Chapter 456

As dawn broke, Lawrence headed straight for the abandoned car lot on the outskirts of Trento City in his sports car.

A thick fog hung in the air, and amidst tens of thousands of scrapped vehicles, Jeremy's team pulled out a particular black car.

Lawrence heard the scuffle as he drove into the lot where Jeremy's crew guarded the black car; forensic investigator and criminal investigators he'd called for were already en route.

"Mr. Rodriguez!"

The sound of a scuffle surged from Jeremy's direction, his brow furrowed, and his expression was icy with determination. He sensed another mysterious figure on the prowl, also after the black car. It was a clue possibly linked to Oscar's abduction, maybe even looking to destroy the vehicle before they could get to it.

"This key figure must be caught!"

"Collect all the fingerprints from the car and scrutinize every minute object!" Lawrence commanded the forensic tech before swiftly moving beyond his sports car, charging toward Jeremy.

But suddenly, a derelict truck burst forth from the car lot.

"Mr. Rodriguez, he's getting away!" Jeremy shouted.

A shadow of anger crossed Lawrence's handsome features. He dashed back to his sports car, slammed the door, and floored the gas pedal in pursuit of the truck.

The chase spilled onto the straightaway, heading toward an overpass. Lawrence dialed his phone, "Jeremy, we box him in before the overpass!"

"I'm right behind you, Mr. Rodriguez."

Jeremy's vehicle closed in swiftly.

The truck ahead, clearly in panic, veered wildly against the barriers, recklessly trying to outrun Lawrence's sports car.

The fog seemed to condense as they neared the overpass, visibility dropping precariously low.

Lawrence. frowned deeply and gunned the engine with all his might.

"Mr. Rodriguez! Stop, there's a tanker truck ahead..."

Jeremy caught a glimpse of the enormous vehicle running the red light, seemingly targeting the runaway truck.

"They want to kill the guy in that truck! Call off the chase!"

However, Lawrence's foot was glued to the accelerator, the chance to seize this lead and the sliver of hope to save his son too great to surrender.

Boom-

The tanker truck slammed into the runaway, which spun several times before toppling over.

Fuel began to pool around the wreckage...

Jeremy accelerated violently, ramming into Lawrence's sports car. Sparks flew as the vehicle skidded across the pavement, finally crashing into the guardrail and screeching to an abrupt halt.

The airbag burst forth, obscuring his vision, blood trickling down his forehead. Lawrence. burst out of the car and sprinted toward the overturned truck.

"Don't go! It's going to blow, Mr. Rodriguez! That guy's already dead for sure!"

"But what if he's not?"

Lawrence was determined to check. If that person was still alive, he would be able to extract Oscar's whereabouts from him.

A mere fifty feet, an abandoned truck had caught fire, setting off a tanker...

"Mr. Rodriguez!"

At the last second, Jeremy caught up, grabbing Lawrence and diving to the side with him.

BOOM!

The tanker and the abandoned truck erupted in flames.

Lawrence's handsome face grazed the grass of the median as he fell to the ground, witnessing the man turn to ashes.

Minutes later, Lawrence wiped the blood from his forehead and sat up, his face ghostly pale. With clenched lips, he lit a cigarette.

"Jeremy, did you get a good look at the guy in the truck?"

"Not only did I see his face, but I also got photos. This guy was tracking down illegal rides; he was just a pawn with someone above him."

"Yeah, he died so conveniently after we spotted him, burned beyond recognition by that tanker," Lawrence replied.

"They really don't want us digging deeper. But this confirms it-Oscar might actually be in Trento City. I have a feeling this isn't just about Darcy anymore."

Crushing the cigarette under his foot with more force than necessary, Lawrence felt his temple throbbed ominously and sharply. "If Oscar were still under Darcy's control, she wouldn't have the guts to pull something like this in Trento City."

Jeremy nodded in agreement. "Now that you've taken over the Ordelia family and Darcy is under house arrest in Lymington, what's your plan?"

