Chapter 183

Chapter 184

Savannah said she wanted to talk to me. I thought it was just talk.

But the next day, I received an anonymous package.

No sender information, just my name and address.

I opened it to find a clear sealed bag with shredded paper inside.

I dumped out the bag and tried to piece it together - it was a photo.

It was my photo, cut into tiny pieces with scissors, then put in a bag and mailed to me.

At the bottom of the bag was a note with just one line of handwriting, very neat:

["Get out of the country if you know what's good for you. This man is mine."]

I stared at that line for a few seconds, just thinking how childish it was.

She couldn't have him, and it wasn't my fault, yet she blamed me for it. What a psycho.

I thought it was just Savannah playing a prank and didn't take her or this seriously.

But soon after, another package came. James received this one.

"Sophia, your package."

He handed me the box. I cut it open with a knife and opened it.

My hand got cut by razor blades inside the box. The box was empty except for blades glued all around the inside.

I held my bleeding, trembling hand: "Who would do this?"

That person must have investigated me; how would they know how important my hands are to me, deliberately sending this package to cut me.

James grabbed the first aid kit the moment I got cut. He led me to sit on the couch and cleaned and bandaged my wound.

"The cut is pretty deep. I'll do basic treatment first, then we'll go to the hospital."

I nodded.

"Do you know who sent this package?"

I nodded. I knew exactly who did it.

James looked up at me, as if asking who.

I pressed my lips together: "Remember that Savannah who hit on you at the party a few days ago?"

"She already sent me a package before, with a photo of me torn to pieces."

"Warning me to know my place, leave the country right away, and stop clinging to you."

"I didn't take it seriously. Who knew she'd be this crazy and send me razor blades?"

"Savannah." The name came out of his mouth with a chill.

He took me to the hospital to treat the wound and told his assistant to investigate Savannah.

After finding out about her, he wanted to deal with Savannah himself, but I stopped him: "Revenge is only satisfying when you do it yourself."

I took Savannah's number that his assistant found and called her directly.

She answered quickly, her voice cheerful: "Ms. Brown? Faster than I expected."

"Where are you?"

She gave me an address.

"Come on over. Let's talk face to face."

When I arrived, Savannah was already there.

She'd chosen a café in a private club, elegantly decorated, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a forest.

The place was very secluded, hard to find for most people, and expensive.

Two men in black stood at the entrance - her bodyguards.

Such a big show for meeting me, you'd think I was some dangerous criminal.

She sat behind a coffee table, making coffee with smooth, practiced movements.

Seeing me enter, she lifted her chin, gesturing for me to sit across from her.

I sat down across from her.

She pushed a cup of coffee toward me, smiling: "Try it, just shipped from abroad."

I didn't touch the coffee. I threw the clear bag containing the shredded photo and the box full of blades onto the coffee table.

She glanced down and laughed: "Ms. Brown, what's this supposed to mean?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're bringing me a bunch of trash and asking me what I mean? How should I know what it means?"

She picked up her coffee cup, took a sip, and set it down slowly.

"You did all this."

"Yes, Ms. Brown, so you figured it out." She looked regretful. "Too bad, I wanted to play a bit longer."

I confronted her directly: "You did this because of James?"

She looked at me, her gaze frank, "That's right. I like James. I want him."

"Unfortunately, he likes you. I wanted you to back off on your own, but you wouldn't, so I have to use my own methods to make you leave."

I said nothing.

She continued: "I looked into it. You're divorced. You're only close to him now because he saved you, but you have no relationship anymore, right?"

"So?"

"So please know your place and stay away from him." She put down her coffee cup. "Whatever compensation you need, name your price."

"House, car, or money - anything works. Five million? Ten million? Just name it, I won't haggle."

I looked at her.

She was young, beautiful, from a good family, and used to getting whatever she wanted.

I smiled slightly: "Ms. Faith, you might have gotten something wrong."

She raised an eyebrow.

I continued: "Love can't be forced. Whether he likes you has nothing to do with how great you are or how good your family is."

"Trying to buy me off with money or scare me with threats won't work. You'd be better off spending that energy on him."

Her smile faded a bit: "Is Ms. Brown trying to tell me what to do?"

"I'm just telling you how to win a man's heart."

She stared at me for a few seconds, her expression shifting, then suddenly laughed: "You're really interesting."

She stood up, walked to the window, turned around with her back to it, and her expression changed - turned cold.

"I wanted to negotiate nicely with you, give you some dignity, let you take the money, and leave with your head held high. But since you won't appreciate it, don't blame me."

She clapped her hands.

The café door was pushed open from the outside. The two men in black walked in.

I stood up.

Savannah looked at me, smiling brightly, but her eyes were cold.

"Ms. Brown, please cooperate and stay here for a few days."

"What do you want?"

"What I want is none of your business. You should worry about your own safety."

"This is a society ruled by law. If you do anything crazy, you'll be severely punished."

"Don't worry, I won't do anything illegal. It's just..." She walked back and sat behind the coffee table, pouring herself another cup of coffee. "I want to see James, and I'm just borrowing you for that."

"James cares about you, but avoids me like the plague. I can only use you to get James to come chat with me."

"If he comes and talks to me nicely, then we'll have no problem. But if he doesn't—"

She took a sip of coffee without finishing.

I understood.

She wanted to use me to force James to comply.

"He won't agree," I said. "It's such an obvious trap. Someone as smart as him will definitely see through it."

Savannah smiled: "Won't know unless we try, right?"

She picked up her phone, dialed a number, and put it on speaker.

The phone rang twice before someone answered.

"Mr. Smith, Ms. Brown is here having coffee with me. Want to come join us?"