BANG!

He slammed the door behind him. “What is wrong with you, Adrien?” Adam hollered.

“Adam?” Adrien was taken aback by the vexation of his brother. “Did you have a bad day or something?”

“I’m about to go to sleep but you just have to call me at this hour.”

“Sleep?” Adrien was dumbfounded. Was today International Go-to-bed-early Day?

Adrien couldn’t care less. He had his priority. “Adam, Abel took the triplets away.”

Adam processed that piece of information. “So? Who cares who raises them?”

“But they are my sons! I should raise them,” Adrien cried out.

Inside Adam’s mind, once the plan was executed, Abel would be fired from the Ryker Group and he would have sole claim on Emmeline. When that happened, Adam would get rid of the triplets. That was why he was unconcerned with their welfare. However, he still needed Adrien to be on his side now. If his plan failed, Adam would instead persuade Adrien to get Emmeline back. It was the contingency plan because Adam couldn’t reveal his true identity now.

To make sure that his contingency plan stayed compliant, Adam forced himself to be patient. “Look. When you follow my plan and rescue Emmaline the day after tomorrow, those three kids will hail you as the hero, won’t they? They will choose you over Abel.”

Adrien couldn’t find any flaw in that logic. “But Adam! Remember to tell the people of Imperial Palace to go easy on me. You know I can’t fight.”

“Yes, yes. Just get your cape and stand there like a hero.”

“All right.” That was enough to reassure Adrien. He then hung up.

“What a moron,” Adam sniggered at his phone. “Why would I hand Emmeline to you once Abel is out of the picture? Just how dumb are you, Adrien?”

On the day of the auction. 6 PM.

Abel and Benjamin had a mock training with all 12 guards in the morning. Two of them were snipers while the rest were given an assault rifle. They put on a bulletproof vest before going about their business as usual. However, an informant Abel planted in the Imperial Palace reported that extra security measures would be taken for the auction. Everyone had to go through a security check armed with infrared sensors. That meant firearms would be detected.

Abel’s and Benjamin’s expressions turned grim at the news. It felt like their enemies expected them to come. And the enemies had taken all the necessary precautions to stop them from coming. At the moment, Abel and Benjamin faced one problem. How were they supposed to carry the guns inside?