Loving DAD 1048

If he had gone himself, he might have spotted the trap. But he had chosen to rescue Victoria first, delegating Johanna’s crisis to his most trusted aide. 

His cold instruction permitting the kidnapper to do whatever they wanted hadn’t been born of cruelty, but of strategy–a calculated move to mislead the kidnappers into thinking he didn’t care, buying time for his team to surround the villa undetected. 

“Report,” Jamie demanded. “What’s Johanna’s status?” 

His assistant’s voice was tense. “We tracked them to a secondary location, a villa quite a distance from here. But it’s been cleared out. All surveillance along the route was wiped. We’ve lost the trail. Johanna’s current whereabouts are unknown.” 

Jamie’s expression darkened. “Useless! We’re in Marcentine. This is our territory, and you can’t catch a few kidnappers?!” 

“Sir,” the assistant replied, a hint of defensiveness in his tone, “all our elite units were deployed per your orders to find Miss Victoria. The men we had left… they aren’t on the same level.” 

It was the truth. Victoria had only been missing a few hours before being rescued, thanks to the top–tier operatives from both the Walton and Kalen families. 

Jamie was silent for a long moment. “Keep looking,” he finally said, his voice low. “The moment you have anything, report back.” 

“Yes, sir.” 

He had just ended the call when a knock sounded at the hospital room door. Sharon entered, Thomas at her side. 

Every gaze in the room turned to her–sharp and icy. 

After she had forced Jamie out the previous night, Sharon had flatly refused to act as bait. The two conditions she’d offered only guaranteed that she wouldn’t prosecute Scott for his attempt on her life. 

In the end, it was the combined might of the Kalen, Walton, and Malcolm families that had located and rescued Victoria. 

But when they found her, she was barely clinging to her consciousness. 

Scott shot Sharon a glacial stare. “Here to gloat, Sharon? Come to see Victoria’s suffering for yourself?” 

Silas’s voice was sharp, trembling with rage. “Look at what they did to her! Are you satisfied now? Her hands are ruined, just like yours! Are you happy she’ll never play the violin again?” 

Sharon’s expression remained unreadable, her voice calm and cold. “Even if I never play again, she could never have reached my level.” 

The words landed like a physical blow. Silas’s face contorted with anger. 

“Sharon! Is that what you wanted? For Victoria to die at the hands of those monsters so you could take her place? Don’t think for a second that without her, you’d ever be the Kalen family’s treasured daughter! I will only ever acknowledge Victoria as my 

sister!” 

A faint, mocking smile touched Sharon’s lips “Silas, when did you develop such a severe persecution complex? You should use this opportunity to have your head examined. 

“Whether she exists or not, I am still a daughter of the Kalen family. My father is Richard, my mother is Shayla. Your acknowledgment doesn’t change that fact.” 

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Chapter 1048 

+25 BONUS 

Her smile deepened, a glint of ridicule in her eyes. “Unless… your parents aren’t the same as mine. Is that why you’re so hostile toward me?” 

For days, Silas had endured one humiliation after another at Sharon’s hands. His resentment was a boiling pot. Now, hearing her mock his very lineage, his temper finally shattered. 

“You insolent-!” he snarled through gritted teeth. “Don’t think Dad’s soft spot for you gives you the right to say whatever you want! I’ll teach you some respect myself!” 

He lunged forward, his hand swinging in a sharp arc toward her face. 

“Silas!” 

“Stop!” 

Rick and Scott shouted in unison, alarm flashing in their eyes. 

But Sharon didn’t flinch. With a calm, fluid grace, she took two measured steps back—just as a pale, slender hand shot out and caught Silas’s wrist in a vise–like grip mid–air. 

Chapter 1049