Ch. 191..195: OMG My Crippled Husband is a Hot Powerful CEO Chapter 191-195
Chapter 191: Chapter 191 - I promise to get you out of there
Alex, a pregnant woman, has a lot of tricks up her sleeve," Joanna tried to convince him.
After watching how he desperately tried to protect her and how he watched over her all this while, there should be something she could do to save the situation.
"I’m not as naive as you both see me. You could find a way to buy over that hacker as soon as Logan thinks he has won and plant a tracker on me or something," she suggested, annoyed to be doing the thinking for a man she has come to know as Salvatore.
Alex sighed. He hadn’t thought of ways to ensure her safety because he never considered meeting Logan’s demand, and things would have been different if it involved Violet.
The fact that Joanna was pregnant made it hard for him to accept this challenge but he could use this to his advantage to request for 3E.
However, his silence on the matter made Joanna furious, and she yelled, "Have you lost your mind? Is this how you work as a CEO? Did your solution mind get eaten by love?" She began hitting his chest, trying her best to wake him from his thoughts, which she felt were far away.
"Why would you allow Logan to destroy the company because of me when we can work together to save it?" Her last question awoke Alex from whatever reservations he had before, and he reluctantly agreed.
Being his wife, she had the right to be by his side during good or bad times, and this time required it. "Okay, but you would have to do whatever I tell you," he said seriously, his mind gearing into a thinking mode once again.
Joanna nodded eagerly, happy that he could trust her. Alex called Dario on the phone and gave him instructions. "Logan hired a hacker to crash my server. My wife is the bait."
Dario understood the complications of the matter, and the fact that the boss’s wife was pregnant made him nervous. "Sir, do you want her sister to protect her? I trust Beauty’s capabilities, and besides, she’s young and innocent. No one would suspect her."
Alex had to weigh his options. His objective was to save and not complicate matters further. Even if Nancy was as good as Dario was saying, she still lacked experience.
"Unless you are going to look after them both, I won’t trust a person without experience." Dario smiled from the end of the line. "Of course, there is no way I would leave them to themselves. We can set two trackers on your wife. A traceable and non-traceable one. When she reaches her destination, they would find the traceable one and deactivate it.
Once we get the signal from our end, we can wait for five minutes before activating the non-traceable one," Dario laid out his plan, and Alex agreed.
For as long as there was a way to keep an eye on his wife, he would do so without much thought.
"Alright. I will set up the trackers before we arrange for her to go."
"Alex, what’s going on?" Aiden arrived as asked, the same time Alex was ending the call.
When his gaze landed on Violet, the two embraced as he asked her, "Are you alright?" Then he turned to the old man seated over a glass of water.
At a time like this, grandpa could not take in anything except water. "Good day, grandpa."
"Aiden, how are you?" The old man asked, Aiden nodded. "I was fine before I got here so Alex, what’s the problem?"
Alex stared at Aiden and responded. "Don’t worry. Violet is safe, and we only have to think about how to keep Joanna safe."
"Why does it sound like there is something going on?" Aiden was looking around as he asked. Alex explained everything, but he was upset.
"Your brother is becoming more powerful and dangerous by the day. I don’t think he’s operating alone. Alex, you have to be careful, and I won’t send my pregnant wife if I were you."
Alex knew the risks involved in such things and agreed with Aiden, yet Joanna interrupted them. "If you two are smart, then you would figure ways to get me out of there after saving the server. Stop wasting time."
Aiden couldn’t convince her if Alex couldn’t, so he sighed. "Fine. I will get the trackers from the car." He returned with a brooch and a glass of water.
He pinned the brooch on the top of Joanna’s dress and typed a few things on his phone. "That’s activated." Then he gave her the glass of water. "You have to drink this, but after three days, it would be out of your system through urine."
"Will it affect my baby?" Joanna asked, Aiden refused. "No. It’s not harmful, but wait. You drink it as soon as we are ready to make the trade."
Alex took grandpa’s phone and sent Logan a text message. ’This is Alex. I’m trading Joanna with 3E.’
The response was prompt. ’Tsk, tsk, tsk. So much for claiming you love her. You’re ready to trade your wife and unborn child for money.’
Alex texted back. ’It was as Violet said. We are headed for divorce, and the only thing keeping us together is the baby. Joan has agreed to give up the baby after divorce, so that’s your niece or nephew too.’
