Hope Crawls Through Ruins by Kain Rwan Vale 168

Chapter 168 

Chapter 168 

Checking the recordings was part of Henry’s nightly routine. The pen Henry gifted Eric had a listening device hidden inside. 

Eric was obsessed with it. It was a limited edition, so rare that he couldn’t buy it even if he wanted to. He never let it out of his sight. 

Eric had no idea Henry would play him like this. 

Thanks to the bug in the pen, Henry could casily cavesdrop on Eric’s conversations and know exactly who he was meeting. 

That night, just like every other, Henry pulled up the audio file. But what he heard made his blood run cold. Eric and Vivian were scheming to make sure Briana wouldn’t make it out alive. 

‘Will I make it in time? Can I get there before it’s too late?‘ Henry thought, panic clawing at his chest. 

Henry jumped into his car, slammed his foot on the gas, and the car shot forward like an arrow. 

His hands gripped the steering wheel, and he forced himself to take deep, steady breaths. 

Nothing else mattered at that moment. He had to get to Briana, and he had to do it fast. Every second he wasted would put Briana in more danger. 

‘Faster, faster!‘ Henry urged himself, his heart pounding in his chest. 

His car tore through the streets, horns blaring and angry shouts echoing behind him. Henry didn’t care about 

He’d just run a red light when it suddenly hit him. He quickly put on his Bluetooth earpiece and called Olivia. 

Olivia answered in seconds, her voice lazy and casual. “Checking up on Briana again, Henry?” 

any 

of it. 

Henry cut her off. “Briana’s with Eric. He and Vivian are out to kill her. I’m heading there now. Call Shepard, get a team over there, now. Save Briana!” 

Olivia let out a sharp scream, “Oh my God!” 

“Hurry!” Henry shouted, all his usual cool gone. “The faster, the better.” 

“Alright, alright, I’m on it.” Olivia stammered, her voice full of panic. “Are you by yourself right now, Henry?” 

“Yeah, I’m heading there as fast as I can,” Henry replied. 

“Be careful,” Olivia warned. “How are you going to handle this alone…” 

Before she could finish, Henry cut her off. “No time. Get your whole team over there, now.” 

“Okay!” Olivia replied. 

Henry floored the gas, pushing the car to its limits. ‘Please, Briana, don’t let anything happen to you. Both you and the baby, please, you have to be alright,‘ he thought. 

Henry kept checking how much farther he had to go, eyes locked on the road as the distance to his destination shrank with every second. 

Olivia shot up from her bed the second she hung up, dashing out in a whirlwind. She made a beeline straight for the Carter 

Estate. 

“Where the hell is Shepard? Why won’t he answer? What’s he even doing at a time like this?” Olivia muttered angrily. 

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Chapter 168 

“Men are all the same! When you don’t need them, they’re everywhere. But the moment you actually need them, they vanish, Olivia kept ranting to herself. 

Still cursing, Olivia pulled up to the gates of Carter Estate and leaned on the horn like crazy. 

“Open the gate. Hurry up!” she shouted. 

“Shepard, where the hell are you?” Olivia yelled. 

The security guard rushed out of the booth, and when he saw Olivia, he asked, “Miss Hughes, you..” 

“Open the gate. And where’s Shepard?” Olivia demanded. 

“Mr. Carter, he…” the guard stammered. Before the guard could finish, a car came rolling up in the distance, its headlights cutting through the night. 

“There he is,” the guard said, pointing. “Mr. Carter is back.” 

“Huh?” Olivia said. She leaned out her window and glanced back. 

Sure enough, it was Shepard, driving solo, taking his sweet time, just rolling in at a steady pace. 

‘Briana’s life is literally on the line, and he’s still acting like it’s just another day?‘ Olivia fumed. Olivia was so pissed she could barely see straight. ‘Doesn’t he get how urgent this is?‘ 

When Shepard saw Olivia, his face was unreadable. He showed no emotion at all 

He eased off the gas, slowing down, his tone cool and indifferent. “What are you doing here?” 

