The Ex and Her Riches novel (Gwendolyn and Maverick)

Though Gwendolyn’s mouth was stuffed and the blindfold was still over her eyes, she heard the report clearly.

She let out a small sigh of relief, although her heart skipped a beat at the thought of Benedict hiding in the ward’s

closet.

Silently, she hoped that the guards Cedrick had sent would soon notice the unusual situation in the ward, retrieve

Benedict from the closet, and ensure his safety.

As the van drove on, Gwendolyn tapped her fingers and calmly estimated the duration of the journey.

Throughout the journey, the men did not speak, displaying exceptional discipline and cohesion.

Gwendolyn could not help feeling even more curious about their employer.

After approximately forty minutes, the van stopped. The men removed the rag in Gwendolyn’s mouth and dragged

her out of the vehicle.

Gwendolyn expressed her displeasure, reprimanding them in a low voice, “Show some respect to a lady. Haven’t

you been taught to be gentle and considerate?”

The men were taken aback.

These days, it seems like the hostages are becoming more arrogant than the kidnappers themselves.

“Your fate is in our hands, you know. You should be more polite.”

Gwendolyn remained fearless, her voice calm yet icy. “You’ve taken me as a hostage to leverage something from

Cedrick, and he will be furious if I suffer even the slightest harm. I believe you understand the consequences better

than I do. You should treat a hostage like me with care, as you would handle fragile cargo. Do you understand?”

Although she was blindfolded and bound, stripped of her freedom, her commanding presence remained intact,

leaving the men in suits astonished.

The men, being subordinates unaware of their employer’s intentions, decided it was safer to comply with

Gwendolyn’s instructions and handle her with care.

“Let’s go, Ms. Harris.”

With the help of two men, Gwendolyn started forward. Though she could not see the route ahead, her hands,

bound behind her back, were not idle.

Before coming here, she had grabbed a handful of Benedict’s milk powder.

Every ten meters or so, or when she turned a corner, she would slacken her grip ever so slightly and drop off some

milk powder.

As the milk powder was incredibly light and prone to dispersing in the slightest breeze before reaching the ground,

Gwendolyn held on to the hope that Cedrick would bring a search dog to track her down once he discovered she

had been abducted.

It was evident that she was treading upon bare earth when she felt its crumbly texture beneath her feet.

Occasionally, the sound of snapping branches accompanied her steps, indicating that she was being led into the

depths of the forest.

She contemplated solemnly, considering her plan and what awaited her ahead.

As Cedrick and Swain alighted the vehicle, the former received a call before they could even enter the Federal

Bureau of Investigation’s building.

It was the cop he had assigned to stand guard at the hospital.

Cedrick frowned. Realizing that something was wrong, he answered the call without hesitation.

Almost immediately, the voice on the other end of the line reported, “Mr. Jenson, something has happened. There

are clear signs of a severe altercation in the ward. Mrs. Jenson is missing, and Mr. Benedict was found placed in a

closet. He was crying loudly, possibly due to hunger. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have known where he was.”

Cedrick’s heart skipped a beat as his attention was immediately caught by the news of his wife’s disappearance.

A layer of frost settled upon his chiseled features, and his dark eyes gleamed with a menacing intensity. “Review

the surveillance footage immediately. Find out where she went,” he commanded.

“Yes, sir. I have already dispatched someone to review the hospital’s surveillance footage, and we should receive an

update shortly. Furthermore, I’ve assigned two nurses to search the ladies’ room to determine if Mrs. Jenson is still

within the premises,” the cop reported promptly.

Cedrick’s heart clenched as he forced himself to stay calm.

I must have faith in Gwendolyn’s jiu-jitsu skills. It wouldn’t be easy for any harm to befall her. It hasn’t been very

long since she went missing, so she should still be safe.

“Secure the entire hospital. Inform the director that I will shut down this facility if any harm comes to my wife.”

I can’t believe someone broke into a baby’s ward to pick a fight in broad daylight. The commotion was anything but

subtle, so it’s impossible that nobody was aware of it.

Aside from the officers he had assigned to protect Gwendolyn, Grand Valley Hospital had a sterling reputation for

having top-notch security. The occurrence of something like this indicated the possibility of it being an inside job.

Thus, it dawned on him how formidable their unseen enemy was.

