After walking another half hour, we came to a cave entrance that looked like a door. There was a lamp by the entrance, and two pirates were guarding it, playing cards and laughing and joking.
Ella forced him to say a few words to the two pirates, and then the two pirates stood up, looked at Zhou Xuan and his eleven men, and then their gazes settled on Fu Ying and Gao Yuzhen's faces!
Elady shouted at them, "Go inside!"
Once inside, you'll find it's quite spacious, but the ground below isn't solid; it's deep water. Five or six meters above the water, there's a structure resembling a bridge. On top of the structure are cages welded together with iron bars as thick as a child's arm. From one end to the other, it's like an iron cage passage, but it's divided in the middle, with each compartment having an iron gate secured with a large lock.
There was a passageway two meters wide next to the bridge. The pirates herded the four mercenaries into the innermost cage and locked them up. Then they put Gao Yuzhen and Fu Ying in another cage, while Zhou Xuan, Fu Tianlai, Li Junjie, Fu Tianlai's bodyguard, and the yacht master were put in a separate cage.
However, when the pirates were imprisoning people, they turned on the lights, illuminating the cave and revealing that there were still people imprisoned in several iron cages. Fu Ying looked around and suddenly asked in a trembling voice, "Mom, Dad, is it...is it you?"
Zhou Xuan was both surprised and delighted. In fact, when he entered the cave, his icy aura had already probed into the iron cage where there were eight people locked up, seven men and one woman, but he was not sure if they were Fu Ying's parents.
The people Fu Ying called were a man and a woman who were locked in a separate cell. They walked slowly to the side, trembling, and looked closely at Fu Ying. The woman immediately choked up and cried out, "Yingying, Yingying, it's my Yingying!"
Upon hearing the crying, Zhou Xuan was certain that these were Fu Ying's parents, and the others must be high-ranking executives from the ocean liner. They had finally arrived at the pirates' lair, at their true secret hideout.
Fu Tianlai's old eyes also welled up with tears, and he said in a low voice, "Meng'er!"
Li Junjie also called out sadly, "Uncle, Aunt."
The family reunited in this place, each person filled with indescribable emotions. They didn't know whether it was the joy of being together or the fear of being trapped in a predicament!
Fu Ying reached out through the gaps in the iron cage and grasped her mother's hand, weeping for a long while. Afterwards, Fu Tianlai comforted her, saying, "Don't worry, Johnny has negotiated with them. As long as the ransom is paid, they will release her!"
Zhou Xuan watched Ella's cold smile from the side and thought to himself, "It's probably not that simple!"
Volume 1, Chapter 182: Betrayal
Sure enough, Ella said with a smile, "Mr. Fu, I'm really sorry to have our family reunited here. We are indeed waiting for the ransom, but this ransom is not to save your lives, but to take them!"
Fu Tianlai was taken aback and asked, "What did you say? What do you mean?"
This truly shows that bystanders see things more clearly than those directly involved!
Zhou Xuan had been feeling uneasy, as if something was weighing on his mind. Hearing Elady's words, he immediately understood and blurted out, "Johnny, were these all traps Johnny set?"
Fu Ying and her family were stunned when they heard Zhou Xuan's words, and seemed to be a little slow to react.
But Elady stared at Zhou Xuan and smiled, saying, "As expected of the Fu family's son-in-law, how could you be the Fu family's son-in-law without some skills? Your mind works pretty fast, but even if you understand, what's the use now?"
He certainly didn't know whether it would work or not; only Zhou Xuan and Fu Tianlai knew, but Fu Tianlai wasn't as confident as Zhou Xuan himself.
But Zhou An noticed that Fu Tianlai still didn't seem to understand Johnny's situation. So he turned to Elady and said, "What's going on? This trap isn't just something we and the previous rescue team fell into, is it? Fu Ying's parents, wasn't that ocean-going freighter also part of your plan?"
“Logically speaking, hehe.” Elady chuckled, “Normally, we shouldn’t reveal all the information about our customers, but Mr. Johnny didn’t make that request. In our cooperation, he didn’t consider this little thing. Because you were kidnapped here, it means there’s no chance of you getting out alive. You’re right, not just these few things, everything was planned. We don’t care about the ocean liner; we care about Mr. and Mrs. Futher!”
Fu Se paused, then suddenly said, "Oh. I remember now, no wonder, no wonder." He sighed before turning to Fu Tian and saying, "Dad, our trip to the Horn of Africa was really Johnny's suggestion. It just so happened our cargo ship was going this way. Johnny called me and said there was no rush. He told me and his aunt to come on our own cargo ship for a relaxing vacation; I listened to him and thought Yingying's mom and I would have a romantic getaway, but who knew…"
Elady chuckled and added, "Our plan includes the other two heirs of the Fu family, Miss Fu and Mr. Li!" He then pointed to Fu Ying and Li Junjie.
"The terms of our cooperation with Mr. Johnny were that he would initiate these tasks and implement the plan step by step, while we would wait here for you to fall into the trap. After we caught you, Johnny's cooperation with us was for one billion US dollars, but now Gigo has to change it again because..."
Ella pointed at Fu Tianlai and Zhou Xuan, laughing, "Because now we have Mr. Fu and Mr. Zhou, the son-in-law of the Fu family, added to the price, Johnny will have to add a little more. Of course, this still needs negotiation. Until it's settled, you can live a few more days. Hehe, the more Johnny wants you to die quickly, the faster he'll pay. The faster you'll die!"