‘And it’s this late, too,‘ Shepard thought, glancing at the clock. 

He’d stayed at the cemetery until his phone ran out of battery, and the groundskeeper finally found him and politely asked him to leave. 

Then he drove home alone, letting the night breeze drift in, lost in his own thoughts. 

Shepard figured Briana must be home by now. ‘She’s probably asleep by now, he thought. 

She’d be clinging to the edge of the bed, practically about to fall off, just so she wouldn’t accidentally brush up against him. 

But back then, Briana always wanted to be by Shepard’s side, clinging to him like he was her whole world. And then he was the one who drove her off, and now he’s the one who can’t help but chase after her. 

“Why am I even here? Seriously,” Olivia sneered, her tone full of sarcasm. “If you weren’t still legally married to Briana, I wouldn’t be here for you at all. Move it, let’s go. Stop wasting time.” 

Olivia jumped out of her car and climbed straight into the passenger seat next to Shepard. Shepard just stared at her. 

“Just drive. What are you looking at me for? Staring at me isn’t going to save Briana, you know,” Olivia snapped. 

“Save her?” Shepard repeated, a frown starting to form as he realized something was off. 

“You seriously don’t know? What the hell have you been doing every day? What do you even care about? Henry’s a thousand times better than you… No, you’re not even in the same league as him,” Olivia snapped. 

“Now, he has already rushed over. We must follow closely and help him right away, instead of letting him fight alone,” she added. 

“If we’re even a second late and something happens to Briana, you’ll have nowhere to turn and no one to blame but 

Chapter 168 

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yourself,” Olivia snapped, her voice sharp with anger. 

Shepard’s face went grim. “Olivia, tell me exactly what’s going on,” he demanded, his voice tense. 

Wait, what happened to Briana?‘ Shepard thought, anxiety spiking. Isn’t she supposed to be home, asleep right now? 

“She’s been kidnapped,” Olivia yelled at Shepard, her voice trembling with panic. “She’s in real danger. She might not make it out alive. Do you get it? Drive! I’m not saying it again.” 

Shepard’s hand trembled as he shifted gears, his fingers shaking so badly he could barely hold on. 

“Where is she?” he managed to choke out, his voice rough and strained. 

Olivia immediately held up her phone screen. She was sharing her real–time location with Henry. 

The engine roared to life. Shepard slammed his foot on the gas and whipped the car around, tires screeching as he sped off. 

On the way, Olivia recapped everything, her tone full of irritation and barely–contained anger. 

“Henry hid a bug in a pen and handed it to Eric. That’s the only reason he caught wind of this in time,” she said. 

“But honestly, who knows if we’ll even make it in time? We might not be able to stop them at all,” Olivia added, sounding grim. 

“Henry’s got loads of proof,” Olivia said, her voice brimming with confidence. 

“Just wait, you’ll see for yourself what kind of snake Vivian really is. The woman you’re so obsessed with,” Olivia snapped, her words dripping with sarcasm. 

“If something happens to Briana now, Shepard, they might be the ones pulling the strings, but you’re an accomplice. Don’t think you’re off the hook,” Olivia snapped, her voice sharp with anger. 

No matter what Olivia said, Shepard just kept driving, silent as a stone. His outline was swallowed by the shifting shadows, his profile cold and unyielding. 

Whatever was going on in his mind, he kept it locked up tight. Olivia was done yelling at him. She’d worn herself out shouting. 

She gripped her phone, watching Henry’s location racing across the map. It was all riding on Henry. They were still so far from Briana that there was almost no chance they’d get there in time. 

A dozen cars were racing to catch up, all flying down the road, but not a single one could overtake Shepard. 

He had the pedal floored, pushing the speed to the absolute max. The tires were screeching and drifting around corner as he tore through the streets. 

every