Chapter 66
Chapter 66
The maid held the vibrant, stunning bouquet of red roses. She muttered to herself as she walked out, “Such a shame to throw away such beautiful flowers.”
Looking up, the maid was startled to see a man standing before her with an impassive expression. She stammered, “M-Mr. Jenkins…”
Xavier’s lips curled into a gentle smile as he asked, “Who told you to throw these flowers away?”
The maid hesitated and stammered, “I-It was Ms. Emily Harper.”
When he heard it was Emily who gave the order, Xavier chuckled. ‘I wondered why it was so easy to win her over, he thought. “Turns out she was just putting on an act for me. Looks like I’ll have to step up my game!
With a calm smile, Xavier handed over the phone he’d been holding. “Please give this to Ms. Harper. She left it in my car.”
He glanced at the flowers in the maid’s hands and said with a gentle smile, “Don’t tell Ms. Harper I saw you about to throw them away.”
*****
Emily’s life had settled into a steady routine. She worked on time every day, politely fended off Xavier’s advances, and occasionally visited the hospital to check on Charles.
During her last visit to the Bennett residence, Charles became so emotionally distressed that it affected his health. Since then, he had been resting and recovering. To ease his mind, Emily began visiting more often, sharing only good news and keeping her worries to herself.
As usual, Emily left the hospital and headed around back to catch her bus. The moment she rounded the corner, a shadowy figure suddenly lunged at her from the alleyway.
After two years at St. Gabriel Reform Academy, Emily’s instincts for danger had become sharper than she thought. She spun around instantly, ready to flee.
But before she could run, someone suddenly emerged from behind, pressing a white cloth firmly over her mouth and nose.
Emily’s nostrils were hit with that familiar, sickening chemical stench. A pounding dizziness crashed into her head as she thrashed wildly, but her strength quickly drained, and everything went dark.
The two men who had suddenly appeared glanced around warily. Then they quickly dragged Emily into a van that looked like it had been parked there for ages.
Emily had no idea how long she’d been unconscious. Even in her dreams, that familiar, pungent smell clung to her. It was a nightmare she couldn’t escape.
Suddenly, a splash of icy water doused Emily’s head, jolting her awake from unconsciousness. She gasped violently for air, and the acrid stench from her nightmare still stubbornly clung to her nostrils.
In her life, spanning over two decades, Emily had only been drugged twice: once now, and once during her first year at St. Gabriel Reform Academy. Back then, a teacher manipulated her and handed her over to a client’s hidden lair.
Though she had eventually escaped, the sharp chemical stench and the dark, grinning mask lingered in her mind like a nightmare.
“Are you deaf? I’m talking to you!” Kyle, who had just splashed water on Emily, tossed the bowl aside, grabbed her by the
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Chapter 66
hair, and yanked her head up to face him.
It took a moment for Emily to regain her senses. She seemed to be in a dilapidated factory, cluttered with debris. The air was heavy with the musty, stale smell of long disuse.
Other than a seven-foot-high square window and a loosely shut iron door, there was no other way in or out.