Chapter 247 CHAPTER 0247

Chapter 247 CHAPTER 0247
LAUREN'S POV

I took the last step backward, my heel dragging slightly against the wooden floor before my back hit the cold wall behind me. The sudden chill of the wall shot through my skin, grounding me for a split second. There was nowhere left to move, nowhere else to run. I pressed my palms against the surface behind me, almost wishing the wall could somehow open up and swallow me whole just to get me out of this nightmare.

“She’s all yours, boys,” Elizabeth said, her voice dripping with satisfaction as she turned toward the door. “Text me when you’ve had all your fun.”

My heart dropped.

Was she actually leaving me here?

With them?

“Elizabeth, don’t do this,” I said, forcing the words out even though my throat felt painfully tight. “This is your last chance to stop this madness.”

I tried to keep my voice steady, tried to sound strong, but the fear rushing through me was impossible to hide. My eyes stayed glued on the four men inching closer. Their steps were slow, deliberate, like they were savoring every moment. Their eyes held nothing but hunger, the kind that made my stomach twist painfully. And the smiles on their faces… dangerous, confident, wicked.

“Tell me that again by this time tomorrow when they’re done with you,” Elizabeth said, her tone almost playful, as if she was mocking me for even trying to reason with her.

She paused and gave me a lazy shrug.

“I heard the guys here usually have huge dicks, so do yourself a favor and try to enjoy it.”

I felt my stomach churn violently at her words. She actually meant it. She wasn’t bluffing or threatening me just to scare me. She genuinely intended to leave me here to be violated by these strangers.

She reached into her pocket casually, like she was pulling out a piece of gum, and brought out the keys to the door. She slipped them into the lock and twisted them. The sound echoed in the room, sharp and cruel.

As soon as the lock clicked open, the only thought raging through me was to make a run for it. Maybe if I waited for the perfect moment when she opened the door completely, I could make a dash for it and push past her. I didn’t have a plan for what would happen afterward, but at least it would get me away from the four men whose eyes were already undressing me.

But that fantasy died before it even formed properly.

The men had already boxed me in completely. Their bodies blocked the path forward, their shadows falling over me. They were too close now, too close for me to even attempt slipping past them. The space between our bodies was gone, stolen by the danger closing in on me.

One of them started unbuckling his belt slowly, the metal clinking sharply in the quiet room. Another followed.

Every instinct in me screamed to run, to fight, to claw my way out somehow. But they were huge, well over six feet, each of them built like they lifted heavy weights for fun. Their arms were thick, their shoulders broad, their expressions wicked. They looked like the kind of men who wouldn’t hesitate to smash a woman’s head against a wall if she fought back too hard. The type who enjoyed the struggle more than the act.

I knew I had stood my ground against Sophia before. But Sophia was one woman — skinny, small, angry, but nowhere near as physically threatening as these men. This was a whole different kind of danger.

If I tried something reckless, I would regret it instantly. But if I didn’t do anything… I knew I would regret it even more. My breath came out uneven, fear stabbing through my chest with each inhalation.

“Ciao, boys,” Elizabeth said casually, her hand already on the doorknob.

Then suddenly she gasped.

It was small, but sharp like she had just seen a ghost standing right in front of her.

Her reaction was enough to catch the men’s attention. All four of them stopped what they were doing and turned toward the door. Their heads tilted in confusion as they tried to see what she saw.

I couldn’t see the doorway from where I was standing, but I didn’t waste the moment. With their attention somewhere else, this was my chance, my only chance to slip away or push past them or scream or something.

I tried to move, but before I could take even one step, I heard him.

The one voice I’d been praying to hear since the moment Elizabeth snatched my phone away.

“Where is Lauren?”

Roman.

He was here.

His voice rolled through the room like thunder, steady and cold, cutting straight through the chaos in my mind. Relief hit me so hard that my knees nearly gave out. I hadn’t expected him to find me this quickly. I didn’t even know how he did, how he traced me or how he managed to get here before anything happened.

But none of that mattered.

What mattered was that he was here.

Elizabeth moved backward immediately, her confidence melting away. She stared at Roman with wide eyes, completely frozen by his sudden appearance.

“Roman,” I breathed out, my voice cracking slightly, the relief pouring out of me like a dam breaking.

He stepped inside fully, his eyes sweeping the room before locking onto me. And when he saw how the four men had cornered me, the expression that took over his face was one I recognized instantly — a deep, cold, focused rage. The same look he had when he broke Ethan’s arm. The same look that promised violence without hesitation.

He walked toward me slowly, not even flinching at the fact that he was outnumbered four-to-one. He didn’t care about the odds. His mind was already set.

“Did they touch you?” he asked, his voice calm, as if he was disregarding the presence of the men completely.

The four men stared at him, confused at how fearless he sounded, how unaffected he seemed. They exchanged looks like they couldn’t understand what kind of person would walk into a situation like this with no fear.

“No,” I said softly. “You came just in time.”

He gave a small nod. Just a slight dip of his head. Then he looked at them, really looked at them.

His whole aura shifted.

His posture straightened.

His eyes darkened.

His tone dropped to something far more dangerous.

“Since you didn’t touch her,” Roman said, addressing them as if he was giving out instructions, “I can close a blind eye to this and allow all of you to walk away. But if you prove stubborn… then bad things are going to happen.”

He stood there, tall and unshaken, staring directly into their eyes as if he was daring them to test him.

The men blinked at him, then at each other. Silence lingered for a moment before it broke.

They started laughing.

Loud, mocking laughter filled the room.

“Do you hear this guy?” one of them said between laughs.

“Buddy,” another chimed in, wiping a tear from his eye from laughing too hard, “I don’t know if you did maths back in school, but the odds are in our favor. You’re outnumbered, and there’s no way you can beat us.”

The leader stepped forward, puffing his chest proudly.

“Look, you made us laugh,” he said. “And we haven’t done that in a while. So we’re gonna give you the opportunity to walk out of this hotel without getting a black eye. Walk away, man. She’s our woman now.”