"I believe Darcy. She lost track of Oscar during the kidnapping. Who took the child afterward is unknown."

Taking a deep breath, Lawrence was aware of his many enemies.

A black sedan had whisked Oscar off to Trento City. At the abandoned car park, the trail went cold.

"Since you've got photos, start with identifying our man from the truck. And don't forget the tanker. Follow the victim's trail and dig deeper."

His phone rang, interrupting them. Lawrence glanced at the screen and hastened toward his sports car.

Jeremy stayed behind to coordinate with the responding traffic cops.

The call was from the medical examiner-quick progress had been made.

Rushing back to the car park, Lawrence approached the black sedan with steadied breath, imagining Oscar, the son he hadd never acknowledged, struggling inside this vehicle.

With a cool, heavy gaze, he turned to the medical examiner. "What have you found?"

The forensic expert replied to him, "Mr. Rodriguez, the car has been meticulously cleaned. If it was used for a kidnapping, the kidnapper was extremely cautious. We've taken prints from the entire vehicle and found only two sets: one belonging to a child and the other to an adult, but the adult's fingerprints are incomplete. Even with access to criminal databases, it may be difficult to identify the adult..."

Lawrence's eyes darkened at the news.

However, the forensic handed him an evidence bag. "We didn't find anything of use in the car, but we discovered this piece of fabric wedged underneath the seat. Judging by the way it's crumpled, it appears to have been torn off during a struggle with a child, likely in an attempt to leave us a clue."

Lawrence's heart rate picked up as he took the bag containing the scrap of fabric embroidered with intricate patterns. It looked like it could be a fragment of a garment. He recalled when Winnie mentioned how astutely clever Oscar was. This had to be a deliberate message left by the boy. However, he didn't know what could they deduce from half a scrap of fabric that appeared to be from a woman's clothing, other than its color.

For the moment, Lawrence couldn't discern more, but he wrestled with a mix of emotions, eager to share this latest development with Winnie - she would be the first to know. He pulled out his phone and carefully photographed the fluorescent fingerprint and the piece of fabric, ensuring every detail was captured. After that, he handed the evidence bag back to the forensic expert. "Hand this over to the police for a discreet investigation, especially the partial fingerprints."

"We'll do our best." The forensic nodded.

A private investigation was essential for Oscar's safety now that they had no idea who was behind his abduction. Trusting the Rodriguez family, a den of figurative wolves, tigers, and snakes, was not an option for going public with Oscar's plight.

Checking his watch and noting it was past nine, Lawrence drove the battered sports car back to Rodriguez Corporation.

"What do you mean Peter didn't catch up, and that black car was found by that Jeremy, who's now collecting fingerprints?" Ishara stood outside ST Corporation, her already pale face quivered upon hearing the news from Claire.

Claire immediately bowed her head. "Miss, rest assured! The person Peter sent to track down the black car has been dealt with; they were taken out with an oil tanker explosion. Even if Jeremy manages to identify them, he won't be able to trace it back to Peter or to you. Plus, Peter assures that the car was wiped clean of his prints."

Ishara's grip on her handkerchief tightened, distorting the embroidered pattern. With a relieved sigh upon hearing this, she asked, "And the license plate that was on the black car, there's no trace?"

"Don't worry, it was someone unconnected that Peter found."

Ishara composed herself, the icy glare dissolving as she glanced at ST Corporation and let out a sardonic chuckle. "Mr. Rodriguez is supposed to inspect ST today, right? He should be arriving soon?"

"I've had Anday secretly secure the position of Sales Manager for me, but the official appointment has to come from Mr. Rodriguez himself; I'll enter with him."

Claire understood Ishara's intention and smirked with a chilly edge. "You're planning a little surprise for Winnie!"

"That's the plan."

Inside ST Corporation, Winnie arrived early only to catch wind of office gossip about the arrival of a new Sales Manager whose appointment was impending. Only once the position was filled could the sales department proceed with its work.

As the Assistant Manager, something flickered in Winnie's mind. She asked Melanie, "Do you know who's being appointed Manager?"