Chapter: Chapter 346The door closed behind them with a resounding thud, sealing the room and leaving only Ethan, Lucas, and two of Ethan’s men inside.Ethan stared down at Lucas, his expression unreadable, his hands still clenched at his sides.Lucas was still on the ground, clutching his bleeding shoulder, his face pale and slick with sweat, his breathing labored.The bullet had torn through the fleshy part of his shoulder, just above his collarbone.He let out a bitter, breathless laugh, his head tilted back against the wall.“What now?” he rasped, his voice strained, mocking despite the pain. "Just kill me and let's get it over with, dimwit!"Ethan didn’t respond immediately.He simply stared at him, his gaze cold and unwavering.The silence was more threatening than any words could have been.Then, slowly, he stepped forward, his footsteps echoing in the empty room.Lucas’s eyes tracked his movement, his body tensing despite the pain.Then, Ethan crouched down in front of Lucas, bringing himself to
Last Updated: 2025-12-04
Chapter: Chapter 345Jessica flinched, her entire body going rigid as she braced for the end.But it didn’t come.Instead, she heard something clatter loudly against the concrete floor, the metallic sound echoing in the silence that followed.Her breath hitched, confusion flooding her mind.Before she could process it, two more shots rang out in rapid succession.She flinched violently, her body jerking against the ropes, her eyes squeezed shut so tight that her temples throbbed.Her heart pounded so hard she could hear it in her ears, drowning out everything else."What’s happening? Am I dead? Is this what death feels like? Is this the afterlife?" The irrational and desperate thoughts flickered through her mind, born from the chaos swirling around her.Maybe the sounds she was hearing—the clatter, the gunshots, the ringing in her ears—were just her mind’s desperate attempt to hold onto existence. Maybe she was imagining what she wanted to be true.That somehow, miraculously, she was still alive.That som
Last Updated: 2025-12-03
Chapter: Chapter 344Lucas spread his arms, his smirk lingering as his eyes sweept over her tied form with cold satisfaction. "And now, you have my full attention."Jessica’s mind raced, until everything clicked into place for her.The burglary. The timing. The execution.It hadn’t been random.Lucas had sent them.He’d orchestrated the whole thing—had them hit every apartment in the building just to make it look like a regular break-in, to steal her evidence without raising suspicion.And then he’d dangled bait in front of her—the promise of new information, a lifeline when she was drowning in desperation.And she’d taken it.She’d walked straight into his trap."How could I have been so stupid?" Her fist clenched as she thought.Lucas tilted his head as if he could read every thought racing through her mind.Her gaze remained locked on his when she asked him what he wanted from her.Lucas chuckled. "What do I want?” He stepped closer, his footsteps echoing against the concrete floor.He crouched down i
Last Updated: 2025-12-02
Chapter: Chapter 343The air was thick with the smell of damp concrete and stale oil.Jessica’s eyes fluttered open slowly, her vision swimming in and out of focus. Everything was blurred, shapes and shadows merging into one another like a half-remembered dream.Her head throbbed, making it hard for her to think.She tried to move her hands, but they didn't respond because her wrists were bound, tied tightly to the arms of a chair.Panic flickered weakly in her chest, but her body felt too heavy, too sluggish to react.Her ankles were tied too—strapped to the legs of the chair.She blinked slowly, trying to force her vision to clear, to make sense of where she was.The room around her was dim, lit only by a single overhead bulb that cast uneven light across cracked concrete walls. The space was small, windowless, with exposed pipes running along the ceiling and a heavy metal door at the far end.She couldn’t tell if it was a basement or some kind of utility area, but she was certain it was underground.
Last Updated: 2025-12-01
Chapter: Chapter 342The location was an abandoned transit maintenance yard on the outskirts of the city.However, she found no one as she looked around.Just shadows.Her breath misted in the cold air as she walked deeper into the yard, her footsteps crunching softly against gravel.“Hello?” she called out, her voice tentative.After getting no response, she sent a message to the person, asking where they were and letting them know she’d arrived.The reply came almost right away.The person told her they were behind a bus frame on the east side.With that, she moved in that direction, weaving between the skeletal remains of old buses and machinery.The shadows grew thicker, the light from the distant streetlamps barely penetrating this far.And then she saw a figure, who was standing in the darkness, partially obscured by the frame of a gutted bus. It was obvious the person was a male from his build.He had on a dark hoodie with the hood pulled down low, covering most of his face, and hi
Last Updated: 2025-11-30
Chapter: Chapter 341The day had been nothing short of catastrophic for Jessica.She sat on the floor of her ransacked apartment, her back pressed against the overturned sofa, her knees drawn up to her chest. Around her were her drawers, which had been yanked open and emptied, her cushions slashed, and her other belongings scattered like debris after a storm.Three burglars had hit the entire apartment building while most residents were out during the day. They’d been efficient, and brutal. Every unit had been stripped clean.And she had lost almost everything.Her laptop. Her camera equipment. The jewelry Ethan had gotten her, which she’d been saving to wear for something special. All the other nice things he’d bought her, and more.All of them were gone.But none of that mattered.Not compared to what else they’d taken.Her investigation files.Every single hard copy. Every document, every photograph, every handwritten note she’d compiled over months.All of it had been stuffed into a leather messeng
Last Updated: 2025-11-30
