Chapter 96

Charlotte glanced at Frederick and could tell he was deliberately ignoring her, which made her feel a twinge of resentment.

She just wanted to wait until everyone left, quickly tell him that Serena had been kidnapped, and then leave. She had no intention of staying to endure his cold shoulder.

Frederick wvas indeed ignoring her on purpose to express his displeasure.

Charlotte had left him without a word for several days, completely disregarding him. He needed to make her understand that without his permission, she wouldn't even be able to see him.

But when Charlotte appeared in front of him, Frederick found his resolve crumbling.

Though he tried to avoid looking at her, his eyes kept drifting to the reflection of her in his water glass, making him miss her even more.

"Frederick," Charlotte called his name once everyone had left.

Frederick wanted to continue ignoring her, but his whole being was screaming to see her. He couldn't hold out any longer.

Feigning nonchalance, he looked up, frowning coldly at her. "What do you want? Next time, make an appointment with mysecretary before you come.I'm not that free."

"There's no need! I won't be coming to you for anything in the future!"

Charlotte was furious, her tone sharp. "I'm here to tell you that Serena has been kidnapped and might be in danger. How you handle it is up to you!"

With that, Charlotte turned to leave.

Frederick immediately stood up and reached her before she could open the door, pinning her against it.

He lowered his head,greedily inhaling her scent.

After taking a couple of deep breaths to calm himself, F'rederick asked,"Did you say that Serena was kidnapped? By whom? And how do' you know this?"

Frederick didn't take it too seriously, thinking Charlotte was just using this as an excuse to see him.

"She was taken. Don't worry about how I know, I just do. Whether you save her or not is up to you. Now let me go!" Charlotte tried to pull the door,but Frederick's strength was too much for her.

Frederick held the door, trapping her in his arms, and demanded, "You can't just leave without explaining. If you're here to inform me, you need to be clear."

"Let me go first."

"No,talk like this."

"You!"

Charlotte was almost dizzy with anger at his shamelessness. They hadn't seen each other for a few days, and Frederick had become even more brazen!

After a brief standoff, Charlotte finally gave in, exhausted and unable to fight Frederick any longer. Sensing her body relax, Frederick lifted her and placed her on the conference table.

He spread her legs and pressed against her, encireling her with his arms.

"Now can you talk?" Frederick asked, moving his hips suggestively.

Charlotte tried to scoot back and then said, "Serena was with me before she disappeared. We argued, and right after I left, she was taken. The kidnapper even called me, saying they were going to teach her a lesson for me..."

As she spoke, she suddenly looked at Frederick suspiciously.

"Was it you? Did you kidnap Serena? The voice was altered, but it was a man. Who else would help me out of nowhere?"

"Me? Kidnap her? Charlotte, who have you been seeing behind my back?"

Frederick's focus shifted entirely. Hearing Charlotte mention another man made him unhappy.

His hand slipped under her shirt, checking if she had done anything inappropriate while they were apart.

"I haven't been seeing anyone. I'm talking about Serena. She might be in trouble. You need to find her quickly."

Charlotte pounded Frederick's shoulder, hoping to snap him out ofit.

Frederick stopped and finally took Charlotte's words seriously.

"If what you're saying is true, this isn't simple. Why did you meet her to argue, and what did she do to you that made you need someone else to teach her a lesson?" Charlotte hesitated. When Frederick was being playful, she was anxious. But now that he was serious, she was even more worried.

She had wanted to keep her near-miss a secret, fearing Frederick wouldn't believe her and would discover the pregnancy.

Seeing Charlotte's hesitation, Frederick grew more agitated.

His hand moved to her chest, squeezing through her clothes. "Speak up, or I'll take you right here."

Charlotte slapped his hand away and glared at him.

Reluctantly, she said, "She tried to hurt me, so I wanted revenge and arranged to meet her."

"Where?"

"At..." Charlotte bit her lip, unsure whether to tell the truth.

"If you don't tell me, how can I save her?" Frederick's hand moved to her waist.

Charlotte, feeling ticklish, dodged and slowly said, "At the place where you made me get out of the car. Now go save her."

She tried to leave, but Frederick suddenly hugged her.

Charlotte was startled and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Let me hold you for a bit." Frederick whispered in her ear.

Mentioning that day brought back memories for him. He had forced her out of the car and hadn't gone back to get her. Something had happened that night. "I'm sorry." Frederick's words were so soft that Charlotte didn't hear them.

"What did you say?" She asked.

"Nothing," Frederick still held her. "What happened that night? Did Serena do something to you?"

Charlotte's eyes turned cold.

Her tone was icy. "Does it matter now? It's over, and I'm fine. Isn't finding Serena more important?"

Saving Serena was urgent, and she didn't want Frederick to find out about the pregnancy. She hoped he wouldn't press further.