Livid Guardian's Endless Coddling

"Five plus Jasper Madison." Aria relayed the information she gathered.

"Ms.Stephen is beaten. She seems to be dizzy." Levi relayed.

"Local thugs with ordinary daggers." Nathan scanned the warehouse from a higher level without finding much danger.

Alan was sure Aria alone could take all of them down but the chances of holding Roxy as a hostage were high hence direct attack was risky.

"I will go in..." Aria hadn't finished, two voices sounded cold, "No" Their backup was yet to come, how could Levi, Alan let her go. Nathan wanted to say, 'Let young madam President talk.'

Aria breathed in and out slowly and again started explaining, "Jasper Madison is calling me but I had blocked his number so I didn't get the ringtone. He had sent me the location which I checked now. He is asking only my presence so you guys..."

Aria cleanly explained every move on how to handle the situation which they heard completely and patiently. The disadvantage of the situation is Alan and Aria didn't have their handgun which they could have used for threatening to solve it quickly.

---

After ten minutes,

All heard a car screeching to stop in front of the warehouse and Jasper started laughing looking at Aria walking towards them alone. "Check if anybody else is around." He ordered while his tone carried a sense of fulfillment.

Levi flexed his fingers going towards the car while two men ran out to check around. Aria guessed that would happen so it wasn't surprising.

Aria's eyes slowly scanned the huge warehouse filled with an old and worn out pile of boxes as her gaze moved behind Jasper where Alan sleekly jumped in without much noise. These local thugs were left-hand game for both Levi and Nathan. Alan could play them like mice. Aria is strong enough to win on them due to her training. Hence they couldn't understand what gave the guts to Jasper Madison to play this.

Levi held one's neck in the dark before twisting his head forcefully which died down any noise he could create. Pulling the body aside. He saw another silhouette checking in the car.

That man spoke after inspecting the car, "Let's go" then he turned to go inside. He was right in front of the warehouse which was visible to insiders so Levi couldn't attack directly.

Hearing no response from another fella, he called him, "Brawl?"

Spinning the water bottle he was thrown away by that man while inspecting the car, Levi started pouring on the grass which gave the sound as he was pissing so the man shook his head and went inside as he sneering, "If you can't hold so much beer, why do you even drink?"

Levi updated, "Minus one."

Alan's voice sounded, "Position."

Nathan, "I am ready."

Aria's smirk died down on her lips and her poker face didn't change. One thing was sure, they wouldn't kill her which would get them nothing. They could only take Roxy as a hostage but they had no idea Roxy was a brown belt in Judo. But the question is, was she beaten down or is she planning something?

Aria's emotionless, overbearing tone sounded awfully cold, "Are you really her father?"

Roxy brows furrowed and she turned around to see Aria walking inside. "Are you out of your mind? What are you doing here?"

Alan wanted to go to Roxy and give across her face for raising her tone and for foolishly scolding Aria. Anyway, he controlled it. Nathan's lips were twitching uncontrollably hearing it. Whereas Aria's face deadpanned looking at Roxy's cue.

Jasper or his men had a handgun hence Roxy was silently sitting. Aria quickly cued in her palm towards Nathan who could see her clearly.

Nathan: "They have a firearm. Change in plans."

Levi heard it and quickly sneaked inside if in case they tried to harm Aria. Alan instructed hiding, being utmost careful to avoid making any noises: "Locate the firearm."

Aria didn't play along with Roxy, "This man spammed my inbox and call log to bring me here." Then her eyes moved to Jasper as she tried to find who is having the firearm or where the firearm is but she couldn't get. "What do you want?"

Jasper wanted to laugh at her for coming alone and unarmed to save his daughter, "She and daughter? This wretched daughter doesn't care about her parents. it's better off dead than seeing her alive."

Roxy lowered the head biting her lips. 

-- An hour earlier --

Roxy wanted to let him guard down hence she behaved weak and fragile as if asking his protection and help but she was unaware when to play weak and when to be strong. With the fact that she loathed her father to the core, her acting was worse than what she expected it to be.