When Joan read the message, an idea came to mind. She would inform Logan about how the marriage was a contract all along to play by what Alex had started.
’Move her to the helipad on your office building. A chopper will be there in five minutes.’
Alex fought back his tears and kissed Joanna for one minute straight before allowing her to drink the water. He cupped her face in the palm of his hands and spoke.
"I promise to get you out of there before anything bad happens to you but do whatever it takes to survive do you understand?" Joanna nodded but her response numbed him.
Chapter 192: Chapter 192 – Abort the mission
"I believe you, and in case I betray you, I hope you’ll understand," Joanna smiled and embraced him, but Alex kissed her again, this time briefly.
This was a game of life and love. The most important thing was staying alive, and Alex didn’t care what Joanna had to do, as long as she wouldn’t be harmed.
They stepped into the elevator to the last floor of the King’s tower. Violet’s heart was in her throat, with tears in her eyes. "Joan, please be careful out there," she pleaded, wishing to take Joanna’s place.
If it were her, she would have known how to get around an idiot like Logan, but for Joan, she couldn’t help being apprehensive.
Joanna smiled, but Aiden was seriously setting up his tracking system to share with Dario. The chopper arrived on time but was flown by a robot. "Tracker detected," it kept beeping and sending signals. Alex received a message directly from Logan.
’You better get rid of that damn tracker.’
It was just as Dario had predicted. For as long as they got rid of this one, no one would know the one in Joanna’s system, but the only problem was the duration.
Alex responded instantly. ’I haven’t seen 3E anywhere, so please do the right thing.’ He waited for a response, but none came.
Surely, Logan wasn’t alone. He must have been working with somebody else to think so smartly.
If the pilot was human, there was no way he would leave without Alex tracking him, but with this robot system, the slightest movement would send a signal to Logan and whoever he was working for.
It took a few minutes for another chopper to land, also driven by a robot, and a blindfolded man was thrown out of it.
His hands and legs had been tied, showing he had been forced to do whatever he was doing for Logan. That person was the hacker with the pseudonym, 3E.
Alex removed the brooch from Joanna’s shirt, and the door to the chopper opened instantly as Joan stepped in, feeling nervous.
’Drink the water in the cup," the robotic voice sounded, as the robot pilot offered her the glass. Joanna realized that things did not seem as she expected, but it was too late to change her mind.
Her reluctance in drinking whatever was offered to her caused the chopper to beep, and Alex received a text message.
’There is a bomb in 3E’s mouth. If she doesn’t drink the water, I will activate it, and you won’t have your server revived.
Cursing internally, Alex nodded, and she drank it. As soon as she did, she lost consciousness, and the doors to the chopper closed instantly and took off.
Aiden was using his phone as he gave Alex information. "I’ve activated the tracker, so we have just seventy-two hours to get her out of there."
Alex did not want to wait up to even a day. He rushed to the hacker’s side, and opening his mouth, there was indeed a bomb.
He could not help but wonder when Logan became like this and could also not help fearing the fact that there might be a greater opponent against his brother.
After getting rid of the bomb, Aiden shared the signal with Dario, and as soon as the latter received it, he set off with Nancy in a chopper as he informed Alex.
’The robot chopper has been located. We are following close behind.’
Alex responded instantly. ’Just make sure you are not spotted. They dragged the hacker to the IT room, but he was weak, so Alex called the doctor to check on him.
After the medical examinations, he was under medications before instructing the IT team on what to do.
"He was drugged and tortured," the doctor reported the reason for the weakness. Alex responded honestly. "If he had done it for money, I would have ensured his death after his help."
The King’s multinational servers were being activated one after the other, the whole issue was resolved in less than an hour per the instruction of 3E, so Alex asked him.
"The people who took you. Can you tell us anything about them?"
He shook his head. "I wish I could, but they will kill my father if I do. He’s my only surviving relative."
Alex was getting impatient because of the ridiculous wait. He wanted so much to deal with Logan, and yet, there were no clues yet.
"Listen, I will protect your family if you can tell me where they are."
"How is that possible? The only person who can help me is Salvadore. Please don’t get me wrong, but this isn’t a matter of running a company. It’s a life we are talking about."
