape together two billion in cash. But these diamonds—”

Cedric bared his teeth in fury. “You think you can palm off two worthless rocks on us?”

Steven hurried to explain. “Don’t underestimate them! Each of these is worth a billion—together, that’s your two billion!”

Borg and Cedric scoffed, refusing to believe a word. They’d seen diamonds before, and these didn’t look like anything special.

Borg glared at him. “You think we’ve never seen the world? That rock’s not worth two cents, let alone a billion.”

Cedric swore, “Damn it, the Thomsons are screwing with us!”

No ransom, and now, he was furious.

Steven’s cries for help went ignored as he was trussed up and tossed outside.

Meanwhile, Borg tried to look on the bright side. “At least the old man brought a hundred million—we’re not walking away empty-handed.”

Cedric scowled, “A hundred million’s not enough. Nowhere near. No—we keep pushing the Thomsons for more!”

But Borg hesitated. “Cedric, are you really going to cross Darcy? He told us to let N go.”

Cedric’s eyes narrowed, a sly glint appearing. “Sure, Darcy said let N go. Didn’t say anything about the other three. We’ll release one, keep the rest, and keep squeezing them for ransom.”