30 Days of Passion and Revenge-Chapter 160: Vengeance Unleashed

The streetlight flickered across her tear-stained face, her soft voice echoing in his ears as she stood before him.

She said she once had feelings for him.

Suddenly, the memory of her gentle voice returned to him as if she were speaking beside him. Ethan’s deep eyes filled with disbelief and shock as he stared at the traffic flowing past on the street...

Now he finally understood what he had wanted to ask her last night.

He wanted to ask her why she would still marry Alex if she had feelings for him.

If she had already fallen for him, she did not need to marry Alex at all. It was utterly unnecessary.

Sitting back in the car, Ethan quickly pulled out his phone and dialed Lily’s number.

He couldn’t let Alex announce the engagement or let Lily suffer such a fate. Since she had already developed feelings for him, why should he care about some stupid deal?

He had to find her.

After a few seconds, the call was disconnected.

That woman dared to hang up on him?!

Furious, Ethan dialed again. After several more attempts, with each call disconnected, Lily finally turned off her phone.

"Damn it!"

Ethan cursed under his breath and immediately dialed another number. "Where is Lily? I need to find her!"

"Mr. Blackwood, what’s got you so riled up suddenly?" A middle-aged man’s voice came from the other end of the line, carrying a hint of amusement and mischief. It was Lily’s father, Henry Anderson.

"Where is she?" Ethan needed more time for pleasantries.

"No need to rush, Mr. Blackwood. The Carter family’s centennial celebration is this weekend. What’s the hurry now?" Henry Anderson chuckled. "I told you before, I’ll ensure my daughter returns to your side willingly. You can wait a couple more days, can’t you?"

"I..." Ethan hesitated momentarily, resisting the urge to yell out that he wouldn’t let Lily get married. Instead, he coldly said, "I have something important to ask her. Where is she now?"

Henry, a wise man, immediately sensed that Ethan’s urgent tone was off. "I don’t know. Lily went out and hasn’t come back yet."

No one could interfere with his meticulously crafted plan for the Carter family’s centennial celebration.

Henry had spent nine years in prison.

While in prison, he’d learned that someone was deliberately delaying his sentence. When he passed the warden’s office, he heard Ethan Blackwood’s name.

After using the prison’s computer to browse the internet, he understood who Ethan was.

This young man, who had no connection to him, had pulled strings to reduce his sentence. Henry didn’t know the reason behind it.

To Henry, this was a scarce opportunity—a golden opportunity.

He had requested a meeting with Ethan, which led to their first conversation and the beginning of their deal.

Where had that woman run off to?!

"If you get any updates on her whereabouts, notify me immediately!" Ethan barked before hanging up. He was on the verge of losing his patience. He dialed the number of his private investigator with a forceful press of his finger.

Before he could say anything, the private investigator’s trembling voice came through in a panic, full of apologies—

"Mr. Blackwood... I-I’m so sorry... After Alex left with Lily... they were speeding the whole way. My old car... I-I couldn’t keep up..."

The investigator’s stammering was beyond frustrating.

Damn it!

Ethan hurled his phone to the side and glared at his driver. "Send people to find Lily for me!"

"Yes, Mr. Blackwood."

Where had Alex taken her? Why couldn’t he find her when he needed her the most?!

Was she at the seaside villa?

Ethan growled, "Head to Alex Carter’s seaside villa! Now!"

"Yes, Mr. Blackwood."

The driver didn’t dare delay and immediately sped off, the car racing down the highway.

When they reached the seaside villa, several cars parked outside, with bodyguards waiting for orders.

As soon as Ethan stepped out of the car, all the bodyguards, led by Cipher, rushed into the white villa, kicking down and barging through the door.

The sun shone brightly, the sea and sky blended seamlessly on the horizon, and seagulls soared above, occasionally crying out...

It was a beautiful, romantic place.

Alex had good taste.

Ethan’s eyes grew colder as he took in the scene. The image of Alex embracing Lily that morning flashed in his mind, fueling his anger further.

Ethan strode inside, and the bodyguards dragged an elderly man with thinning white hair in front of him. Cipher said, "Mr. Blackwood, we didn’t find Miss Anderson but found this man."

Ethan glanced at the man’s uniform and asked coldly, "The butler?"

"Yes." Butler Aston stood stiffly, though the fear in his eyes betrayed his inner turmoil.

"Call Alex right now. Ask him where he is," Ethan ordered as he sat down on the sofa, his expression dark and his tone full of authority. His gaze swept across the lavishly designed villa, his eyes filled with jealousy.

What had Lily and Alex done here together?!

Aston hesitated, and Cipher barked, "Didn’t you hear Mr. Blackwood’s orders?! Make the call!"

Cipher raised a threatening fist, and Aston, trembling in fear, walked over to the phone beside Ethan. "I’ll call."

His fingers shook as he dialed the number and put the call on speaker. After a few moments, a robotic voice came through: "The phone you are trying to reach is currently switched off."

Ethan’s face darkened even more.

Alex had turned off his phone, too?!

Crash—

Ethan swept the phone off the table in a fit of rage. "Doesn’t Alex have any other private numbers?!"

"No, sir," Aston replied, his voice trembling.

Ethan’s fury intensified. He glared at the bodyguards standing around and roared, "What are you all standing there for?! Could you get out and find her? I want her found before this weekend!"

