Time ticked away, minute by minute, until it was early morning. The three of them huddled together and pretended to sleep. In reality, Lucas and Henry were keeping their ears peeled for any sounds outside. Among them, only udia had managed to fall asleep.


    The events of the day had been too intense, and under the exhaustion of the night, she involuntarily drifted off to sleep. Henry felt particrly protective seeing udia sleeping with a frown. Regardless, this was their only chance to escape. When he heard the guards starting to snore, Henry opened his eyes, only to meet a pair of exceptionally bright eyes. Lucas had not been sleeping either. "Just wait a little longer," Lucas silently mouthed to him.


    It was only midnight, and the kidnappers had not yet entered deep sleep. Escaping then would be risky; the best time would be between one and three o''clock in the morning. "Got it," Henry gestured, then closed his eyes again, pretending to doze off.


    He still felt a dull ache in his chest. His body had be stiff from lying against the wall for a long period, but he did not dare to move. Sometimes, he even felt a bit short of breath, but this position seemed to offer somefort.


    Click!


    It was 1 a.m., and the two of them cautiously began untying the ropes. Unexpectedly, it was Lucas who first broke free from the hemp ropes binding his hands. He had been carefully working on this task since the afternoon.


    As soon as his hands were freed, he immediately removed his blindfold. He then held his breath and carefully listened for any sounds outside. After confirming that there were no other noises besides the snores, he proceeded to untie the ropes on Henry''s feet.


    "Mister Henry time is of the


    essence. Listen to me first. I''ll lift the wire mesh behind uster, and you take udia and escape. I''ll distract them, Just make sure to watch your back. It''s best to find a safe ce to hide if you feel like you can''t run anymore."


    Henry disagreed. "Son, I''m an adult, and I should be distracting them. You take my daughter and escape. That''s more important than anything!"


    Lucas adamantly refused. The only reason they were kidnapped was because of him. Henry and udia would not have been dragged into this mess if the kidnappers were not after Lucas'' family''s money.


    Thus, he needed to take responsibility. He was willing to risk his life for it, and besides, he believed that his grandparents and the police were surely on their way.


    Attracting the kidnappers'' attentionN?velDrama.Org owns all content.


    was equally important, and Lucas was hesitant to let Henry do it, especially since he believed Henry had suffered serious injuries. He feared that if Henry went, there was a high chance they all would not be able to escape.


    However, Henry was equally steadfast. Lucas and udia were not even adults yet, so how could he let Lucas undertake such a dangerous task?


    "Listen to me, son," Henry said.


    "When I volunteered toe and pay the ransom, I had epted the possibility that I might not make it back. We can already consider ourselves lucky that we found an opportunity to escape. You two are still young. If anything happens, please take good care of my daughter."


    However, Lucas still disagreed.


    Amid their struggle, udia woke up. "Dad, Lucas, what were you two talking about?"


    Henry untied udia''s hands and feet. "Sweetheart, listen to me. When it''s time, I''ll pretend to slip out through the front door. You follow Lucas out through the window at the back. Don''t look back, you hear?" "Mister Henry!" Lucas frowned tightly. "You don''t have to take this risk."