Alex could not break it to him, but Aiden spoke up. "Salvadore sent me here to help. Trust me, everybody there is gonna die, so you’ve got to trust us with every information you have for us to rescue your father.
"It’s an Island. They own it and don’t allow anyone near it. There are around fifty bodyguards and twenty maids. The dons there do all manner of things.
"Dons?" Alex’s heart sank. The server was active now, so all he wanted was his wife.
"Yes, they molest women, do drugs, and all the crimes you can think up. There is a prison on the Island, and that was where they took my father before getting in touch with me."
"Alex, you have to do something," Violet’s voice cut through, Alex messaged Dario. ’What’s going on?’
"We can’t get any closer, or we shall be spotted, but they seem to be moving towards an island per the tracker. We have to find a way to go in."
Nervousness dominated the atmosphere as Alex asked the hacker again. "Did you find a way of going in?"
"They bring in new people every day and send some of them out. If you want to get in, then unless you are a bodyguard or a maid, and those are always bought at special clubs," he revealed, Alex smiled. "And I think I know exactly where to find it.
Alex called Dario on the phone and instructed. "Abort the mission. I have a way of sending her in, but she has to act as a maid or bodyguard."
"Can we meet and plan this?" Dario asked, Alex agreed. They were able to get Joanna’s exact location, but there was no means of going in except there were purchases at the club, but by the time they were able to come up with a plan, they received news from Logan.
’Alex, this is the condition in getting your wife back.’
Chapter 193: Chapter 193 – You just wait
Six hours had passed since Joanna was taken. Time was ticking, and very soon, they wouldn’t know her location once the seventy-two hours elapsed.
The person sending the messages claimed to be Logan, but Alex found each word detached from the brother he grew up with, so this time, he responded.
’You claim to be ready to give me the terms of getting my wife back, but how do I know that you are indeed Logan? It could be anybody just using his image.’
It took a while before he got a response. ’How do you want me to prove it?’
’A video call won’t be bad,’ Alex replied.
There wasn’t a response, but a video shone on his phone. It was Logan walking on the beach. "Alex, how are you?"
Alex’s teeth gritted together, but he could still not believe it, sensing something off. "How do I know it isn’t an AI?" He asked. Logan smiled and asked him,
"How do you want me to prove it to you? Alex’s focus remained on the background of the video. There were bodyguards around, and Logan was walking leisurely.
"Take the gun from one of those bodyguards, the one at the far end."
Logan looked around curiously and responded, "You don’t get to order me around."
Alex’s suspicions were clearing up. "I knew it. It’s some kind of AI video, but where is my wife?" He was beginning to get worried, regretting not having thought about this before making the trade. What if Logan’s voice was only generated with an AI tool or something?
"Joan isn’t up yet. She’s still unconscious, so if you want to see her, then you have to wait until she wakes up."
Alex stared at Aiden to confirm if the tracker was still on, and it was only after getting a nod that he relaxed.
The only thing to do now was to buy time as he was determined to not make any decisions until he spoke to Joan, and by then, he hoped to know exactly who was behind everything.
"You are not Logan, and even if Joan is sleeping, I want an image of her."
He missed his wife and wanted to be sure she wasn’t being abused or anything of that sort.
"Okay, I will get to my bedroom and send you a picture of her," Logan said. Alex was disheartened. "Your what?"
He knew Logan always wanted to get back at him, but to keep Joan in his bedroom was not sitting well with Alex.
"I said in my bedroom. Just you wait. I’m gonna make her divorce you," he said seriously. Alex wanted to react, but Violet quickly wrapped her arms around him from the back and spoke.
"You must be thinking Alex cares about Joan, but he doesn’t. All he cares about is the baby. Like I texted before, Alex is mine now, and Joan knows it. That baby is equally your nephew or niece, so please take good care of him or her."
Everyone observed the change in Logan’s expression as he seethed.
"You just wait, Violet. After dumping me, you went for your rival’s man after pretending to be her friend."
Aiden was seething but decided to play along due to how Violet’s words affected Logan.
The confusion in Logan’s face was evident as he couldn’t tell which of the two women he indeed wanted, especially when he felt so jealous to see Violet with Alex.
"Well, she never loved Alex. Everything was just a contract. Why do you think she was so eager to come see you? Think, Logan."