Entering his warehouse, "Dad... Dad..." She was forcefully looking like she was helpless, "Somebody is trying to kidnap us, help us... Dad..."

Jasper was elated looking at her arrival. He grabbed the fist full-on hair pulling her up from the ground, his hand swung fiercely and slapped her harder.

Due to the strong impact, Roxy was thrown to the ground before she even got a chance to retaliate. Covering her left cheeks, her eyes automatically filled up due to the stinging pain. She couldn't believe her father wanted her as a money sourcing machine only.

The little guilt she had for avoiding her father all these years vanished just like that. In a fit of rage, she stood up, used her judo skills, and flipped him on the ground in the blink of an eye.

'Ahh!' Jasper groaned in pain laying on the floor. Roxy was quick to grab the knife on the table and she was ready to stab him.

'Snap'

A bullet pierced through in the air. Due to her hand motion, just by a millisecond, the bullet missed her hand and hit the knife causing her to drop it away by the impact.

She was shaking her palm turning to see who was wielding the handgun but Jasper held her hair and slammed her head on the table.

Her vision became blurry and her limbs started to miss the balance. She wanted to hold the table but her pain shot her nerves and she lost consciousness.

---

Roxy woke up before ten minutes to Aria's arrival and she was planning how to tame Jasper who was stressed out calling Aria again and again just to hear a busy tone because of the number block.

Now she regretted going alone while Aria was standing alone with her life in danger. The first task is to find who was wielding the gun and she was sure that only one man had a gun.

Aria walked ahead with her pressing gaze on Jasper who scoffed, "You girls are only useful if I sell you off to a businessman in the name of marriage. This wench boyfriend is rich but she isn't helping me out. What is the use of growing her so old?"

Aria chuckled scornfully without a hint of warmth or respect in her eyes. "Why? Didn't your illegal bastards help you that you need a woman to survive in the world?"

Alan's deep low warning rang in her ear indicating her to stop provoking Jasper, "Aria."

Jasper rage shot up and slammed his palm on the table, "You loose-tongued rascal, don't you dare play tricks here."

Roxy questioned unemotionally, "So how many do I have bastard half brothers?"

Aria responded glaring at Jasper which wasn't guilty instead, he looked proud for having sons. "Four..." Jasper's face turned blank thinking how Aria knew about them. Aria continued, "Elder one is in country F flirting with random girls instead of attending college..."

Aria noticed a slight tremble in Jasper but she didn't stop as her hands cued to Nathan to watch out every goon's reaction. "Second one is as the name says, a bastard who is a toy of a sugar mommy."

"Aria!" Jasper roared but he failed to notice Aria writing on Roxy's back with her finger. She knew well if she controls Jasper, others will target Roxy so to keep both safe, Roxy must be informed earlier before her move.

While everyone's eyes were on Aria and Jasper, Nathan instructed, "Levi, 130 degrees left three foot."

Levi was like a tiger who got the prey and its position. Right after the command from Nathan, he moved swiftly and locked the voice box of the man to avoid him making noise and pulled him away from the view of everyone.

Aria heard them but continued to instruct Roxy while her gaze didn't leave Jasper who was seething in anger so much that he wanted to shred her into pieces for knowing about his sons. Now he was slightly afraid of what if Aria does something to them.

"Third one is in school who is as stupid as his father and just knows to snore on the desk and get scolded." What does Jasper think of Aria? She and Alan let him off without hurting him because he was instigated by Terrence Morse and most importantly he was the father of Roxy.

They didn't want anything to sound like the Cooper family - Scarlett's family and Morgan's family, Roxy's in-law family destroyed the Madison family. Wouldn't that make it family destroying their relatives?

Hence they feigned ignorance about Jasper's attempt to kidnap Aria when she was in school. Now it was negligible and it didn't matter at all. 

But sometimes fools don't understand mercy and forgiveness and keep digging the grave deeper and deeper thinking the opposition is an idiot and doesn't know anything.

Now it was time to end everything. Clean and tidy.