Page 88 of Billionaire’s Cruelty

“Sorry about that,” she muttered. “No, Mr. Li didn’t contact me. But I didn’t think twice about it. It’s normal. Sometimes I don’t hear from him for a week or two. Then, out of nowhere, he’ll call me every fifteen minutes, throwing assignments at me left, right, and center.”

“I see. Did he tell you to pick me up?”

The moment the question left my lips, I wanted to correct myself. What I had meant to ask was how she knew Kai wasn’t in Shanghai, or how she had gotten in touch with Trevon. But I held back, wanting to see how she would respond.

“The police had been coming to the office,” she said, her grip tightening on the wheel. “They couldn’t reach him at his apartment or his parents’ house. That’s when I started getting worried. Then, as soon as I saw Mr. Li’s booking for a private jet into Shanghai, I went to the airport to wait for him.”

“And then?”

“Well, the police must have heard about it because they were pretty much waiting there with me. There was nothing I—or anyone—could do to stop them from entering the airport. When they took him—” Andy hesitated, her gaze flickering to my face for a brief moment. “Before Mr. Li went with them for questioning, he told me to look after Mr. Smith and make sure you had whatever you needed when you arrived.”

“Have you heard from Kai since?”

“Not really. We haven’t been given any information. But I can tell you this, Mr. Li has the best lawyer in the country. They’ll do everything they can to help him. I’m sure of that.”

“What about Jenny? Do you know anything about her?” My words darted out of my mouth, pressing her for more information.

“No, I’m sorry.”

“Is there anything you can do? Like asking her personal assistant or her bodyguard or something?”

I was certain that a good personal assistant had their own secret network. They somehow just knew every other assistant and could magically arrange for things to happen. Unless, of course, Kai had hired a pretty but clueless assistant—which was totally possible. For example, they always managed to book plane tickets for the desired dates, even last-minute ones. How they pulled it off still baffles me to this day.

But Andy was a woman in her mid-thirties, attractive in her own way, though not in a manner that would pique Kai’s romantic interest. I had known Kai long enough to understand that Andy wasn’t the type of woman he would take to bed. He had hired her for her qualifications and experience, not for her looks.

“Believe me, I tried to keep tabs on Ms. Law as soon as she went missing. But all information about her has been completely cut off. It’s like no one is allowed to talk about it.”

“Why do you think that is?”

“I don’t know if I’m allowed to say this…”

“You can tell me anything.” I didn’t know how I knew, but something told me that she was hiding something. “I—we won’t tell anyone that you told us this.”

Trevon and Wendy both nodded in agreement.

“Usually, I can get any information from just about anyone. But this time, it’s very different. I have a feeling they were specifically told to keep quiet—or else something bad might happen to them.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. When Ms. Law first returned, her personal assistant mentioned she wasn’t in great shape. But the last time we spoke, she seemed scared—like she was afraid for her own safety just for telling me that. Then I asked about Ms. Law’s family, her husband, but she refused to say anything.”

“So that means some serious shit has gone down with that family, and they’re trying to keep everyone’s mouth shut.” Wendy concluded.

She could be right. She was probably right. But I wanted to keep an open mind, to be a little more optimistic. Maybe the family was just very private.

“Where are we going now?”

“I’m taking you to Mr. Li’s penthouse. You guys can stay there for the time being.”

Then I remembered her saying that two minutes ago. My mind just hadn’t caught up somehow. “Sorry, yes. You already said that.”

A few minutes later, we arrived at Kai’s apartment. Andy led us inside and handed us the door code. According to her, Kai had invested heavily in this building, ensuring the developers constructed it to his exact standards—modern, luxurious, and equipped with the latest security systems.

Andy gave us a quick tour of the apartment. It bore a striking resemblance to his place in New York, and I couldn’t help but wonder which building had come first—and who had stolen the design from whom.

“That over there,” she pointed to a sleek, glass-covered structure across from us, “is our Shanghai office, our Chinese headquarters.”

I observed the building, idly wondering which floor Kai’s office was situated on. It wasn’t something I needed to know, but there was something oddly comforting about seeing people working behind the glass. Perhaps that was why he had chosen to live in the building across from it.