Everyone, Get Out of My Way!

Ring, ring—ring, ring—

Just as the time came, the phone rang again.

"Hello! How is my sister?" Prepared in advance, Ayako's act was even more convincing this time.

"Hehe, Ms. Ayako, you didn't call the police, did you?" the voice changer asked.

"I didn't!" Shiraishi had warned Ayako long ago that the other party might probe her on this matter, so she immediately denied it.

"That's for the best... Bring the money and your phone to Beika Park," the voice changer threatened.

"Let me hear my sister first... Hello? Hello?" Hearing that the other party had already hung up, Ayako looked at Shiraishi in confusion.

This was also something Shiraishi had told her to say beforehand. On one hand, it showed concern and prevented the fake hostage identity from being exposed. On the other, it was meant to buy time and lock onto the signal. But the other party had given them no opportunity at all.

"Beika Park... It really is a good place to collect ransom." Shiraishi muttered, then immediately notified the station to deploy plainclothes officers at Beika Park.

The park's terrain was open, and there were many elderly people and children. Even if they were discovered, the police would not dare use firearms there, making escape relatively easy.

"Officer Shiraishi, you aren't seriously planning to have my daughter deliver the ransom, are you?" Tomoko asked coldly.

"Well..."

Before Shiraishi could say anything, Ayako volunteered, "I can do it! Mom, this isn't because of Shiraishi... It's because... there's a girl in the kidnappers' hands. I can't just stand by and do nothing!"

"You..." Tomoko glared furiously. Her eldest daughter had always been obedient—whose fault was this?

Then Ayako got up to lift the bag containing three hundred million yen...

Lift, lift, lift...

It was rather difficult!

Even after barely dragging up the shoulder bag, she could hardly walk with it. After all, the three hundred million yen and the bag together weighed over thirty kilograms.

For Suzuki Ayako, whose usual exercise consisted of yoga, it was simply too heavy!

Seeing this, Suzuki Shiro put on a stern expression and said manfully, "Ayako... I'll do it!"

As he spoke, Shiro gestured and patted his daughter, then stepped forward himself... Lift, lift, lift...

Shiraishi, Ayako, Tomoko, Sonoko: ...

You'll do it? You really shouldn't have!

Your stamina is even worse than Ayako's!

Sonoko wanted to step forward and try as well, but Tomoko directly pulled her away...

"Move!" Tomoko shoved her husband aside impatiently and lifted the bag herself.

Tomoko worked out. Though she did not train her muscles, her stamina was clearly better than that of her twenty-four-year-old daughter and her pudgy, overweight husband.

Although thirty kilograms was not easy for her either, and her body swayed when she swung it onto her right shoulder, she could at least walk with it!

"The phone!" Tomoko held out her left hand toward Ayako.

"This..." Seeing this, Ayako immediately hesitated—her going was one thing, but her mother going was entirely another.

"I put a listening device on the phone, and there's a tracker in the bag as well," Shiraishi said directly to Suzuki Tomoko.

Shiraishi would personally track her!

"Stop nagging. It's only three hundred million yen. No need to track it—just exchange it for that little brat!" Tomoko declared boldly.

"No, the tracker isn't only for the ransom's safety. It's also to prevent the kidnappers from breaking their word." Shiraishi shook his head. This was not a matter of being unconcerned about money.

"Mom... Kuro! You absolutely have to protect Mom!" Ayako urged Shiraishi.

"That's right, don't worry too much about the ransom. Just protect Tomoko... and that girl," Shiro hurriedly told Shiraishi as well.

"Brother-in-law... Ahem, Officer Shiraishi, remember, Mom's safety is the most important thing!" Sonoko let it slip, earning a glare from Tomoko.

"Don't worry! I will prioritize protecting Mrs. Suzuki," Shiraishi said solemnly.

It was not merely a matter of influence...

From the ethical standpoint of the case, protecting Suzuki Tomoko was the most important thing as well. This had nothing to do with her in the first place. The kidnapped girl was not even a member of the Suzuki family, and Tomoko's current actions were voluntary cooperation with the police.

Afterward, Suzuki Tomoko drove away openly through the front gate, while Shiraishi climbed out the window, scaled the wall, and got into his car to tail Suzuki Tomoko while scouting along the way!

Of course, Shiraishi was not the only one...

The plainclothes police cars from Beika Police Station had already deployed in full force, "lying in wait" around Suzuki Sonoko's villa. Some had headed to Beika Park ahead of time, while others began following Suzuki Tomoko's car from a distance after it appeared. To avoid alerting the enemy, they did not follow directly behind her; based on her location, they tailed her from across a street or an intersection away.

The only one tracking her directly by sight was Shiraishi Kuro's car.

Not long afterward, Tomoko arrived at Beika Park as agreed. To avoid provoking the kidnappers, the public had not been evacuated from the park, though many plainclothes officers had already blended in.

At that moment, the phone Tomoko was carrying rang again, and Shiraishi immediately listened in.

"Hello, where are you?"

"Hm? Why did you switch to someone older?"

Tomoko: ...

A vein immediately throbbed on Tomoko's forehead. After restraining herself again and again, she said, "I'm Suzuki Tomoko! You... where is my daughter?"

Although the person carrying the ransom had changed into the "mother," the kidnappers did not care about such details. They even thought someone older would be easier to control!

"After you enter the park..." the kidnappers instructed.

They directed Tomoko to a bench along a secluded path. Since it was far from the park plaza and there were few people around, the plainclothes officers did not follow closely.

Shiraishi was still in his car, circling the road around the park. If anything happened, he could vault the wall and run over, reaching Suzuki Tomoko's current location in thirty seconds!

"I don't care what those police officers told you."

"From now on, you must follow my instructions. Otherwise, I won't just kill your daughter—I'll kill your whole family!"

"Now... after reading the instructions under the bench you're sitting on, go pay the money in the restroom on the second floor of the park service station."

Through the voice changer, the kidnappers arrogantly threatened Suzuki Tomoko.

The more Shiraishi listened, the more he felt...

These kidnappers were probably not very old!

Kill Suzuki Tomoko's whole family?

Did they know how many enemies the Suzuki Group had? If it were that easy, would it be their turn to do it?

They thought they had kidnapped "Suzuki Sonoko," yet they only wanted three hundred million yen. That also made them seem rather small-time...

Shiraishi estimated that they were not formidable robbers at all, merely a group of street punks!

However...

That did not mean they could relax, because these little brats had even less sense of proportion. Their methods might be crude, but their actions were more unpredictable than those of genuine hardened criminals!

"Mrs. Suzuki has entered the park service station..."

Gen's voice came through the police radio's public channel.

"Follow her in!"

Shiraishi and an unfamiliar voice gave the order at the same time...