Chapter 57
When I came to, my head felt like someone had taken a hammer to it—the pain was unbearable.
I tried to reach up and rub it, only to discover my hands were tied behind my back.
My feet were bound too.
I tested the restraints. The ropes bit painfully into my wrists and ankles.
Only then did it hit me—I'd been kidnapped.
I immediately sat up and took in my surroundings.
Directly in front of me was a locked door.
The walls and floor were covered in a thick layer of dust, and the glass in the windows was shattered.
Various discarded items were piled in the distance.
Clearly an abandoned warehouse.
"Little lady's awake."
A man with a scar across his face and vicious features stood outside the broken window, his voice dripping with malice.
Completely unprepared, I jumped at the sound.
"Who... who are you? Why did you kidnap me?"
The man laughed coldly. "What else? We got paid to do a job, settle someone's score."
Paid to do a job that I could work with.
I steadied myself. "However much they're paying you, I'll triple it. Just let me go."
The man burst out laughing. "Triple? You think you can afford that?"
"Of course. Didn't whoever hired you tell you who I am?"
At that moment, another chubby face leaned in, asking excitedly, "Who are you?"
"My name is Lucinda Wipere. My father is James Wipere, CEO of the Wipere Group."
I waited for them to name their terms.
But the man who'd been so excited just moments ago suddenly went rigid, immediately glancing at the scarred man.
"Sir, the Wipere Group—isn't that the one you..."
"Shut your mouth!" The scarred man snapped harshly.
My heart sank like a stone.
Could this scarred man actually have connections to the Wipere Group?
"Originally, I wasn't planning to do anything to you, but turns out you're James's daughter. Can't blame me now."
Those words sounded like my death sentence!
At that moment, the door in front of me swung open.
The scarred man stormed in, rage written all over his face.
I kept backing away in fear. "You're just after money. I can give you whatever you want—please don't hurt me."
The scarred man grabbed my shirt and hauled me up. "You're James's daughter, so you deserve to die!"
My breath came in short gasps, my voice trembling. "Don't do anything rash. Whatever James did to you, there's no need to gamble your future on this."
"Besides, isn't that guy outside your partner? You really want him going to prison with you?"
The scarred man's eyes blazed. "You think saying that will make me let you go? If it weren't for your father, I wouldn't be in this situation! Blame yourself for being born into the wrong family!"
He violently ripped my shirt.
I screamed in terror.
"No!"
"My... my fiancé is Leopold Percy. You live in Silverlight City—you must have heard his name."
"If you dare hurt me, he'll never let you get away with this!"
The round-faced man, who'd been silent until now, poked half his head out.
"Miss, you can't fool us! It was Mr. Percy's fiancée who hired us to grab you. Said you messed up her plans and wanted you gone."
"That's impossible!" I quickly denied it. "I'm Leopold's fiancée. If you don't believe me, I can call Donovan Percy right now to prove who I am."
The scarred man tightened his grip. My shirt collar dug into my throat until I could barely breathe.
"Nice try! I won't give you a chance to make that call or get help!"
"I won't call for help. I just want to negotiate."
My voice came out strained.
"Whatever bad blood you have with James, you clearly aren't doing great. Instead of killing me and living in constant fear, why not let me go?"
"I'll pay thirty million dollars for my own life. And I promise not to report what happened tonight—you can leave Silverlight City and start over."
"Your choice."
"Thirty million dollars!"
The round-faced man's jaw dropped as his whole head popped into view, staring directly at the scarred man.
The scarred man's grip loosened slightly. He was clearly wavering.
After catching my breath, I continued. "My phone is linked to my bank account. There's exactly thirty million in there. If you don't believe me, I can show you the balance."
The round-faced man was obviously tempted, but he didn't dare make the call himself. He could only look pleadingly at the scarred man.
"Sir."
The scarred man signaled for him to bring over my phone.
"Show us your balance."
I kept my voice calm. "My phone requires both fingerprint and facial recognition to unlock. You'll need to untie me first."
The scarred man hesitated for a few seconds before reaching out to untie the ropes on my hands.
I took the phone and, using the motion of stretching my wrists as cover, used a shortcut to send my location to my emergency contact.
"What are you doing?" The scarred man was instantly alert, snatching my phone away and checking it.
But my phone was custom-made. All messages sent to emergency contacts were private and required facial recognition to view.
So the scarred man found nothing.
I put on a frightened, wronged expression and said softly, "My leg fell asleep. I was just trying to move it."
"Sir, relax. She's just a little girl—she can't escape our control." The round-faced man spoke soothingly.
Only then did the scarred man return my phone.
No wonder Sophia liked playing helpless—apparently, men fell for that act every time.
I suppressed my contempt and lowered my head to unlock my banking app, showing them the balance.
"Wow! Fifty million dollars! You actually have that much money?" The round-faced man was shocked again.
"Gifts from my elders." I deliberately kept my voice low as I explained.
"Transfer all of it to this account." The scarred man grabbed my phone again and entered a bank account number.
"Okay."
I nodded obediently, operating the phone while watching their expressions.
When it came time to enter the password, I looked at them cautiously.
"Could you... turn around? I don't want you to see my password."
Both the scarred man and the round-faced man laughed, knowing I couldn't pull anything. They both turned away.
The instant their backs were to me, I grabbed the corner of my phone and slammed it hard into the back of the scarred man's head.
The scarred man immediately bent over, clutching his head in pain.
"Bitch! You dare hit our boss!"
The round-faced man whipped around in fury, swinging his fist at my face!
Fortunately, my flexibility paid off—I dodged with a quick side step.
Then I bolted out the door without stopping and locked them both inside.
This escape route was one I'd calculated beforehand.
Through the entire process, I didn't allow myself a moment's hesitation.
"Sir! Bob!"
Hearing a third person's voice, every pore on my body exploded in fear.
I'd never imagined there were three kidnappers!
In that instant, only one thought filled my mind.
Run!
But I'd barely taken two steps before someone grabbed my hair. Sharp pain shot through my scalp.
My legs gave out, and I hit the ground, dragged roughly by my captor.
Stones and debris on the ground scraped painfully against my back.
"Bitch! You're asking for it!"
The man picked up a wooden plank and swung it viciously toward my head!
"Touch her, and you're dead!"
At that moment, a fierce, ice-cold voice exploded above my head.