Fu Tianlai collapsed to the ground, muttering to himself. At that moment, despite his reluctance to believe it, the truth was clear!
Fu Tianlai still couldn't have imagined the first step that tricked Fu Meng and his wife, but Johnny was involved in every step of the subsequent rescue plan. Sending Fu Ying and Li Junjie to Somalia while Johnny went to negotiate—it all made perfect sense now. Johnny's plan was to eliminate all the heirs of the Fu family. Currently, the most direct descendants were Fu Ying and her parents, followed by Li Junjie and himself. By eliminating Fu Ying and her parents, he could also implicate Li Junjie. Besides Johnny, there were no other strong contenders for the Fu family's inheritance. His second aunt was old and incapable, and with her youngest son dead, what interest did she have in fighting for the inheritance? There was only a ninety-year-old man in the family who didn't manage things. The only one who could support the entire Fu family and smoothly advance his own path was Johnny! Fu Tianlai felt a bitter taste in his mouth. He had always truly loved Fu Ying the most, and genuinely wanted her to inherit the Fu family fortune. His two grandsons, his second daughter's son, Junjie, were all like Fu Ying. He had no interest in business, except for Johnny, who had shown a business acumen from a young age. After Johnny graduated from university, during the period when he let him take over, Johnny's sharp and ruthless methods pleased him greatly, and gradually he was entrusted with greater and more responsibilities.
However, regarding the successor, Fu Tianlai still only recognizes Fu Ying, and only gives Johnny and Li Junjie a small percentage, making them minor shareholders.
Fu Tianlai had already prepared this will long ago. Looking back now, Johnny must have learned of its contents through some means and, out of resentment, committed this heinous act!
As the saying goes, it's hard to guard against a thief within your own family; betrayal by loved ones is even more heartbreaking!
Ella stopped talking, retreated into the cave, and then whispered a few words to the two pirates playing cards by the cave before leaving.
Fu Tianlai was stunned for a moment before he said to Fu Se with resentment, "Son, I haven't treated your eldest sister's family badly, have I? How dare you lay a hand on your own family like this? When we get back, I will definitely not let them off the hook!"
Fu Sun smiled bitterly, "Dad, don't you understand the situation now? Johnny led us into this trap, so he won't let us go back alive. What's the point of talking about going back or not?"
Fu Tianlai gave a cold snort and thought for a moment. Then he beckoned to Zhou Xuan'an, and after Zhou Xuan'an came over, he introduced him to Fu Meng: "Son, Tian...Chang Shaoxia. He's Lei Yi's fiancé, his name is Zhou Fu!"
Fu Sun and his wife were both taken aback. They had just overheard Elradi mentioning something about a son-in-law from the Fu family. They hadn't quite grasped the meaning, but now, hearing the old man's explanation, they were genuinely stunned. They had heard him mention it before, back when they were still in Europe. The old man's meaning was clear: he wouldn't approve of Yingying's marriage and would absolutely not let her marry this man.
Why the sudden change of heart? Could it be that I'm accompanying him to his death, offering him some comfort before he dies?
In the entire Fu family, although Yingying is the daughter of Fu Sun and his wife, Fu Tianlai, who holds the power in the Fu family, dotes on Fu Ying more. Of course, Fu Ying's marriage is also decided by him.
From initially disagreeing to now introducing himself, judging from his tone, neither Fu Meng nor his wife could tell that Fu Tianlai was lying.
Zhou Xuan was stunned. He hadn't expected Fu Tianlai to introduce him so seriously to Fu Ying's parents. After a moment of surprise, he quickly and respectfully said, "Hello, Uncle and Aunt, I am Zhou Xuan!"
Fu Sun looked at Zhou Xuan, a rather ordinary young man, then turned to look at Fu Ying on the other side, only to see his daughter looking at him shyly and saying softly, "Dad!"
Look at that affectionate expression and shy blush. Fu Se knew that his daughter had indeed fallen for Zhou Xuan. He knew his daughter's personality all too well. She had been proud and arrogant since childhood. In high society, she had never been interested in any of the many outstanding men. In the end, however, she had fallen for such an ordinary man.
However, what puzzled Fu Jie was that he knew his father, Fu Tianlai, better than anyone else; once he made a decision, there was no going back, even if it was wrong. But now, his father had clearly agreed to Zhou Xuan's identity, which was truly strange!
Fu Ying's mother whispered to her daughter, "Yingying, is he... is he really the one your grandfather was talking about?"
Fu Ying blushed, lowered her head shyly, nodded, and softly hummed in agreement.
Fu Ying's mother, Yang Jie, was also an American of Chinese descent. Her family was also a prominent one, though not as wealthy as the Fu family, but still considered a good match. For Fu Tianlai, the most important thing was that the marriage would benefit the family business, which was exactly what he meant by a good match. That's why Fu Se found it strange.
Because he knew from the beginning that Zhou Xuan's background as a child from a rural family in China was a far cry from Fu Tianlai's standards.
Overall, Zhou Xuan's demeanor remains composed and dignified. For an ordinary person to venture into such a dangerous place is a remarkable act, something many wouldn't dare to do. From this perspective, Zhou Xuan's feelings for Yingying are genuine. And the fact that he hasn't shown much fear even after being imprisoned here is even more surprising!