The Billionaire's Mistake

MISTAKE 197

Chapter 107: Tension

Confusion quickly gave way to fear as the severity of the situation becclear. By standing there, the message

was clear. No one would be leaving until Stella Grey was recovered.

The team leader, a tall, broad-shouldered man with a clean shaven head and cold eyes, strode to the center of

the ballroom.

He pulled a menacing-looking rifle from the holster on his back and pointed it to the floor, before looking around

the crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen, | regret to inform you that this event is now on lockdown," he announced in a tone that

brokered no argument.

"No one will be permitted to leave these premises until our security team has completed a full sweep and

resolved the situation. Do not move around or risk getting shot," he said. The crowd could only nod mutely.

The guests could only stay still. They did not want to get in the way not be implicated.

It was clear this was a large scale operation.

When Maria saw the men, she knew these were James' personal team. She could not help but

frown.

Did James cwith them to the hotel? When? From the looks of it, they were always here.

From the corner of her eyes, she spotted Elena looking unperturbed and even looking around with slight glee.

Maria knew that Elena had always loved her son. But James was never interested. Why did she look as though

she knew the inside story? That is the look of someone who participated in this fiasco.

A thought suddenly crossed Maria's mind and she paled. Maria knew her godson well, there was no way he did

not expect this. Did this mean he knew Stella would be taken? Or did he set it up? She felt like cursing out loud.

No, there is no way he would use his wife as bait, right? Maria was really worried now. If James was not really

interested in saving his wife, she would die in the hotel.

Maria felt a headache suddenly cover her. What was her son thinking?

like this was easy to

underground communities.

spread. A few text messages and it was making it's round in the

Chapter 197 Tension

They were all at the mercy of James Grey now, they had ton their hands, so they talked.

It did not take long for news to spread outside the hotel, that the Green family had blocked their own gala,

barricading their guests inside.

The guest all had their cellphones and sof them were communicating with their affiliates outside.

In a room, Stella slowly regained consciousness, her eyes fluttering open into near total darkness. She blinked

rapidly, trying to get her bearings as her head throbbed painfully. Where was she? The last thing she

remembered was greeting guests at the Hotel ballroom then going to change her clothes before everything went

black.

As her senses readjusted, she realized she was tightly bound and lying on a hard floor. Her heart started racing

with fear.

She could make out the faint sounds of voices nearby, two people seemingly arguing in harsh

whispers.

"We are bloody surrounded and the communications have been cut off," one of them said.

"...can't believe they already know she's missing! The whole place is on lock down," one voice

hissed.

Another voice responded gruffly. "Well of course. Did you think it was going to be easy? Just stay calm and wait

for the extraction."

Stella felt her blood run cold. It was slowly dawning on her that she had been abducted from the ball, and her

captors were now panicking that they would be caught by James.

As she wrestled with the ropes binding her wrists and legs, trying to loosen them she recalled the look on Elena's

face all through the hotel.

A thought ran through her head and her heart went cold.

She was bait?

So this was the plan. She already knew that she had agreed to be useful to him as long as he protects her, but

after all this while, she was still used this way.

She recalled that mysterious woman had looked at her that way since yesterday, when the agents were there.

Doesn't this means that James had planned this from the beginning? He had planned this long before bringing

her on the hotel. She had already cto terms with this being her only use, but why did it still hurt to think

that he actually did it?

She felt like laughing. She felt stupid. Elena knew and if she guessed right, sof James's men on the hotel

know too. How far did this go? Does his parents also know?

Chipler lex fendion

Stella felt like a clown.

"Wait...I think she's awake!" The first person shouted.

Heavy footsteps approached Stella's prone form until she could make out the shadowy silhouettes of two figures

towering over her menacingly.

"Well hello there, Sleeping Beauty," a mocking female voice sneered down at her. The assailant's face was

covered from her face down.

"Don't goad the merchandise. Lock her up instead," Stella heard.

"Merchandise?" Stella asked.

The female leaned down, her face filled with contempt. "You're our bargaining chip now. Let's. see how your

husband behaves when the person he cares most about in the world is our hostage."

Stella's head spun trying to make sense of this nightmare, but one thing she knew, James would probably be

able to find her easily. "You'll never get away with this, not at this hotel. This entire hotel is a trap."

The woman's eyes flashed with unhinged fury. "Nonsense!" She suddenly screeched, spit flying from her mouth

as she grabbed a nearby chair in anger

She had felt it from the moment they were surrounded. It was as though the Greys were waiting for them.

Her male accomplice grabbed her arm in restraint. "Calm down! We need her alive and unharmed for the

exchange!"

But the deranged woman wouldn't be dissuaded, raising the chair high above her head as she glared at Stella

with pure hatred.

Listening to them, Stella guessed they cto get something. She racked her brain but nothing cto mind.

She could guess that James had probably released sfake news of something they wanted and threw them a

bait, they could exchange for this fictional object;

herself.

She wondered what they wanted this badly. This girl seemed to hate the Grey name.

"The way you look, someone would have thought James killed your family," Stella said.

"Your husband has killed too many people for you to be shocked! It can't be that you actually think that you

actually think he is innocent right? There are many ways to be alive. | wonder if he will cry when he sees you.

As she started bringing the chair crashing down, Stella instinctively curled up and shielded her head with her

bound hands, bracing for the impact and searing pain that followed.

Chapter 197 Tesis

Stella was tied up and could not retaliate. She felt helpless as the pain slammed into her. She understood one

thing. At least this woman before her had a grudge against James.

"You husband and wife dare play with other people's lives. | wonder, if | killed you, would James Grey kill himself?

1 heard he has already last one wife. It is fine to loose another right?" The crazy woman threw way the chair and

stumped her feet into Stella's crouching form over and over again.

The more she stumped and kicked, the crazier she got. To be able to do this to James's wife was a big power trip

for her.

On the other end, haven gotten what he wanted, he finally knew where the operations was taking place.

He had his men zoom in on the compound.

"Where is this?" Christopher asked.

"The database for the Mafamily is kept there," James answered.