"Carla, calm down, " coaxed Brad. "The children are in his hands. Have you thought about the consequences of acting so rashly?"
"What should we do, then? What the heck should we do?" Carla's shoulders trembled as she sobbed. "I can't do anything about him. He's a nutcase!"
"Take a deep breath and calm down…" Brad consoled as he grabbed her shoulders reassuringly. "Call him and ask him what he wants. As long as he doesn't harm the children, we are open for negotiation."
Like what he told her to, Carla took a deep breath and called Zayn.
However, the ringing tone ensued for a long time without anyone picking up.Carla's heart raced as she waited anxiously.
After a long while, the call finally got through. However, Zayn stayed silent.
"I'm begging you. Please release my child…"
Carla's voice quivered as she choked up. For the sake of her children, she had already tossed all pride away to beg him.
"That's the right attitude, " Zayn smirked.
"What do you want?" demanded Carla through her sobs. "As long as you release my children, I'll agree to any requests."
"Very good." Zayn smiled in satisfaction. "Brad's beside you, right? Turn your phone to speaker mode."
She obediently did as instructed.
"Tell him that he must stop being so nosy in the future, " commanded Zayn. "Also, he mustn't intervene between you and me anymore."
Carla raised her head and gazed at Brad, tears brimming in her eyes. "Did you hear that, Brad? I'm begging you, stop poking your nose into my business in the future…"
"Carla…" He was so furious that he gritted his teeth. However, for the child's safety, he had no choice but to nod. "Understood."
"Now, swear on your children's life…" Zayn instructed yet again, "You'll obey the rules of our debt repayment contract. Also, you're not allowed to defy, betray or resist me!"
"Zayn, you're crossing the line!" Brad yelled furiously, seething with anger. "Karma will get you soon!"
"Tsk…" He mocked coldly, "You agreed to stop nosing in others' business, but you're going against your word within barely a minute, huh? Looks like you don't care about the children's safety at all."
As he spoke, he shot Benard a look, signaling him to play the recording he had secretly taken at the hospital. Venus's wails rang out. "Mommy, Mommy! I want my Mommy…"
"Venus!" Carla was in so much anguish that it felt like her heart was shattering into pieces. She yelled agitatedly, "I promise you, I promise you! I promise you anything!"
As she spoke, she raised her hand to swear.
"I swear that I'll obey the conditions stated in the debt repayment contract and never defy, betray or resist Zayn. If I go against my word, I'll be struck by lightning and suffer a horrible death!"
"I want you to swear on your children's life, " emphasized Zayn.
"I'm begging you, Zayn. Please… I…"
Carla was so agitated that she could hardly breathe, with the world around her spinning so fast that she almost fainted.
"Zayn…"
"Fine!" In a "magnanimous" display, he finally relented. "Go back and wait for my updates."
With that, he ended the call.
"Zayn…" shrieked Carla agitatedly, but the only response she got was the busy tone of the phone.
Gripping the phone tightly, she broke down into tears.
"Don't be agitated, Carla. Your children will be fine, " Brad quickly consoled her. "I'll help you. I'll look for old Mr. Giblo now."
"It's useless." Carla quickly tugged him back and shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "The more I resist, the more danger the children will be in. Zayn's a devil. We can't defeat him."
She finally understood that the only way to protect her family was to obey him.
From the start, she should not have resisted or doubted him, nor should she have escaped from the hospital and get involved with Brad…
If she remained obedient, at least Mrs. Borah and her children would be safe.
She had finally arrived at the grim conclusion that she couldn't escape from Zayn's grasp. All she could do was accept her fate.
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