A frown squeezed Logan’s face, and he abruptly ended the call. Violet pulled away from Alex and asked him, "What do we do now?"
Alex thought carefully and declared, "He would be thinking of a way to come for you or most probably do a swap, but this time, we have to get someone in there since there are victims. 3E, how many victims do we have there?" Alex asked. The hacker was at a loss. "I can’t tell precisely."
"Then we have to go on a rescue mission," Alex suggested thoughtfully, Aiden pointed out.
"A direct attack would endanger your wife." Alex nodded, "that is true, but I have a plan. Let’s meet Dario at the club."
"And me?" Violet asked. Alex stared at her. "I think you should stay with the hacker. I will send food. You can sleep in my office when you are tired. It’s very comfortable, but we shall be back soon."
Alex never liked such clubs, but this time, he pretended to enjoy it so he won’t be recognized. They had to disguise themselves until Dario arrived with Nancy. Seeing Alex, she was excited.
"It’s a pleasure to see you in person, Sa..."
"Alex," Alex’s voice rang over the music. Nancy nodded and got to business. "Dario informed me about the way in, so don’t worry. I can endure anything and will do anything to get her out."
"There might be restrictions," Alex hinted, being certain that the maids would not be allowed to make contact with the outside world but Nancy quickly came up with another plan.
"Then we have to set a day for the rescue and work with it," she suggested. Alex was stunned. Wasn’t she around fifteen or sixteen? Her level of maturity was just remarkable.
"Great. Do whatever you can to survive," Alex advised her, like he did to Joan, Dario informed him. "I’m going with her and won’t be in contact. As from today, I will join Logan’s team and show them the depth of my loyalty."
Alex nodded. "Understood."
Aiden was about to say something when the auction began. Dario pushed Nancy forward. "She’s for sale."
As the bid started, he had a chat with the bodyguards before the curtains were drawn. Alex knew he wouldn’t see them again until everything was over, but for as long as he had his men in there to protect Joan, they could attack directly.
Alex returned home with Aiden and Violet, leaving 3E to upgrade their server because it was going to take a lot of time.
A day passed like the wind before they received a message from Logan. A video.
"Alex, you either confess to being Salvatore and turn yourself in to the cops or you divorce your wife. Oh, sorry. She made the decision for you," Logan said. Alex’s eyes were only glued on Joan before Logan let out his final words...
Chapter 194: Chapter 194 - Why Don’t You Kiss Me?
Joanna woke up in a strange room, memories rushing into her mind as she wondered where exactly she was. She had no idea what happened after she lost consciousness in the helicopter, but the bed was comfortable.
As she tried to rise to her feet, she noticed a restriction. Her hand was chained to the bed, limiting her movement. Joanna would not have been worried if her bladder wasn’t so full.
"Somebody help," she yelled, especially when the only thing on the bed was a pillow. The room’s interior was all white, making her bored with just a table, a chair, and a closet.
There was no one in sight, and with the white curtains covering the windows, Joanna had no idea where she was.
"Anybody there?" She asked no one in particular, wondering how Alex was keeping up after she had volunteered to go meet Logan.
The door pushed open, and expecting to see Logan, Joan rather saw a familiar female. "Fiona?"
"You got that right, Joanna, good thing you remember me so well."
Joan knew there was going to be another drama, but her bladder was too heavy for it. "Before you say anything, can you help me to the bathroom?"
Fiona glared at her, but after some time, she loosened the chain from the bed but held the end in her hand. "Go now. The door is to your right."
Joanna made it to the door, and after she was done, Fiona hooked the tip of the chain back to the bed like before and asked her, "Are you hungry?"
Joanna didn’t know for how long she slept, but her stomach rumbled, indicating that she was indeed hungry. "Yes."
With the click of Fiona’s finger, a maid walked in with varieties of sea food but the aroma did not sit well with Joanna, as she emptied the content of her stomach.
Fiona was upset. "What is wrong with you? Cut it, Joan, you aren’t in Alex’s mansion and have to make do with what we have to offer."
Joanna ensured that a part of the bed was stained with her vomit, forcing Fiona to unchain her for the maid to clean up.
"It’s not my fault that I’m chained. I couldn’t make it to the bathroom," she shrugged, Fiona knew it was intentional because Joanna was not stained with her own vomit.
The two stared at each other with no words spoken until the maid was done and the sheets changed.
