ra made her way downstairs, pausing for a moment with a nagging feeling she had seen those two people before, but she couldn''t quite put her finger on it. She rubbed her temples, just about ready to hail a cab when a sleek sports car pulled up right in front of her. Of course, it was Eden again.


    Eden, with her oversized sunsses, looked like she was just cruising by. She took off her shades with a flourish, a smug grin stered on her face. "ra, it''s like I can''t escape you."


    ra didn''t bother responding. She stepped aside, trying to g down a cab, but Eden just backed up her car a few feet, blocking her way. Eden''s lips curled into a smirk, twirling her sunsses around her finger. "Didn''t you hear me? Now that you know Dn''s got my back, you''re scared to mess with me, huh?"


    ra frowned, ncing at her phone. "Are you done?" Eden had already wasted three minutes of her time. Eden''s expression soured; ra never seemed to get rattled.


    With a cold smirk, Eden dialed a number on her phone. ra finally managed to catch a taxi, still fuming from her run-in with Eden. But soon, she noticed something was off-the cab wasn''t heading toward the Bradford Group.


    She nced at the driver, who was wearing a hat, trying hard to look incognito. ra leaned back, keeping her cool as she realized they were heading out of town. The driver probably expected her to freak out, but even after two hours, she hadn''t said a word.


    In her bag, ra had a foldable pocket knife, her go-to for self-defense. She gripped it tightly, keeping her face pale to lull the man into a false sense of security. When the car finally stopped, the driver yanked her out. "Get out, you witch. Let''s see if you make it through today!"


    ra looked up to see three more men approaching, all big and intimidating. The driver shoved her forward, signaling the others to set up a camera. The ce was a remote, makeshift setup clearly meant for her.


    Her eyes darted around, and as one of the men lunged at her, she quickly spoke. "Who sent you?" Whoever it was must really hate her to resort to this.


    The men exchanged nces, wicked grins spreading across their faces. "That''s none of your business, Ms. ra. Today, you''re here to entertain us."


    The most eager of the bunch lunged at her, pping her hard across the face. "Just lie still, or we''ll make sure you don''t leave here alive!"


    But in the next instant, a knife shed in the air. These guys were all talk, but the sight of real blood had them panicking. The man who charged at her stared in shock as the pocket knife sliced his throat, blood gushing out as he coughed. Being closest, ra felt the warm, metallic spray hit her cheek.


    She pulled back the knife, having noticed earlier that the driver didn''t seem like someone who''d done this before. These men were all driven by lust, and one thing about guys like that-they''re usually cowards.