Chapter 48
Chapter 48
Just then, Matilda’s phone rang. It was a local number she didn’t recognize.
She set down the water she had barely sipped and said to Shawn, “Sorry, I need to step outside to take this call.”
Shawn stood up, his grin carrying a wicked edge. “No need, Ms. Warren. Just answer it here. Saves time.”
Matilda frowned, her gaze turning icy. She walked to the window and pressed the answer button.
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Jolene’s cheerful, curious voice came through. “Matilda, the ring really can make phone calls! Too bad I can’t see you right
now.”
Hearing Jolene’s voice, Matilda eased a little. She said, “There’s a rotation key on the side. Just turn it once, and you can-”
Before she could finish, a heavy wave of drowsiness hit her. Her limbs went numb. Alarm bells rang in her head, and she turned sharply toward Shawn.
His smile twisted into something filthy. With one hand, he slammed the door shut and locked it.
Matilda’s heart sank. She quickly said, “Jolene, call the police-”
The next second, her phone was yanked from her hand and smashed against the wall. That unopened bottle of water had been drugged.
Her body slumped against the glass, her hands clawing desperately at it, leaving eerie prints across the pane. Sleep weighed down on her, heavy and endless.
Her vision blurred, and through the haze, she saw a shadow creeping closer. “Ms. Warren, just sleep. Once you’re out, you’ll feel good.”
Matilda tried to swing at him, but her arm felt like dead weight.
She rarely panicked, but now terror ripped through her, making her nails scrape across the glass. “I… I’ll kill you.”
Shawn rubbed his chin and let out a sick laugh. “Then let me die under you.”
He lunged. Matilda gathered the last of her strength into her right leg and kicked straight at his groin.
With a scream, Shawn dropped to the floor.
Matilda’s body gave out, and she collapsed beside him.
Her eyes clouded over, and her consciousness slipped away. Somewhere far away, she thought she heard someone pounding on doors, shouting her name in a voice full of fear.
*****
When Jolene called, she had been standing right at Coreline Eternity’s booth.
Allen, knowing Matilda was keeping her distance, stood off to the side without stepping in.
The moment Jolene heard Matilda tell her to call the police, her face changed. She spun around and ran to Allen. “Daddy, something happened to Matilda!”
A flash of ice shot through Allen’s eyes. He scooped Jolene up and strode toward the exhibition hall. “Where is Matilda?”
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Chapter 48
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Neil, busy arranging the display case, noticed the same little girl who had come looking for Matilda earlier-this time being held by a man with silver-rimmed glasses. His gaze was bottomless, carrying a darkness that made people instinctively
uneasy.
Not knowing Matilda was in danger, Neil said flatly, “Second floor. Doing an interview.”
Allen set Jolene down and said firmly, “Stay here. Don’t move.”
“I understand, Daddy. Go get Matilda.” Jolene nodded quickly and stepped inside.
The moment Allen turned, his expression froze over. He bolted upstairs, his strides long and fast.
He tore down the hallway, pounding on doors, shouting in raw panic, “Matilda! Matilda!”
When knocking didn’t work, he stepped back and kicked the doors open one by one.
Some rooms had staff eating lunch. Some had business talks. Some had people sipping coffee.
None of them knew who he was or what had set him off. But looking at his trembling fists and the color draining from his face, they could tell he was racing against something terrifying.
*****
Brandon had taken Shelby to a nearby hospital. While the doctor examined her, his thoughts began to wander.
He imagined Matilda in her misery, perhaps in tears, perhaps nursing a flicker of regret. And if she sought him in her weakness while he was gone, then the chance would slip through his fingers forever.
He called Greg to look after Shelby, then left the hospital and drove straight back to the expo.
First, he went to Crossen Technology’s booth. “Has Matilda been here?” he asked.
Everyone shook their heads. Brandon frowned and headed to Coreline Eternity’s booth.
Neil wasn’t warm to anyone, and even less so toward Brandon, who had framed Matilda.
When Brandon asked three times where she was, Neil ignored the first two. On the third, he said coldly, “I don’t know.”
Just as Brandon’s patience snapped, Jolene chimed in, “She’s in danger. My daddy went to save her.”
Brandon’s face went pale. He spun to his bodyguards. “All of you, come with me.”
***
In the lounge, Shawn’s pain had dulled just enough for him to push himself up from the carpet. “You bitch. You dared to kick me, huh? I’ll make you beg for mercy.”
He yanked at his belt, shoved his pants down, and staggered toward Matilda.
He kicked her sharply in the waist, but Matilda didn’t react at all.
He crouched, his eyes burning with lust. Even unconscious, she looked like a proud, untouchable princess.
He pinched her face, savoring the feel. His eyes lingered on her lips, soft and moist.
He tore open her jacket and ripped apart the neckline of her tank top, exposing the curve of her bra. Under the room’s light,
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Chapter 48
the sight made his blood boil.
His hand stretched out, trembling with desire.
Just then, the door burst open with a bang, crashing into the wall.
Shawn froze mid-motion, his hand hovering just short of Matilda’s chest. He turned, terror flooding his face.
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Allen stood in the doorway, silver-rimmed glasses catching the light, his gaze like a blade. His eyes swept over the glass streaked with Matilda’s handprints before locking onto her.
At the corners of his eyes, a hint of red flared-bloodlust barely restrained.
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