Chapter 50
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With the kidnapper’s urgent demands and the photos showing Samuel in more and more dangerous situations, Eliana had the driver drop her off close to the place and drove the rest of the way herself.
After arriving, Eliana quickly texted: [I’m here. The cash you want is in my car. Where’s Samuel? Let’s make the exchange, your money for him.]
As soon as her message was sent, the kidnapper called.
The voice was altered with a voice changer, making it impossible for Eliana to recognize the person. Her brow furrowed as she listened carefully to the instructions.
The kidnapper said, “Bring the money inside. I can see you. Come in and follow my instructions exactly. Leave the money where I tell you. Once I have the cash, I’ll give your son back to you.”
Eliana answered without hesitation, grabbed her backpack, and headed inside.
Just as the caller instructed, she walked around the abandoned building, making her way to the room at the very back, and put the backpack down.
“Alright, I did what you said. What’s next?” Eliana asked.
“Now, Eliana, get ready to suffer,” the voice on the other end suddenly screeched.
She quickly turned around and saw a group of men closing in on her, forcing her into the room. The whole place was a wreck, and the room Eliana ended up in was open to the sky. The roof was completely gone.
Isabella had set this up on purpose, luring Eliana into the ruined house so she could watch everything from her spot upstairs.
She wanted to see Eliana get humiliated right in front of her. Only by witnessing it herself could she finally get and make herself feel better after the embarrassment at the party.
her
revenge
As Eliana was backed into the room by the men, Isabella couldn’t help but smile. She pulled out her phone to record the scene, planning to make sure Logan saw it.
With his clean–freak attitude, there was no way he’d ever touch Eliana again.
Meanwhile, downstairs, the moment Eliana saw the men closing in, she knew she’d been right all along. This so–called kidnapping was never about Samuel. It was all a setup targeting her.
Her expression turned icy as she stared at the men. “Who sent you? Please, let me know the truth.”
“Don’t worry. We just want to show you a good time,” one of the men sneered.
“Yeah, you’re way too pretty for that. We’ll treat you right,” another added with a twisted grin.
As they spoke, the men closed in on her, their steps slow and menacing.
Eliana’s face was a mess of panic, but she still managed to ask, “Just tell me, who sent you? I don’t have any enemies. I honestly can’t think of anyone who’d go to all this trouble to mess with me.”
“Come on, it’s not that hard. Someone wants to ruin you? It’s gotta be some jealous chick. You’re so silly, no wonder you walked right into the trap,” one of the guys snickered.
“Enough with the talking. Quit wasting time,” another snapped. The one in front rushed at Eliana, reaching out to grab her,
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Chapter 30
But quick as lightning. Eliana pulled a stun baton from her bag and hit him with a jolt right in the chest.
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The guy collapsed, twitching, and the rest of the group jumped back in shock. Even Isabella, watching from upstairs, was stunned by Eliana’s quick move.
However, the men quickly recovered and moved in to surround her. With that many of them, there was no way Eliana could take them all down with her stun baton.
Eliana knew it too. She kept edging away, trying to keep some space between herself and the group, all the while desperately stalling for time.
Right when they were about to pounce on her, sirens started wailing outside.
“You called the cops?” The guys shot panicked looks at Eliana, then bolted, scrambling to get away.
Eliana grabbed one of the guys, pointing her stun baton right at him. “Where’s Samuel? Where did you hide him? And Isabella? Where is she?”
The guy looked from the stun baton in Eliana’s hand to the blaring sirens outside, clearly terrified. Almost on reflex, he glanced up toward the upper floor.
Eliana understood immediately. She shoved him away and dashed upstairs.
Meanwhile, Isabella, hearing the sirens, began to panic. She grabbed Samuel and tried to run, but he, thinking it was still part of the game, giggled and chased after her.
Isabella was afraid his laughter would attract the police, so she ran blindly in a panic.
But Samuel, being so small, couldn’t keep up. He tripped and fell hard on the ground.
Seeing him fall only made Isabella more agitated. And when she heard the guys downstairs getting busted, her nerves were shot.
She’d only wanted to ruin Eliana, but now, if she got labeled as the kidnapper, she’d be totally screwed.
With her mind in chaos, Isabella didn’t hesitate. She ditched Samuel right then and there, bolting away without even looking back.
Samuel was hurting all over from his fall, and when he saw Isabella just ditch him and walk away, he started crying even harder. Even in a game, being left behind like that freaked him out.
Scrambling to his feet, still sobbing, he tried to run after her when suddenly he heard Eliana’s voice behind him.
“Mommy?” Samuel called out, his voice shaky. He paused for a split second, then turned on his heel and ran straight into Eliana’s arms.
Seeing Eliana here, in this creepy, unfamiliar place, finally eased some of Samuel’s fear.
And when Eliana saw that Samuel was safe and sound, the weight in her chest finally lifted.
Even if all the clues screamed Isabella, Eliana couldn’t help but worry about the worst–case scenario.
She’d come herself, only daring to call the cops once she was already on the way. She needed to stall, keep the kidnappers busy, just in case the police showed up too soon and made things go south.
But when those guys finally showed up, Eliana let out a sigh of relief. If this whole thing was aimed at her, at least Samuel wasn’t in any real danger.
Now that she had Samuel back in her arms, she could finally breathe easy.
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Chapter 30
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45 vouchers
After she’d soothed Samuel, the cops came up after them. Elian glanced at the officers and said, “Looks like she ran off”
She bent down to Samuel’s level. “Samuel, where’s Isabella? She was with you, right? Why are you here by yourself?”
Everyone turned to look at Samuel the moment Eliana asked.
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