"Are you aware that your leaving Alex would make it easy for another woman to snatch him?"
Joanna shrugged, determined not to give Fiona the victory she was looking for. "What do I care? Our marriage was just a contract, and he fell in love with my best friend."
Her plan was simple. If she could fool her enemies into believing she had nothing going on with Alex, it would make her invaluable to them.
"You don’t mean it," Fiona said, looking suspiciously at her, but Joanna shrugged. "I’m hungry. Get me something else to eat."
"I’m not your maid," Fiona pointed out. Joanna lifted her hand with the chain. "Then unchain me and let me go cook for myself."
She hated the restriction so for as long as it was there, she would find a way to make them miserable like they did her. Fiona smirked.
"Well, I thought your being here meant Alex chose his company over you, but with you confirming it, it makes the whole thing boring."
She wanted to taunt Joanna for being separated from Alex, hoping the former would cry and beg for her release, but things turned out the way she never expected, making her disinterested in it all.
"Well, are you gonna let me cook or get me food?"
Fiona pursed her lips. "You know what, I don’t care if you die of hunger. After all, you still stole Alex from me."
She almost reached the door when it opened in her face. "Get her whatever she likes," Logan’s voice sounded from the entrance, Fiona frowned deeply.
"Logan, she’s just..."
"Shut up and do as I say," he sneered. Fiona’s teeth gritted. When she accepted to work on this with Logan, it was because she wanted Alex, but the tables had turned, making Joanna the wrong bait.
As such, Fiona harbored a deeper resentment for Joanna due to this. "What do you want to eat, princess?" Fiona asked sarcastically. Joanna responded with the same level of sarcasm.
"Potato salad, toast, orange juice, samosa, and tea."
"Bitch," Fiona cursed under her tone, but as soon as Logan stared at her, she forced a smile. "I will go get her food, and she better make sure to eat it all."
As soon as Fiona left, Logan pulled a chair and sat in front of Joanna. She slapped him with her free hand.
"You are such a disappointment, Logan. You chose Violet over me when I begged you to marry me, even as a contract, and after she left you, she stole my man too."
Logan had a lot planned, but Joanna’s words caused him to reconsider and her slap did not offend him at all. "Are you sure about what you are saying?"
"Haven’t you noticed that Violet has been living at my house? I caught them in the act before they confessed, so what do you want?" Joanna asked, happy with the confused look on his face.
Logan felt deflated, falling for Joanna’s trick and feeling like he got the wrong person. The he recalled the way Violet’s arms were wrapped around Alex when they had the video call a while ago.
Violet should have been the one here and not Joanna.
"I want to make Alex suffer. He killed my father, and our only sister died in a fire. If Alex had not killed my father, he would have protected us. That is why I hate him, aside from the fact that grandpa made him the CEO," Logan revealed. Joanna knew Alex had kept things from Logan, including the fact that their sister was alive.
She wondered if telling Logan would ease his bitterness against Alex, but then again, Alex was the one who kept it all a secret for a reason Joanna knew nothing about.
"Let me help you revenge against him, but you have to tell me. Are you here alone? Where is this place?"
Logan had mixed feelings, not knowing if he should believe her. "How am I sure you aren’t pretending? You and Alex seem pretty much in love."
"That is all fake," Joanna shrugged. "I signed the divorce paper before knowing I was pregnant, and a lot happened so he tore it, insisting that I gave birth first. You know how domineering your brother is. Didn’t you notice how I was away for over a month? Would Alex have allowed it if we were still in love?"
Joanna’s words sounded so honest that Logan almost believed her but decided to test her.
"If you and Alex aren’t in love like you say, then why don’t you kiss me?"
Chapter 195: Chapter 195 – Isn’t that romantic?
Joanna stiffened at the request. As much as Alex had told her to do whatever it took to survive, she could not bear kissing another man who wasn’t him.
She had kissed Logan before, but that was before meeting Alex, and things had changed so much. Right now, she felt no attraction for the man in front of her as she did when they dated.
Everything died when he betrayed her trust at the time she needed him most.
"Sure," she forced a smile and leaned in. Logan was relieved that he had not resorted to force like he had planned before.
All he wanted was to make sure that Alex didn’t win anymore and finally gave up everything.
