Chapter 687 The Escape Plan
Zeke walked over to help her up. “Don't overthink. Sofie will not harm Dad if she wants to leave the country. After
all, she needs his help to get out of here. I'm sure she won't make things difficult for him for the time being.”
Waverly gave herself a tight slap. “We shouldn't have kept this from you. If we had told you earlier, things wouldn't
have ended up like this.”
Zeke narrowed his eyes and responded, “You were also worried that Sofie might come at us if we learned the truth.
Although your good intentions led to unintended consequences, we can understand why you did that, so stop
worrying and blaming yourself. We're here for you, and Dad will definitely be fine.”
Waverly disregarded his comment and turned her attention to Bailey. “Bay, will you forgive us?”
Bailey felt irritated and amused at the same time.
Not long ago, they had opposed her return to the Shurmer family, but now their attitude had changed drastically.
She wished they could just treat her like how they had ignored her in the past. At least it would not have added to
the pressure.
After a short pause, she replied, “You're causing me so much trouble.”
Upon hearing that, Waverly responded with a soft chuckle.
The fact that Bailey found them troublesome was an indication that she still cared for them.
“Yes, yes, yes. We're the troublemakers. But don't worry; from now on, we'll act cautiously and not let this happen
again,” she said before walking toward the door. “Have a chat with your brother first. I'll cook something nice for
you to eat.”
Her reaction left Bailey speechless.
After Waverly left, Zeke chuckled and said, “You know, it's important for parents and children not to let past
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtgrudges come between them. Mom isn't a bad person at heart; she was just misled by Zoey.”
Bailey grinned, trying to change the topic. “So what's your plan after this?”
Zeke told her about Artemis' suggestion.
Upon hearing that, Bailey could not help but pout. “He finally recovered from his hangover? And he even went to
the suburbs instead of coming to see me? What a useless man. I hope he can't find anyone to marry!”
Zeke laughed at her response. “He might end up being single for the rest of his life if you refuse to marry him.
Don't be too harsh on him, okay? He has his reasons.”
Bailey let out a cold snort. “I know. He's intentionally keeping his distance from me so that I can spend more time
with Edmund.”
In the last couple of days, she could sense that someone was sitting beside her bed in the middle of the night. That
must be him.
Zeke burst into laughter when she figured that out. “You two are truly inseparable lovebirds, knowing each other's
thoughts as though you can read each other's minds.”
“Of course. He's my man. Nobody knows him better than I do,” she uttered.
Feeling curious, Zeke asked, “Is there no possibility that you might fall in love with someone else like Edmund?”
Bailey smiled and shook her head. “I would have fallen for Edmund had I had feelings for him instead of waiting for
Artemis to win my heart over first.”
“That's true. By the way, Mr. Philip said he wanted to meet me when I'm available,” Zeke said.
Bailey arched her brows and responded casually, “He might leave shortly after meeting you, so delay the meeting
with him first to stop him from fleeing the country.”
“I think so too. Let's act according to your plan then,” he said.
Meanwhile, silence descended in a farmhouse some fifty miles away in the suburbs.
Philip embraced Sofie in his arms and teased her.
Smacking his chest, Sofie asked, “You dirty old man. So how do you plan on taking me and Zozo away? Do you
already have a plan in mind?”
Philip knitted his brows and shook his head. “Nope. It's not going to be easy because those people are after you.
And I think you know that too.”
When Sofie was about to say something, the phone on the bedside table rang.
She picked it up and realized it was a call from her subordinate. “How is it? Did you bring Zoey back?”
“Don't worry. Not only did I bring Ms. Zoey back, but I also kidnapped the head of the Shurmer family to hold as a
hostage,” the subordinate responded.
Sofie's face lit up with joy, and she sat up in bed. “Really? You kidnapped that old man from the Shurmer family?”
“Yes. We can use him to threaten Zeke and Bailey,” answered the man on the other end of the phone.
“Great. Well done. Wait for me downstairs. I'll be there in a minute,” Sofie said.
The man replied, “All right.”
Philip overheard the entire conversation since the call was on speaker. “He managed to get hold of the head of the
Shurmer family?”
“Yes, I believe so. My subordinate wouldn't simply make that up,” she said.
After contemplating for a moment, Philip's face lit up with an idea. “I think I have a plan.”
Sofie asked anxiously, “What is it?”
“Let's use him to threaten Zeke and Bailey,” he replied.
Sofie was bereft of words. “That was the plan I had in mind. You don't have to remind me again.”
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm“Calm down and listen to me first. Let's use the man to threaten Zeke and Bailey. They'll be so engrossed in
devising a rescue plan that they'll put their guard down, and I'll take the opportunity to send you two off,” Philip
explained.
Once again, Sofie's face brightened up. “That's right! We'll pretend to threaten Bailey and Zeke by holding that old
man hostage and then take the opportunity to escape from Hallsbay.”
Philip hummed in agreement. “But we must plan it out carefully, and you need to stay calm. Let's take it a step at a
time. Come, let's visit the head of the Shurmer family.”
“Let's go,” she echoed.
Meanwhile, in the ICU ward, Bailey fed Edmund liquid food with utmost care. “I've mixed in some painkiller powder.
When ingested, it should alleviate your discomfort.”
Edmund nodded in acknowledgment. “I feel much better than before.”
Suddenly, he switched to another topic. “Apart from being in the lab, you've been spending most of your time in my
ward. It seems like you haven't been in touch with Artemis. When did he become so open-minded?”
Bailey narrowed her eyes and responded with a subtle smile. “Artemis has been keeping his distance from me
because he didn't want to be jealous. But don't worry, as we haven't had any issues. I'll be here with you every day
until your muscles start to grow. After that, I might have to pay a visit to the Hoffman family. Julie's situation is
concerning, and I have to personally get her out of that situation.”
“You don't need to worry about me if you have urgent matters to attend to. You can trust the medical teams from
the Chivers and Luther families to take care of me,” Edmund suggested.
Bailey shook her head. “No, I can't trust anyone else because their medical skills aren't as great as mine. Besides,
your recovery is in a critical period now, so we can't afford any delays. You need to take good care of yourself.”
Edmund decided not to press the matter further upon noticing how determined she was.
The time he spent with Bailey during this period would probably become the most cherished memories of his life.
Two days later, Sofie took the initiative and reached out to Zeke, just as Artemis had predicted.