Chapter 024: Reason for Kidnapping

"Could you first tell me why you want to kidnap me? I can't understand why you would take such a big risk to kidnap me. You even chased me to a hospital in Manhattan, New York. I don't think ordinary kidnappers would do something this crazy."

Lina Fox was now bound hand and foot, restrained in a chair with a backrest. She was in the hospital's monitoring duty room, surrounded by several kidnappers with varying expressions - some excited, some irritated, some lewd, some fierce. The most distinctive among this circle of people were the kidnapper leader and her former bodyguard, Raji.

In response to Miss Lina Fox's question, the kidnapper leader kept nodding his head smugly. He was a guy with a full beard and a big head. Unlike the other bandits, he wasn't fully armed and even dressed in an extremely rustic manner.

Sitting nearby, Raji was holding an ice pack to his face. His hands and face were still burning with pain, which wouldn't subside for several hours.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Rock. I'm Raji's brother, released from prison just three months ago." The kidnapper leader had a bit of ADHD-like insanity, constantly moving his big head and making various weird gestures.

Lina Fox looked at Raji and asked, "I remember there was no mention of a brother in your file."

Raji remained silent with a gloomy face, but his brother Rock was happy to answer, "We are half-brothers with different fathers, which isn't something to be proud of. To be precise, our mother was involved with different men at the same time and gave birth to two children with different destinies."

"What does that have to do with my kidnapping?" Lina Fox asked.

"Our original plan was to create a car accident so I could easily kidnap you while my brother could distance himself from the situation." At this point, the bandit leader, Rock, sighed deeply, "But a rookie cop appeared out of nowhere, not only killing one of my men but also forcing Raji to escape with you.

But my operation didn't end there. We took an even bigger risk by coming to the hospital to complete this mission. Our kidnapping operation has just begun."

"You want more than just money. Tell me, what do you want?" Lina Fox seemed unconcerned about her safety, her tone full of curiosity.

"Very smart, worthy of being called Miss Fox." The bandit leader, Rock, elbowed his brother and said, "Raji, tell her what we want."

"We want the super administrator privileges for the Fox Consortium's central computer - the unique authority that belongs to the controller of the consortium." Bodyguard Raji's voice was hoarse; the pepper spray had caused him tremendous pain in his throat.

"If I give you the privileges, will you let me go?" Lina Fox shrugged and said, "Now that things have escalated so much, yet you don't seem concerned about escaping. Someone else is helping you."

"That's right, Miss Fox, you are indeed very smart." Raji spread his hands and said, "First, I have some unfortunate news. Your father passed away yesterday. The consortium's board of directors withheld this information from you. Those old men don't want you to inherit the $50 billion property, and they certainly don't want to hand over the consortium to a 23-year-old woman."

"And a woman who doesn't listen to the board," Lina Fox added with a bitter smile. "I guess this kidnapping was planned by my uncle, who probably also stripped me of my CEO position in the name of the consortium's board.

Of course, the prerequisite is obtaining the super administrator privileges for the consortium's central computer. Without those privileges, they wouldn't even know how many assets the consortium has, let alone control the more than twenty companies under the consortium.

And for the sake of secrecy, even if I hand over the privileges, you won't let me go - at most, you'll let me die quickly. As for your escape route, I believe my uncle has already prepared it for you. Am I right?"

Raji nodded to this while Rock applauded vigorously. The other kidnappers around them all looked with interest at this beautiful woman known for her beauty, intelligence, and wealth.

"Alright, I'm willing to give up the privileges. You'll need to collect my fingerprints, iris patterns, voice print, and also an account input method that I designed myself. I can provide all of these." Lina Fox seemed extremely cooperative.

This readiness was surprising, even the mentally unstable bandit leader, Rock, was puzzled and said, "I thought I would need to have a good 'chat' with Miss Fox before getting what I want."

"I don't want to be tortured or end up bloody. If I have to die, I want to die elegantly." Lina Fox spoke with extreme casualness, as if discussing a topic entirely unrelated to her life.

"Then I'm sure you have some other conditions," Raji said coldly.

"Of course I do. Verifying and modifying the super administrator privileges will take several hours. I hope that during this time, I can receive good treatment. Untie me, let me move freely, at least in a comfortable room, without too many guards."

Lina Fox put forward her requests. Rock pondered for a moment and looked at his brother Raji, who nodded slightly and said, "As long as she hands over the super administrator privileges, everything can be negotiated. As for guards, I'll personally keep an eye on her."

The manic-looking Rock had no objection to this and even applauded in celebration, "Great! I'm so glad we could reach an agreement so pleasantly. This makes things much easier. Miss Fox, would you like a drink? The police negotiation specialists have already arrived, and I'm sure they'd be happy to send over a bottle of wine."

"A bottle of wine is too meager. I need a luxurious feast as a memorial for my life. Tell the police I want New York's most famous Jean-Georges restaurant to prepare my last supper. I'm a super VIP there." Lina Fox said this with her head slightly raised, completely maintaining an elegant posture that showed no fear or panic in the face of danger.

However, Rock did not react to the mention of Jean-Georges' restaurant. He looked at his brother Raji. Raji pursed his lips and said, "That's a three-Michelin-star restaurant, one of the top restaurants in New York. Without a certain status, the maître d' won't even let you enter."

"Oh... it seems someone like me definitely couldn't get in." Rock clapped his hands and repeatedly muttered the name of the restaurant, indicating he had noted it down.

Then Lina Fox asked, "What about the police officer who protected me? How is he?"

Rock shook his head, seeming somewhat confused, and said, "That was just a rookie cop. I think I sent someone to deal with him in the underground parking lot. He should be dead by now!"

"Is that so... are you sure?" Lina Fox asked skeptically. "Don't you think you should confirm that again?"

"Thank you for reminding me." Rock stroked his full beard, grabbed the radio, and shouted, "Hey! John, how's the situation on your end? Is that little cop dead yet? Hey! John, answer quickly if you hear me. Hey... hey... hey!"

Rock called into the radio for quite a while, and finally, only a series of labored breathing sounds came through, accompanied by the sound of blood being spat out. It sounded somewhat spine-chilling, as if someone was on the verge of death, releasing a desperate breath.