Love Began with the First Meeting
Chapter 632 The Deadly Test (Part One)

Men and women respond differently when one's life is in danger. With men, they feign being calm and undisturbed. They refuse to show any signs of weakness. Women, on the other hand, are more transparent. When composure is thrown out of the window, they become

more easily offended than usual. Almost by default, a woman's mind would jump to the worst possibility.

Brian dialed a number through the car phone and placed it against his ear.

As soon as Tony picked up, Brian spoke in his usual curt tone, "Send our people to the North District. Standby when you get there. Wait for my next order. I'll send the exact location later."

"Yes, sir!" responded Tony promptly. Clueless, he didn't know what was happening. But as someone who had been by Brian's side all these years, he could tell that something serious enough had happened to rattle his usually calm boss.

Brian hung up the phone and didn't waste any time. He transmitted the location signal to Tony. Slightly squinting his sharp eagle eyes, Brian noted the address and stepped harder on the accelerator. The car advanced with a loud 'whoosh' sound, and soon enough, disappeared at the end of the road. Molly grimaced as she stirred awake.

The smallest sound rang in her hazy head as she slowly regained consciousness. With heavy eyelids, it was a challenge to open her eyes. An ineffable feeling told her, however, that she needed to will herself to wake up. "Boss," said an unfamiliar voice, as Molly opened her eyes. "The chick is awake now."

A man wearing a cap was wiping a military knife with his bare hands. He paused, upon hearing his lackey's words. He looked at Molly with empty eyes and stood up. Molly couldn't see the two blurry figures properly. She closed her eyes, allowing them to adjust to the harsh light before opening them again. Yet, she barely suppressed a gasp as the face of her abductors came into focus.

"Who are you?" asked Molly, who was frightened by these unknown men. Trying to move away, it started to dawn on her that she was tied to a chair. She panicked, "Where am I? Let me go!" Neither men made an attempt to answer. Molly glared, clenching her fists in anger. She had an inkling what this was all about. "Who are you working for?" Still, no answer. She tried again, "Why did you kidnap me?"

The question piqued the leader's interest. "Why did we kidnap you?" the man in a cap repeated in mock wonder. He lowered his gaze, laughed derisively, and looked at Molly. "I assure you there is a reason - a very good reason for taking you as our hostage. Whether you get out of this in one piece or not is entirely up to Brian Long's attitude," he finished with a satisfied smirk.

She guessed correctly. "What do you want from him?" Molly couldn't help but worry. "I'm telling you," she said, shaking her head. "It's useless. Brian won't negotiate with you because of me."

"Oh, is that so?" asked the man wearing a cap mockingly. Obviously in charge, the despicable man was teasing her.

"I'm just one of Brian's playthings," Molly said, shuddering at her own words. "Do you think he's going to play ball with you for someone who's expendable to him?"

The playful glint in his eyes disappeared. Fixing his cap in a casual manner, he walked towards Molly. Finally, he spoke, his voice dripping with malice. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're afraid that Brian will make a deal with us in exchange for your life." He lifted Molly's chin carelessly and forced her to make eye contact. His eyes seemed victorious as Molly's breath became hollow.

Molly shifted her face aggressively and broke free of the man's hand. She looked at him with conspicuous terror, doing her best to control her erratic heartbeat. "I have nothing to be afraid of." She took a deep breath and look away. "I just know myself very well," she lied. "I'm nothing to Brian. What do I have that he'll risk anything to get me back?" While Molly was only spewing nonsense in hopes that they would let her go, she couldn't help but be affected by what she was saying. Maybe, deep inside, she truly believed it. Molly faced the man again. "So if I were you, I won't be wasting my time with this."

The man silently listened to her. Then he broke into a sinister smile. "I guess..." he said dangerously, "We'll just have to find out soon." He turned his back on her and returned to his chair, putting away the knife back in its sheath. He rolled his eyes at Molly, enjoying it as she struggled to free her hands from the rope. "Even if you get it off, do you think you can escape with all of us watching you?"

he asked, giving the place a once-over. Molly did the same and realized that there were other men standing behind her. She bit her lips and stared unblinkingly at the man with a cap.

It seemed to bother him. "Stop looking at me," he demanded, spitting sloppily on the floor. "You've only got yourself to blame for being with someone as notorious as Brian Long." When Molly didn't argue, he continued, "He's such a troublemaker. He meddles with things even when they have nothing to do with him."

Molly glared at the man, seething inside at his desire to keep talking. She didn't need to hear why she was in that situation. She wanted to get out of there. Subconsciously, she didn't want to give Brian any trouble. Even though, clearly, he was the root of all of this. Molly persisted, attempting to break free from the rope that kept her hands tightly bound behind her back. She was beginning to feel the burning sting around her wrists. "Let me go now!" she yelled.

"Hmp!" the man snorted coldly. "As soon as Brian agrees to my conditions, I'll let you go." Molly groaned. There was no use trying to talk her way out of the situation.

Creak!

The sound of abruptly hitting the brakes rang out in the street, leaving a discernible mark of tire friction on the ground. Brian wished he could've reached there sooner.

He got out of the car and slammed the door. As he looked around, he felt reassured to see that Tony was already waiting at the intersection. Brian didn't even need to summon the man as he was already on his way towards him.

"How are the preparations?" asked Brian, as Tony stopped in front of him.

Tony, as agile as ever, responded, "Our men are on their way," He took a quick look at his watch. "They'll be here in 20 minutes."

Brian checked the time. There were ten minutes left before his meeting with the man who abducted Molly. Putting aside the unpleasant sensation in his stomach, he took a moment to envision his plan. He couldn't afford to be distracted. Not with Molly's life on the line. He glanced at the nearby terrain while taking out his phone. The tracking system showed that the red dot was within proximity. Then he shifted his gaze from it, estimating the physical location.

Tony's eyesight followed Brian's and finally their eyesight dropped on a community in front of them.

With Brian holding the tracker, he followed the red dot and led them both deep into the community. Brian stopped and looked up from the tracker. It brought them in front of an old building. Taking cover, Brian observed the building as Tony vigilantly stood watch. "Mr. Brian Long, it's unclear how many people they have," Tony said, deeply concerned. "Maybe we should wait for our men..."0000