C477 Protect or Betray

After a long, quiet moment, Alicia looked at Victor. “Grandpa, there is a reason I'm asking.” Victor waited. Alicia took a deep breath. "Charlie was the one who kidnapped my son.” Victor's expression immediately changed. Alicia continued. “Somehow, Emmanuel ended up in Hanna's hands, and Hanna was the one who killed him.” Victor stared at her in disbelief. “And now Charlie has posted a photograph from my son's funeral.” She held up her phone. “So, Grandpa…” Alicia's eyes narrowed. “Are Charlie and Hanna old friends? Or is there something else connecting them?” Victor remained completely silent. For several seconds, he didn't know what to say. “You mean everything connects back to those two?” Alicia nodded. “Yes.” She stepped closer. “Grandpa, please tell me the truth.” Victor slowly shook his head. “I would be lying if I said I knew.” Alicia frowned. Victor continued. “The Harris family has always been an enemy of the Gupta family. But their power has declined significantly compared with what they were under Willy's brother's command.”

He paused. “As far as I know, there is no direct connection between the Harris family and Hanna.” Alicia stared at him. “But that doesn't mean there isn't one?” Victor nodded. “I agree.” He looked at her seriously. “I will investigate this properly.” Alicia's expression softened. “Thank you, Grandpa.” Victor nodded before turning toward the door. He stopped briefly. “Be careful, Alicia.” “I will.” Victor left the training hall. The moment the door closed behind him, Alicia turned toward the rest of us. “Well…” She smiled. “Samantha, we're going to use your plan.” Samantha smiled. “Good.” “Tomorrow,” Alicia continued, “we're going to the Gupta family.” Everyone nodded. I looked at Alicia. “Wife, should I prepare a computer for tracking Hanna when we get there?” Alicia nodded. “Yes. Make sure you have everything you need. If we get access to the right systems, we might be able to track her movements.” She then looked at the rest of the Lions. “And everyone else, prepare your gear.” The room became quiet. Alicia's expression became serious. “And say your goodbyes.” Everyone looked at her. Chris frowned. “What do you mean?” “We don't know what we're walking into,” Alicia replied. She looked around the room. “We could be walking into a trap.” Nobody spoke. “We don't know whether Hanna is expecting us. We don't know how many people are protecting her. And we don't know whether we'll all come back.” Sarah slowly nodded. “We understand.”

Alicia looked at each of them. “If you're coming with me, I need everyone to be prepared for anything.” One by one, the Lions nodded. “We will.” We eventually left the training hall. Tomorrow, we would return to the Gupta family. But none of us knew that Hanna was already making her own plans. At the private estate near the ocean, Hanna received a report from Stacy. The news was not what she had expected. There had been a fight at the border between the Gupta families. And more importantly, her father was looking for her. He wanted her to return and reclaim Gold and Diamond. A slow smile appeared on Hanna's face. “So…” She leaned back. “They want me to come back.” She laughed softly. “And fall straight into their trap?” Charlie stood nearby. Hanna turned toward her. “What was Alicia's reaction to the post?” Charlie lowered her eyes. “Nothing.” Hanna's smile disappeared. “Nothing?” Charlie shook her head. “I haven't heard anything.” Hanna frowned. “That can't be right.” Charlie looked at her. “Why not?” “If Alicia saw that photograph, she should have reacted.”

Hanna stood and walked toward the window. “How can we not see them coming after us?” She turned back toward Charlie. “What are they really planning?” Charlie shook her head. “I don't know. How would I know?” Hanna remained silent. Something about the situation bothered her. She had expected anger. She had expected threats. She had expected Alicia to come looking for them. Instead, there was silence. And Hanna didn't like silence. “I don't like this,” she finally said. Charlie frowned. “What?” “This is too quiet.” Hanna looked toward the ocean. “It's almost as if they've accepted everything we've done.” Charlie froze. “What do you mean?” Hanna shook her head. “Never mind.” She returned to her phone. But the thought wouldn't leave her mind. Something was wrong. She just didn't know what. Hanna opened her phone and began searching through information connected to Nova Blaze. There was one person she wanted to contact. Laura. If Laura was close to Alicia and the Lions, perhaps she knew something. Hanna searched through employee information. Nothing. She tried another search. Still nothing.

After several attempts, she finally gave up. “If I can't find her information…” She paused. “I'll go through someone who can.” Hanna picked up her phone and contacted Prince Gomez directly. As the Director of Nova Blaze His details were easy to obtain. The call connected. “Hello?” Hanna immediately changed her voice. She sounded polite and almost shy. “Good morning, Mr. Gomez.” Prince recognized the voice. “Good morning.” Hanna continued. “I'm trying to contact my old friend Laura, but I can't get hold of her.” She paused. “I am her friend from college, could you please tell her to contact me?” Prince smiled. “I'm currently at work, but I'll tell her to contact you as soon as I see her.” Hanna smiled. “Thank you, Mr. Gomez.” The call ended. Hanna placed the phone down. Now she only had to wait. That evening, Prince returned home from work. Bright had already arrived and was sitting with Godness and Laura. They were talking when Prince walked into the room. He looked toward Laura. “You.” Laura turned. “Yes, Father?” Prince walked over. “You know, this habit of changing numbers all the time is becoming a problem.” Laura frowned. “What happened?” “Your college friend contacted me.”

Laura immediately froze. “My… college friend?” Prince nodded. “She wanted to speak to you.” He took out his phone and handed her the number. “Call her yourself.” Laura stared at the number. She suddenly became uncomfortable. “You said it was a woman?” “Yes.” Laura looked at her father. “Could it be Hanna?” The atmosphere in the room instantly changed. Bright stopped talking. Godness looked at Laura. Prince's expression became serious. Laura slowly took the phone. "I never had friends in college father but let me call this number and see who will answer.” She called the number. Then she put the call on speaker. The phone rang. Once. Twice. Then someone answered. “Hello.” Laura's eyes widened. She immediately recognized the voice. “Hanna.” Her voice became cold. “What do you want?” She paused. “How could you kill an innocent child?” There was silence for a moment. Then Hanna laughed softly. “So you recognize my voice.” Laura clenched her jaw. “What do you want?” Hanna's tone changed. “Don't be like that, Laura.” She paused. “I actually have a proposal for you.”

Laura said nothing. Hanna continued. “I want you to tell me everything Alicia is planning.” Laura's expression hardened. “What?” “I want to know where she's going, what she's planning, who she's working with…” Hanna paused. “…and most importantly, I want to know what she intends to do about me.” Laura laughed bitterly. “And if I refuse?” The laughter on Hanna's side disappeared. Her voice became cold. “If you don't give me anything by tomorrow morning…” She paused. “…then you'll find out who I really am.” Laura's smile disappeared. Hanna continued. “Killing a small baby was one of the least cruel things I've ever done.” Everyone in the room froze. Hanna's voice became quieter. “So I'm going to advise you to do what I said.” Laura stared at the phone. “Or what?” Hanna didn't answer. The call suddenly ended. Silence filled the room. Laura slowly lowered the phone. Her face had gone pale. “Is she threatening me?” Nobody answered. Everyone was staring at her. Prince stepped closer. “Laura…” She looked at him. “What should I do?” Prince looked at the others. None of them knew what to say. Laura stared at the number on the phone. She had until tomorrow morning. And now she had a choice to make. Protecting Alicia and not saying anything to Hanna… Or betray Alicia and tell Hanna what Alicia was planning and put the Lions in danger.