I must get to the bottom of this.

Suppressing the panic within him, he ordered the plain-clothed officers to stay put and keep their identities

concealed and to instead have the hospital’s security team seal off the hospital.

After hanging up, he ordered Swain, “I’m leaving the investigation of the milk powder incident to you. I’m heading

back to the hospital.”

Swain nodded and said, “Understood, Boss. I will organize reinforcements from the Federal Bureau of Investigation

and await your instructions at any time.”

Cedrick did not respond. He took the car keys from Swain, turned away from the building’s entrance, and got into

the car before driving away.

He had not been idle on his way back to the hospital. Using the hands-free Bluetooth device in the car, he called

Charles.

Benedict needed to be placed in the care of someone familiar and trustworthy. After much deliberation, Cedrick

decided to trouble the young child’s godfather, Charles.

Though Cedrick did not explain the situation over the phone, Charles sensed that something was amiss. “Isn’t Gwen

supposed to be taking care of Benny in the hospital? Why do you need me there?”

With one hand on the steering wheel, Cedrick drove while wearing a stern expression and did not respond.

Sensing the unusual silence, Charles asked at once, “Did something happen to Gwen? Tell me. I’m worried sick

about the incident with the milk powder, too.”

Cedrick hesitated for a moment before revealing the truth. “Gwen is missing. We are currently reviewing the

surveillance footage, but if she has left the hospital, I fear it might be a kidnapping.”

There was a long silence on the other end of the line. When Charles finally spoke, his voice had turned grave.

“Where are you right now?” he asked with concern. “Have you returned to the hospital? I’ll come over

immediately.”

After ending the call, Cedrick contemplated the situation carefully. Soon, he arrived at the hospital and drove into

the basement parking lot, his unease growing with each passing moment.

Then, he made his way up to the surveillance room immediately.

Coincidentally, the cop assigned to the surveillance room had just finished looking through the footage of the day.

“The entire network was hacked more than half an hour ago, Mr. Jenson, including the surveillance equipment. We

couldn’t find any evidence. We’ve also searched the entire hospital, but there’s no sign of your wife. It appears she

has been abducted.”

Cedrick took a deep breath. The look in his eyes was terrifying.

His heart clenched at the news of his wife’s abduction. Suddenly, he was seized by a maniacal impulse to rain death

and destruction upon her kidnappers.

The officer was frightened by his expression. Afraid of being blamed for negligence, he quickly explained, “The

officers who were assigned to guard Mr. Benedict’s ward were not present when the incident occurred. I inquired

about it, and it seems they were redirected by the nurse to help retrieve medicine for Mr. Benedict. This has been a

meticulously planned kidnapping with a premeditated intent, Mr. Jenson. To ensure the safety of your wife in the

hands of the kidnappers, would you like me to inform the Bureau captains to mobilize the entire team for a

thorough investigation to locate her as soon as possible?”

“No need,” Cedrick said calmly. “Let’s not make a big scene just yet. Let’s first go to the ward and assess the

situation.”

“Understood.”

The officer understood what he was worried about.

The kidnapper must be someone of significant stature for daring to meticulously plan the abduction of Gwendolyn—

the wealthiest woman in Chanaea, the head of the Harris family, and Cedrick’s wife.

Now that Gwendolyn was in the hands of the kidnappers, they would likely kill or harm her if the situation escalated.

If that happened, Cedrick would lose his mind, potentially setting off a rampage throughout the underworld.

Hence, they quickly followed Cedrick into Benedict’s ward.

The room was messy, and Benedict, who was only several months old, had been placed back in the crib.

Despite having been fed, he continued to sob, his cries weak and pitiful. It seemed as if he was aware of his

mother’s abduction and was shedding tears out of concern for her.

Cedrick cradled Benedict in his arms, soothing the baby gently, while his eyes continued to scan the room. He

carefully observed the traces of the fight scattered throughout the ward.

He had a deep understanding of Gwendolyn’s skills. While she may have lacked physical strength, her agility and

quick reflexes allowed her to swiftly seize her opponent’s vital points and incapacitate them with a single move.

The mess in the room suggested that the fight had been going on for a considerable time, which was not

characteristic of Gwendolyn’s usual style when facing adversaries.

There’s more to this than meets the eye.