There was no way he could let Alex announce his engagement this weekend!

Back to the Carter Residence, in Alex’s bedroom—

Lily stared at her phone screen, the number ending in five 8s. Her expression darkened, and she hung up the call.

She would have to wait to answer another call from Ethan, and then she would have nothing more to do with him.

Holding her close, Alex asked softly, "Did you tell your father you’re with me?"

"Mm." Lily nodded. Of course, she had informed her father to prevent him from worrying.

"Good." Alex turned her phone off and did the same with his own. He smiled gently at her. "Let’s keep our phones off until the weekend, alright?"

Until the weekend, it would just be the two of them together...

"Turn off our phones?" Lily looked at Alex in surprise. "But if my dad can’t reach me, he’ll be worried."

"We can call him using the house phone," Alex said, running his fingers through her hair. He exited the bed and tossed both phones into the bedside drawer. "I’ll buy you a new phone in a few days."

Lily understood why Alex was doing this. From her reaction earlier, he had already figured out whose number it was...

"Alright."

Lily agreed easily. But in truth, no matter how many new phones she got, it wouldn’t stop Ethan Blackwood from finding her number if he wanted to.

"Lily." Alex returned to the bed, taking her hand, which was still adorned with the intertwined heart diamond ring. He looked at her with deep emotion. "Since we’re going to announce our engagement this weekend, why don’t we register our marriage?"

Register their marriage first?

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Lily asked, somewhat puzzled by his eagerness. "Did you forget? Your father brought us back here, and it won’t be easy for you to leave."

At most, she would be humiliated by Uncle Bill and then kicked out of the Carter residence.

Alex’s father definitely wouldn’t let him go. Uncle Bill opposed their relationship, so there was still uncertainty about whether Alex would even be allowed to attend the centennial celebration, let alone publicly announce their engagement.

"If I can’t leave, you’ll just stay here with me," Alex said.

"Shouldn’t we tell Uncle Bill and Aunt about our marriage plans?" Lily asked. "If we announce it so suddenly at the centennial celebration, they might not take it well..."

"If we tell them now, we’re just giving them time to interfere. We’ll deal with it afterward," Alex said firmly, rejecting the idea outright.

He couldn’t allow any surprises to jeopardize their marriage plans.

There was a knock on the door, and a maid’s voice called out, "Young Master, the master and madam have returned."

Lily’s heart sank. Facing Uncle Bill and Aunt meant another battle requiring immense mental resilience as she prepared herself for insults.

She wasn’t the kind of girl who could easily endure humiliation, but these were Alex’s parents, so she would have to bear it.

Lily forced a smile at Alex, and Alex kissed her on the forehead. "Don’t worry, I’m here."

With that, Alex took her hand and led her downstairs.

Before they reached the living room, Lily heard Uncle Bill’s stern voice giving orders. "Increase security by fivefold for the centennial celebration. I want everything to be flawless."

"Father, Mother," Alex greeted as they entered.

Sitting beside Bill Carter was an elegant middle-aged woman—his wife.

"Uncle Bill, Aunt," Lily greeted politely, trying to be as respectful as possible.

Aunt smiled warmly, showing no signs of prejudice, and gestured to the leather sofa. "Lily, you’ve grown into such a fine young woman. Have a seat."

"Thank you, Aunt."

Lily and Alex sat down on the sofa opposite them.

"Alex, you’ve been so busy with your love life that you’ve completely neglected your responsibilities at the company. Do you even realize that the centennial celebration is just days away? Have you contributed anything?" Bill Carter asked coldly, putting down his phone and glaring at his son.

"Father, you’re the one who suspended me from my duties," Alex replied calmly. "It’s not that I didn’t want to help."

"You will attend the centennial celebration. Rumors are circulating that we are at odds, and I want to dispel those rumors."

"I will attend," Alex said firmly.

"And you..." Bill suddenly turned to Lily, his tone icy. "You’ll stay here for the next few days. You’re not allowed to leave."

Lily looked at Bill in shock, then glanced at Alex.

This wasn’t what she had expected.

Why would Uncle Bill allow her to stay at the Carter residence? Wasn’t he against her relationship with Alex?

"Uncle Bill..." Lily started to protest, but Alex squeezed her hand, stopping her. He leaned in and whispered, "Stay with me, alright?"

"But..."

"Just for a couple of days, okay? I’ll sleep in the guest room. I won’t touch you. Is that alright?"

Alex’s eyes were full of pleading, and Lily couldn’t refuse him. She nodded though a sense of unease washed over her.

Something felt off... She had been feeling like this a lot lately, like she was in a maze with no way out...

Uncle Bill didn’t make things difficult for her.

Perhaps he needed to be more preoccupied with the centennial celebration. Still, he pulled Alex aside to discuss opening the new mall on the event day.

Lily returned to Alex’s room alone and called home. "Dad, I’m staying at the Carter residence for the next couple of days. Is that okay?"

"You’re staying at the Carter residence?" Henry Anderson responded as if he had already anticipated this. "Bill Carter asked you to?"

"How did you know?"

"I guessed. Stay there for now," Henry replied, unusually calm about the situation. "I’ll pick you up on the day of the centennial celebration."

"I’m going with Alex. We’ll come get you," Lily said.

"We’ll see about that," Henry said before hanging up.

Lily suddenly felt a strange unease, a nagging feeling that something was about to happen...