Chapter 16
That afternoon, while Cecilia was struggling through a patent document filled with technical jargon, an unfamiliar number called.
It was her mother, Paula.
"Cece," her mother's voice was uncharacteristically gentle, even somewhat cautiously ingratiating, "I was cleaning the house the other day and found more of Winston's childhood things, including some photo albums he loved. Could you... come by sometime to pick them up?"
Winston's photo albums.
Cecilia bit her lip. "I'm really busy right now."
"Even busy people need to eat and rest," her mother's voice softened further. "Just come for dinner. I made that chicken soup you love, to help you regain your strength. You look so worn out lately..."
"...Fine." She finally relented.
That evening, Cecilia returned to her old home. Paula greeted her with an eager smile and ushered her inside.
"Sit down. The soup will be ready soon."
Cecilia sat on the sofa, her eyes searching around the room.
"Mom, where are the things?"
"What's the rush?" Paula brought over a glass of water and set it in front of her. "Have some water first. The items are stored in the bedroom cabinet. I'll get them for you after you drink."
Cecilia was indeed thirsty. She picked up the glass and drank most of it. The water tasted strange, and as she set the glass down, she felt her eyelids growing heavy.
Something was wrong.
"Mom... what did you..."
With her last bit of strength, she opened her phone to her pinned contact and typed: [Help!]
The moment after she sent it, the world went black.
---
Cecilia didn't know how much time had passed when she finally came to.
With effort, she lifted her heavy eyelids to see her stepbrother Tanner, a man named Ian Johnson who had previously tried to drug her, and her stepfather, Tanner's dad.
They still hadn't given up on the idea of selling her!
"Mr. Johnson, sure, my sister was Edward Clifford's plaything for a while, but so what? The important thing is her figure, her face..."
Ian's leering gaze crawled over Cecilia like a sticky fly. "Not bad at all. There's a reason I've been thinking about her. But since she's not a virgin, the price has to come down... five hundred grand. For secondhand goods, that's generous."
"Five hundred grand?" Tanner exclaimed. "Mr. Johnson, this is Edward Clifford's woman! Even if Edward's tired of her now, she once had that status. Taking her out would make you shine in your social circle! At least... at least this much!" He held up three fingers.
"Three million? Have you lost your damn mind?" Ian spat out his drink.
Cecilia lay on the cold floor, listening to them haggle over her price, feeling her blood turn to ice.
Was she really destined to be sold off like this?
"I don't care who she belonged to!" Ian cut her off impatiently. "Fifty hundred grand, cash. What if Edward comes looking? Who's going to clean up that mess? I'm taking the risk here, so that's my price. Take it or leave it—if you don't want to sell, I'm out."
Ian made as if to get up.
Tanner watched this charade, calculating in his mind.
Offending Edward for a mere fifty thousand wasn't worth it.
His eyes shifted as he thought of Samuel.
Samuel had more money than Ian and was head over heels for Cecilia. Wouldn't he pay more?
With this in mind, Tanner made his move. "Mr. Johnson, why the hurry? My sister's all tied up, but she's got a fierce temper. I'm worried she might hurt you. Let me go to the bathroom and get a towel to gag her properly. Just wait a moment."
With this excuse, he slipped into the bathroom and immediately dialed Samuel's number.
The call was answered almost instantly.
"Tanner?"
"Mr. Hughes! Help! My sister, Cecilia... that monster of a mother sold her!"
"What did you say?" Samuel's voice instantly changed.
"It's true! They drugged her and are selling her to some nouveau riche called Ian Johnson! I tried to stop them, but they locked me up! Mr. Hughes, there are too many of them, I can't fight them. You're her only hope now!"
He quickly hung up, sent the location, and returned to the living room with his sycophantic smile firmly in place.
In the living room, Ian was growing impatient. He'd sent the others away and was approaching Cecilia, rubbing his hands together.
"Beautiful, stop playing dead. Come with me, and I'll make sure you want for nothing."
Just as Ian's greasy hand was about to touch her face, Cecilia used all her strength to roll to the side.
The back of her head hit the corner of the coffee table hard. The pain nearly blacked her out, but it gave her a moment's freedom of movement.
Ian was stunned, not expecting the drugged Cecilia to still have the strength to resist. He leered and lunged again. "Feisty! I like that!"
As his heavy body came down on her, Cecilia curled up, grabbed an ashtray with her bound hands, and smashed it against his approaching head!
"My head! You bitch! You dare hit me!"
Blood streamed down Ian's temple.
Tanner and Paula, who rushed in at the sound, were stunned.
"How dare you!" Paula was the first to react, lunging to grab Cecilia's hair. "You worthless girl! How dare you hurt Mr. Johnson!"
At that moment, the already weakened door was kicked open from outside.
Samuel stood in the doorway, his chest heaving.
He took in the scene at a glance.
A bloody-faced fat man, the panicked Tanner family, and... Cecilia, bound on the floor, clothes disheveled, blood at the corner of her mouth.
"Cecilia!"
Tanner was the first to approach, grabbing Samuel's leg and wailing: "Mr. Hughes, thank God you're here! Look what they did to us..."
Samuel rushed straight to Cecilia's side and quickly untied the ropes binding her hands and feet.
The moment the ropes came loose, Cecilia's tense body went limp, collapsing completely into Samuel's arms.
"It's okay, Cecilia. You're safe now," Samuel's voice trembled.
Ian, holding his bleeding forehead, was furious that his plans had been ruined. He pointed at Samuel and shouted: "Who the hell are you? How dare you interfere in my business! Do you know who I am?"
Samuel's usually gentle face was now covered with frost.
"I don't care who you are. For trying to violate a woman against her will, all I know is you'll be going to prison."
"Big talk!" Ian pulled out his phone and started yelling into it: "Jake! I've been beaten bloody! Bring your guys over here right now! Yeah, break their legs!"
Tanner's legs turned to jelly at hearing this.
Samuel, however, remained unfazed, just coldly staring at Ian.
At that moment, the battered door was gently pushed open from the outside.