Chapter 76: A Razor Blade to Her Face
With that, he turned back to the sofa, picking up the file again, as if the entire scene had been a boring interruption. Deathly silence returned to the study. Evelyn stood frozen. She looked at the man in the chair, the man she had once thought was her entire world. His profile, sharp under the desk lamp, was handsome but utterly alien and cold.
Eight years felt like an absurd joke. She had sacrificed her dreams, clipped her own wings for him. She had willingly been caged here. And the lives of her friends and loved ones—Ethan, Sophie, the Chief of Staff—were merely stepping stones to consolidate his corporate empire, to be trampled on and discarded at will. This person had no heart. Or perhaps, his heart had been utterly corroded by power and money.
She slowly turned, dragging her numb body out of the suffocating study, step by step. Each step felt like walking on shattered glass; the pain in her ankle and the ache in her heart were so intense she nearly doubled over.
Just as her hand reached the doorknob, her phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out and unlocked the screen. An anonymous text message from an unknown number appeared: [Want evidence of Damian and Sienna conspiring to frame Sophie?] Evelyn's pupils contracted instantly, her breath hitching. The second line followed immediately: [Meet tomorrow night, 8 PM, Hilton Hotel, third floor.]
Could this be a trap? She was terrified to trust it, but she couldn't afford not to. She couldn't wait any longer.
The next day, Evelyn put on the plainest dark clothes she owned, covering herself with a hat and mask, and slipped out of the mansion unnoticed. The pain in her ankle was worse than she’d expected. Every step felt like treading on blades. Cold sweat quickly soaked her back. The Hilton wasn’t far, but for her, it felt like an endless journey. Close to the hotel, feeling exhausted, she decided to rest on a secluded bench in a park on the corner. The park was quiet, the only sound the rustle of leaves. Evelyn used her cane to hobble toward a bench on the west side.
Just as she was about to sit down, two dark figures lunged from behind! A rough hand clapped over her mouth and nose. The overwhelming scent of sweat and tobacco filled her airways, making her feel sick. Another arm wrapped around her waist, violently dragging her toward a secluded clump of bushes!
“Mm! Mmmph!” Evelyn’s scream was trapped in her throat, only a muffled whimper escaping. Her cane clattered to the ground. She struggled desperately, stomping on the man’s foot with all her might, savagely raking her nails against the hand covering her mouth.
“You damn bitch! Still fighting!” The man holding her cursed under his breath, increasing his pressure. The feeling of suffocation intensified, and Evelyn’s vision started to blur. No! I can't die here! Her baby… her baby needed her! A surge of strength came from nowhere. She violently raised her elbow and slammed it backward with all her power!
“Ah!” The man groaned in pain, his grip momentarily loosening. Now! Evelyn seized the chance, biting down hard on the hand over her mouth. The taste of blood instantly filled her mouth.
“Fck! Are you a dog!” The man roared in pain, violently flinging his hand away. In that split second, Evelyn turned her head, trying to see her attacker’s face.
Just then, the second masked person, enraged by her fierce resistance, grabbed her hair, forcing her head back. In the struggle, the attacker’s mask was ripped away, revealing a face twisted by cruelty and fury. That face… Evelyn’s pupils shrank. Lilian! It was Sienna’s younger sister—the girl who had taken her job at the Omni Group! How could it be her? The shock was so profound that Evelyn forgot to struggle.
“What are you looking at? Evelyn, you’ve caused my sister so much grief! Today, I’ll make you pay!” “Hold her! Hurry!” Lilian urged the masked man. The second man sneered and quickly pinned Evelyn down again. Lilian pulled a folding knife from her pocket and slashed it toward Evelyn’s face!
It's over. Evelyn closed her eyes in despair.
But the expected searing pain didn't come. Instead, she heard a muffled THUD and Lilian's shriek of pain.
Evelyn opened her eyes and saw a tall figure standing in front of her. It was Ryan. With one hand, he effortlessly seized Lilian’s knife-wielding wrist. With a slight twist, Lilian cried out and dropped the knife, which clattered onto the ground. The other man yelled and charged at Ryan. Without looking, Ryan delivered a swift side kick directly to the man's abdomen. The attacker was sent flying six feet, slamming into a tree before collapsing, unable to get up. The whole process was incredibly fast—a matter of seconds.
Lilian was terrified and tried to run, but Ryan swiftly twisted her arm and pinned her to the ground. Ryan handed her over to the two bodyguards who had just arrived, then turned and rushed back to Evelyn. He removed his jacket and wrapped it around the trembling Evelyn, shielding her tightly behind him.
“You all right?”
She looked at him, her lips moving, but no words came out. Evelyn leaned against the tree trunk, all strength drained from her body.
“What you wanted.” Ryan pulled a manila envelope from inside his jacket and held it out to Evelyn.
Evelyn stared at him, then at the envelope, her mind reeling. “You… you sent the anonymous text?”
“Someone wants to hurt you,” Ryan said. “But someone also wants to help you.”
He pressed the file into her arms. When his fingers touched her cold ones, he paused briefly.
“Inside is all the evidence that Damian’s men bribed the patient and his family to maliciously report Ethan.”
“And… Sophie?”
“Sophie’s situation is also under investigation,” Ryan looked at her.