Chapter 211 Midnight Disturbance


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    Jean had no prior experience with lie detectors. She didn’t know the trick to fooling such precise machines…


    But she did know one thing: she had to keep her emotions steady–absolutely no nervousness or mental fluctuations. As long as she anchored herself to the answer in her heart


    <i>If </i><i>you </i><i>can </i><i>deceive </i><i>even </i><i>the </i>machine, that’s the pinnacle of <i>lying</i>.


    Lucky for her, the machine’s results fell in her favor.


    She didn’t quite understand why she’d passed.


    Maybe… just luck.


    Jean drifted in and out of consciousness, thoughts scattering like dust before she finally surrendered to deep sleep.


    It was impossible to say how much time had passed.


    But then-


    A faint sound stirred near her car.


    If wasn’t loud, barely perceptible, yet it tugged at Jean’s muddled awareness.


    She didn’t know what state she was in…


    It was as if she were trapped in a strange space between waking and sleep. She could <i>sense </i>the movement around her, see faint glimmers of light through the darkness.


    But-


    When she tried to force herself fully awake, her mind felt caught in a tangle of invisible threads. Dull confusion clogged her thoughts, like her brain was stuffed full of emptiness.


    She <i>knew </i>something was happening.


    But she couldn’t wake up.


    And the sounds around her were growing clearer by the second.


    Jean wanted to move. To react.


    But it was like her body had been nailed to the bed. She could feel–but not move.


    Then suddenly-


    She felt her body lift off the mattress, suspended in the air.


    <i>What </i><i>the </i><i>hell </i><i>is </i><i>happening</i>?!


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    Chapter 211 Midnight Disturbance


    But her throat felt blocked. No sound came out.


    Am I dreaming?


    It was the only exnation that made sense.


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    Whenever she dreamed, she could never speak properly, couldn’t move the way she wanted. Everything always pushed against her.


    <i>Yes</i>, this must be a dream…


    Jean clung to that thought.


    Time passed–she didn’t know how much.


    Then-


    Bang


    In a jarring instant, Jean’s eyes flew open.


    She had just been dropped–firmly but not violently–into a wooden chair.


    That noise had been the sound of her body hitting the seat.


    So it wasn’t a dream!


    Chick. A switch was flipped.


    Suddenly, a harsh, white light zed overhead, flooding the room.


    Jean instinctively squinted against the brightness. The re was sharp, intrusive.


    And then-


    Footsteps echoed toward her.


    Queenie’s pale, sharp–featured face stepped into view, clear as day.


    Queenie<i>. </i>


    Jean’s mind clicked instantly into focus.


    So this was what had happened.


    Queenie had snuck into her room while she slept, silently abducted her, and carried her into some unknown space.


    Jean’s eyes snapped up as she began scanning her surroundings.


    This room-


    Was unlike anything else in the Secret Servicepound.


    13:31 Tue, 6 May MM.


    Chapter 211 Midnight Disturbance


    But this room-


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    Was lined with minimalist ink paintings of misty mountains and rivers. The air was heavy with incense and old–world quiet.


    It reeked of antique serenity.


    Directly across from her, hanging on the wall, was a massive, unsettling ink painting. It was clearly andscape–but rendered in such surreal brushstrokes, it sent a chill creeping up Jean’s spine.


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