3E was used to get Joanna to come, and the plan was to use Joanna as bait for Alex to sign over fifty percent shares to Logan and turn himself in to the police. But after what Joan had told him, he doubted if that plan would still work.
Joanna made things rather simple for him, which made him believe that indeed, the couple were never in love. Joanna’s lips were about to meet his when puke spread all over Logan.
She hadn’t been given the chance to wash her hands after the first puke, so her hands still carried the smell of the seafood, sparking her nausea to her advantage the moment she lifted her hand a little.
"I’m so sorry. Pregnancy has been making me nauseous of late. You can unchain me, and I will clean up," she apologized sincerely. Logan stared into her eyes, unable to make out her trick.
"Get me a maid," he yelled. A young girl entered, different from the one earlier, and Logan stood up. "I will go change."
"Can I get to wash my hands? If not, I might keep puking, and that won’t make the pregnancy a healthy one."
The mention of the pregnancy brought something to Logan’s mind. "You said you didn’t love him, and yet you let him get you pregnant."
Joanna was glad ninety percent of the story was true. It was a contract before, and they were indeed headed for divorce, except that the process had not been completed before she left.
"It was the night of the divorce. Alex proposed we have our last dinner together, and we both ended up drunk. I left the next day, and a month later, woke up at the hospital, and he was there by my bedside, unwilling to complete the process because of the pregnancy."
Logan didn’t find anything off from her story to point out to her, taking her words seriously.
Joanna was very hungry because of throwing up everything in her stomach. She reminded him when he kept staring at her.
"The chains, and please tell Fiona to bring the food. I’m quite hungry, and you must research more on pregnancy to be able to take care of me.
Logan removed the chain entirely. "There’s nowhere to run anyway, and you won’t like what’s going on at the other sides of the island."
Joanna wondered what it was but merely looking at the maid cleaning up, she suspected abuse due to the red fingerprints on the face of the maid.
"Will I get some clothes to change into?" Joanna asked as Logan pointed at the closet. "You might find something there. I will be back."
As soon as the door closed, she quickly went to wash her hands and returned to speak to the maid.
"So, how long have you been working here?"
The maid stared at her and began to speak in a language that was foreign to Joan.
"Shit, she can’t even speak English," Joanna murmured under her breath, looking for ways to communicate. But then she decided to check what was inside the closet, and her face drained of color.
The maid had finished and left her alone, so she had time to check everything in the closet.
There were indeed clothes in her size, but also different passports with different names but having her photo on them.
There was also a lot of money when she pulled the drawers, and another drawer contained ammunitions.
Hearing the opening of the door, she quickly picked up any cloth her hand could reach and stepped out of it.
"I brought your food," Fiona said in annoyance before noticing the chain on the floor.
"How did you get out of those chains?" she asked with a blend of curiosity and anger, about to put them back on her when Joanna pushed her away.
"Logan said it wasn’t healthy for a pregnant woman and also the fact that I have nowhere to go."
"Yeah, you have nowhere to go," Fiona agreed while setting the food on the table.
"You better eat everything because I hate wastage."
Joanna knew there was no way she would eat all that food and shook her head. "After what the maid brought the first time, I had to request enough varieties to know what suits my taste buds," she shrugged. Fiona scoffed when she caught sight of the clothes in Joanna’s hands.
"You saw the things in the closet. Do you want to know what they are for?" Joanna was uneasy by the question but also curious.
"What do I care?" she shrugged, pretending not to care. But Fiona was determined to tell her.
"Whether you care or not, I want you to be informed that Logan intends to take you around the world with a new identity so that Alex would never be able to find you."
Joanna stiffened, and fear settled in her stomach, but she trusted Alex’s abilities to rescue her as long as she kept to the plan.
"Isn’t that romantic? He doesn’t have to change my name. I will go with him wherever he likes, and like I said, the only person Alex would move mountains for is Violet."
Her words seemed to have hit hard because Fiona furiously stormed out of the room. Joanna ate because she needed the energy to stay alive and alert.
"Alex would come," she kept encouraging herself. He loved her and would come for her. However, if she made it known that she and Alex were still in love, Logan could hurt her and the unborn child.
She merely had her fill of the food when Alex entered the room again, but around the same time, there was a commotion outside. Logan opened the door to check and quickly took steps back.
"Don Ace, please let me handle this."