Daddy CEO's Beloved Wife-Chapter 588: Beginning

Beneath the laughter echoing from the hall and the music drifting through polished corridors, there were quieter movements and measured footsteps.

Song Yu Han stood in the shadows, his broad frame concealed behind the balcony door.

The tailored black suit he wore blended seamlessly within the darkness, but the man himself did not belong in this place.

He did not come as a guest.

He was uninvited. A trespasser.

Yet, here he was. An apex predator among wild predators.

His sharp gaze scanned every corner for that familiar figure to come out. But to no avail.

Ran Xueyi was nowhere to be seen.

Beside him stood a young man who looked wildly out of place.

Xie Chi leaned against the balcony railing, hands shoved into his pockets. His nervous expression gave away the tension he had been feeling from his uncle.

"Uncle, why don't we go back inside the room? There are a lot of people here."

"Xie Chi," Song Yu Han called softly.

His nephew instantly shut himself up.

Song Yu Han shot him a glance and sighed. He could understand why Xie Chi was nervous and afraid.

Song Yu Han had exhausted every means he knew to learn where this ship was headed. No passenger list. No public docking records. No permits that could be traced. Whatever gathering was happening here was not meant to be known—let alone interfered with.

So he had chosen another way.

One of his men found out that his nephew Xie Chi had a friend who had connections with a notorious gang in the country. They had a hand in smuggling black-market transport and underground passageways in the country. And because of their continuous record-breaking accomplishments, their leader had received an invitation to embark on the cruise ship's trip to the sea.

Using his own connections, Song Yu Han retrieved that invitation card. However, he had to bring his nephew to avoid getting caught. His secretary, Guo Yun, personally told him that his presence alone would bust him out. Bringing along Xie Chi would tame it down and not make him a target of people's attraction.

For everything to be flawless in his infiltration, Song Yu Han even had to dye his hair silver.

"She's on this ship," Song Yu Han said almost with certainty. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Xie Chi sobered instantly and nodded. "We'll find your wife, Uncle."

Song Yu Han nodded. "If anything happens—"

"I run," Xie Chi finished. "I know. You've said it ten times."

"Do it on the first sign of trouble. Don't hesitate to leave."

Xie Chi wanted to say something, but held back. He nodded without complaint. But what he wanted to say was that he didn't want to leave Song Yu Han alone.

…

Elsewhere on the ship, under the glow of chandelier light and false civility, another group gathered.

Cao Yujin adjusted her dress as she leaned on her other foot, feeling uncomfortable for some reason.

"Slept on the wrong side of the bed?" Percy came back with two flutes of champagne.

Cao Yujin frowned, but did not refuse the drink.

A few feet away, Old Patriarch Cao was speaking to an elderly man in a suit. The two were quite taken with their discussion that he didn't even glance at his granddaughter or notice her discomfort at the unwanted company.

"Missed Grandpa so soon?" Percy teased, but his eyes remained cold.

Cao Yujin looked at him, then back at her grandfather. However, as she stared at the corner, her eyes caught something she didn't expect.

Someone she knew.

Someone she desperately wanted. But couldn't get.

Her eyes narrowed. Was she imagining it? Was that person Song Yu Han?

No, it couldn't be him. That man had the same height and posture as him, but the hair did not match. And she was too far away to see clearly if the face also matched.

But a nagging feeling made her believe it was him.

Besides, she would rather have that man's company than Percy's.

Percy kept talking nonsense beside her. Cao Yujin knew he was doing that to annoy her. So, she excused herself.

He offered to take her to the restroom, but Cao Yujin laughed and rejected it.

However, once she walked away, she went in the opposite direction where the restroom was located.

She went on the path the man had taken. But as soon as she rounded a corner, the corridor was empty, and the man was gone.

….

Song Yu Han moved through the ship like a ghost.

He avoided the main corridors, slipping through staff-only passages and maintenance shafts with ease. Each step brought him closer to the answers he wanted.

As he moved away from the crowded hall and into the empty hallways, Song Yu Han slowed.

He stuck his back against the wall, looking up to where the cameras were pointed, evading them like a thief.

Footsteps echoed ahead.

Two men rounded the corner, laughing softly about something vulgar, their weapons slung casually over their shoulders.

"Fuck, man, I've been on this ship for two months. I can't wait to disembark and play in a brothel," one man lamented as he grabbed his crotch.

"Gross, don't touch yourself, man. We're still on the job." The other was disgusted but shared the same thought as his colleague. Thinking of something, he said, "What do you think of getting one of the girls later?"

"Are you out of your mind? They're not for us to use. Do you want a target on your back?" the first man warned him with a glare.

The two continued talking and did not notice Song Yu Han until it was already too late.

Song Yu Han acted without hesitation.

One sharp movement. A clean strike to the throat. The second man barely had time to react before Song Yu Han went behind him as he twisted his arm and gave a blow to the head, rendering him unconscious, and piled on top of the other man, who had fainted first.

It only took him a few seconds. But he disarmed and took on two armed men quietly.

Song Yu Han searched their belongings and took their gun.

At this time, their radios also connected, and a voice came out of it.

"Get everyone ready. The goods will be transferred near the hall."

His eyes narrowed at the word 'goods'.

He picked up the radio and waited for further instructions, but that was all that came out of it.

But deep down, Song Yu Han knew he had to hurry up.