The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era-Chapter 439 - 438 Kidnapped

Thwack.

Shen Mingzhu awoke amidst a sharp pain.

Before her consciousness fully returned, another slap landed, causing stars to burst before her eyes.

Instinctively wanting to retaliate, she found her hands unable to move—looking down, she saw her limbs were bound to a post with ropes.

She turned her head, and caught sight of Sun Feifei’s contemptuously mocking face, her gaze filled with malice and spite.

Panic and fear uncontrollably surged from the depths of Shen Mingzhu’s heart.

In both her lives combined, she’d never encountered such a vicious incident.

Could she not escape the fate of the supporting female character, and was today the day her life would end here?

If she died, Pei Yang, still so young, would surely marry a new wife.

And she wondered if her Ziheng and Guoguo would be mistreated by their stepmother.

In just a brief moment, many thoughts raced through Shen Mingzhu’s mind, her emotions somewhat beyond her control.

"You’re scared now? Too late!"

Seeing her cry, Sun Feifei thought she was afraid, her expression indescribably smug and thrilled.

"Sun Feifei, I can give you money, just name your price," Shen Mingzhu forced herself to calm down.

She couldn’t die.

If she died, her man, children, and vast family wealth would fall into the hands of another woman for nothing.

Sun Feifei viciously pinched her chin, "That day when I begged you, had you been willing to let me off, I wouldn’t be in your hands today!"

"Hmm, you’re right, it’s my fault for not knowing better. How about this, I’ll drop the charges, you let me go, and we’ll call it even," Shen Mingzhu responded to Sun Feifei while her eyes secretly scanned the surroundings, seeking a way to escape.

Sun Feifei raised her hand and slapped her once more.

Shen Mingzhu took the opportunity to stumble backward, appearing clumsily weak on one hand, while also using it as a chance to better survey her environment.

Clay walls, old-fashioned wooden lattice windows, wooden rafters, and a ceiling that hadn’t been suspended—light leaked from all sides.

It must be a rural old house that hadn’t been lived in for a long time.

Sun Feifei daring to tie her up here meant the area was probably rarely trodden by others, which was bad news.

It was broad daylight, and Sun Feifei couldn’t possibly have carried her here on foot, which meant there had to be a vehicle outside—good news.

...

"Where’s President Shen?"

Upon returning to the factory, Pei Yang found it strange not to see Shen Mingzhu in the office.

Shen Mingzhu usually worked in the factory in the morning and would only go out in the afternoon.

"President Shen has gone out. It seems like Ziheng was hurt at school."

Hearing that his son was injured, Pei Yang immediately grabbed his car keys and headed to Nanming.

Arriving at the school, Pei Yang’s first instinct was to head for the medical room, thinking his son would be there for treatment if he was hurt.

But upon reaching the medical room, there was no trace of the mother and child.

Asking the school doctor revealed that no student had been injured today.

Pei Yang had a bad feeling, and he began to run at full speed towards the classrooms.

When he reached Pei Ziheng’s class, glancing through the window to see Pei Ziheng sitting calmly in the second row, Pei Yang’s heart inexplicably panicked, and he blurted out Ziheng’s name.

Pei Ziheng turned his head, surprised to see Pei Yang outside the window.

The teacher wasn’t angry at Pei Yang for interrupting the class; instead, he voluntarily let Pei Ziheng go out.

Parents who could raise a prodigy like Pei Ziheng deserved their respect and exception.

"Dad, why are you here?"

"Where’s your mom?"

Confusion filled Pei Ziheng’s pretty and delicate face, "Didn’t mom go to work?"

Pei Ziheng had left home late that morning and hadn’t ridden his bike but had been driven to school by Shen Mingzhu.

He mistakenly thought that after sending him off, Shen Mingzhu hadn’t gone to the factory to work.

At this point, Pei Yang also realized that it was a waste of time to ask his son about his daughter-in-law’s whereabouts; he dropped the words, "You just focus on your studies," and then turned and ran off.

Pei Ziheng, sharp and clever as he was, felt that something was off, even though Pei Yang hadn’t said anything.

He immediately left the classroom to ask for leave.

"Dad!"

Seeing Pei Ziheng running out from the school gate, Pei Yang’s thick eyebrows knitted together in worry, "Why are you running out here instead of attending class?"

Pei Ziheng didn’t answer but directly got into the back seat of the car.

Seeing this, Pei Yang didn’t waste words and started the car, driving away from the school.

"Dad, did something happen to Mom?"

"No, don’t think too much," Pei Yang’s brow betrayed his barely concealed anxiety.

"If you don’t tell me, I’ll go find Aunt Qingqing and Aunt Susu!"

Pei Yang glared at him and could only recount how Shen Mingzhu had received a fake phone call.

"Your mom might have gone somewhere else."

In comforting his son, he was also comforting himself.

His wife was smart and wise; she must be fine.

She definitely must be fine.

Learning that Shen Mingzhu had been tricked out of the factory by a fake phone call, Pei Ziheng’s face instantly became covered with concern for Shen Mingzhu.

"Dad, let’s go to the police!"

Pei Yang hesitated; after all, he was still not certain whether his wife was in danger.

"It’s best if Mom is fine, but what if some bad people have taken her? Every second we delay, Mom is in more danger!"

That made sense.

Pei Yang turned the car around towards the police station.

However, the police station refused to file a report since she hadn’t been missing for over 24 hours.

Pei Yang had no choice but to drive back to the factory, secretly hoping that Shen Mingzhu had already returned.

Back at the factory, when they saw that Shen Mingzhu had not returned, father and son each called relatives and friends to inquire, but they found no news of Shen Mingzhu after a full round of calls.

Pei Yang called Pei Qiuxia into the office to ask in detail what Shen Mingzhu had said before she left, trying to find clues.

"President Shen said that Ziheng was injured, and she needed to go to the hospital."

"Which hospital?"

"President Shen didn’t say." Pei Qiuxia looked at the father and son, her face a mix of confusion and tension, "Is something wrong?"

Pei Yang didn’t answer but gathered all the office and workshop staff who could leave their posts, assigning each person a different area to go out and search for Shen Mingzhu.

The reason was that there was an urgent matter that required Shen Mingzhu’s immediate attention.

"Whoever finds President Shen first gets a reward of a hundred bucks."

The employees, as if adrenaline-fueled, swarmed out of the factory.

Pei Yang took the car keys, ready to leave to search as well, but Pei Ziheng grabbed the hem of his clothing, "Dad, let’s go find Aunt Qingqing."

...

"Shen Mingzhu, do you think if I ruined your face, those men would still give you a second glance?"

Shen Mingzhu stared at the cold knife blade approaching her, fear evident in her eyes, "Sun Feifei, calm down, we can talk this out. Think about it, you’re so young and beautiful, you have plenty of assets, you shouldn’t fear not having another chance to rise. Why would you ruin your great future over someone as insignificant as me?"

Slap!

Shen Mingzhu couldn’t remember how many slaps she had endured, with both cheeks burning in pain.

She didn’t need a mirror to imagine how dreadful she must look.

"You’ve already ruined my life!"

Sun Feifei suddenly let out a bizarre laugh, "So, I have to ruin you too. Shen Mingzhu, I will make you wish you were dead to ease the hatred in my heart."

After speaking, Sun Feifei rose to her feet and called towards the door, "Come in!"

Upon her words, two strange men, one after another, walked in.