Chapter 58 After We’re Done Pretending
70<b>% </b>
<b>+5 </b>Free Coins
Soon, Tracy and Ronald arrived at an old, run–down neighborhood. After walking through a dark, empty alley, they reached a door hidden behind a staircase.
This was the ce Tracy had rented earlier while scouting an escape route.
Ronald couldn’t go to a hospital, but with his body covered in blood, he desperately needed a ce to rest and get treated.
The apartment was tucked away behind the staircase in a damp, shadowy corner of the old neighborhood. Though the space was big, it felt more like a basement, dark and rough.
Ronald’s foggy mind cleared a bit when he saw the shabby spot. “Is this your home?”
Tracy helped him down onto a wooden couch. “Sort of. I just rented it.”
She’d never met her real parents, while the Jackmans … The moment they sent her off to the Angelic Etiquette Academy, they stopped being family.
This apartment was the first ce she’d ever rented with her own money, so she counted it as her “home.”
Her cold tone made Ronald pause.
It was like he saw a reflection of himself.
The kidnappers had brought a pretty full stash of medicine for Ronald–anti- inmmatory drugs, stuff to stop the bleeding, even tetanus shots.
Tracy gave him the tetanus shot first, then started cleaning his wounds.
She pulled off his blood–soaked shirt, now impossible to tell what color it was before, revealing the true state of his injuries.
Even though Tracy had seen plenty of wounds before, she couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath,
Whip marks, stab wounds, cuts, burns…
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All kinds of awful scars. None were deadly by themselves, but the fact that they covered his whole body showed someone had tortured him on purpose.
Tracy looked up and couldn’t help asking, “Doesn’t it hurt?”
He escaped from that run–<i>down </i><i>factory </i><i>with </i><i>all </i><i>those </i><i>injuries </i><i>without </i><i>even </i>making a sound -how <i>is </i>that <i>possible</i><i>? </i>
Seeing her not freak out over the wounds and actually ask if he was in pain, Ronald hesitated.
In his memory, she was the first person to look at his injuries and ask about his pain.
A smile slowly appeared on his face.
“I’ve been hurt so many times that I’m used to it already. It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
When he smiled, his eyes curved like crescents, and two small dimples showed on his cheeks.
His bright, contagious smile almost made Tracy forget the suffering behind those words.
She looked down and silently kept tending his wounds.
Though Ronald always seemed like the kind of guy who’d honestly answer anything, Tracy didn’t push him for more.
They were strangers, and this meeting was pure chance–they had no reason to dig into each other’s pasts.
Her hands moved fast and smooth, like she was stitching flowers instead of fixing bloody wounds.
Ronald remarked with curiosity, “You seem really good at this.”
She looks like she does it all the time, treating <i>injuries </i>until it bes second nature.
Tracy kept working without stopping and answered with his own words, “Been hurt a lot, got used to it, so I learned.”
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Ronald raised his eyebrows and watched her carefully as she seriously dressed his wounds.
<i>Seems </i>like <i>she </i><i>has </i>a <i>story </i><i>too</i><i>. </i>
His gaze drifted to Tracy’s arm.
Because of the darkness earlier, he hadn’t noticed anything when she took off her jacket and gave it to him.
Now, with better light, he saw the marks on her arm.
Old scars, just as bad as his injuries.
<i>People </i><i>with </i><i>stories </i><i>usually </i><i>carry </i><i>some </i><i>kind </i><i>of </i><i>pain</i>.
I <i>have </i><i>mine</i>.
<i>Tracy </i><i>probably </i><i>does </i><i>too</i>.
After running so hard and bleeding so much, Ronald was already weak and had dozed off.
Tracy didn’t dare fall asleep.
She wasn’t a doctor, and Ronald’s injuries were too serious. If anything went wrong, they’d have to go to a hospital after all.
Luckily, she stayed awake until dawn, and Ronald showed no signs of trouble.
When the sky brightenedpletely, Tracy stopped worrying about the sleeping man, packed up, and left.
Being kidnapped meant she had to report it to the police and let them investigate the people behind it all.
After a sleepless night, Tracy finally had a moment to calmly think about the kidnapping.
<i>The </i><i>kidnappers </i><i>were </i>careful. <i>If </i><i>they </i><i>really </i><i>wanted </i>the Jackmans<i>‘ </i><i>money</i><i>, </i><i>they </i><i>would </i>have <i>looked </i><i>into </i><i>my </i><i>situation </i><i>first</i><i>. </i><i>They </i>wouldn’t have <i>chosen </i><i>to </i>kidnap <i>me</i><i>, </i>
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Chapter 58 After We’re Done Pretending
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I don’t have <i>any </i>of the Jackmans‘ <i>contacts </i><i>saved </i><i>on </i><i>her </i><i>phone</i><i>—</i>so how <i>did the </i>kidnappers get those numbers<i>? </i>
Why <i>did </i>they <i>keep </i>calling <i>every </i><i>Jackman’s </i><i>member</i><i>, </i><i>demanding </i><i>ransom</i><i>, </i>acting like they <i>already </i>knew I’d be <i>abandoned</i>?
What did <i>the </i><i>gray</i><i>–</i><i>jacket </i><i>guy </i><i>mean </i><i>when </i><i>he </i><i>said </i><i>to </i><i>“</i><i>release </i><i>the </i><i>girl </i><i>after </i>we’re done pretending“?
<i>If </i><i>I </i>don’t <i>figure </i><i>these </i><i>things </i><i>out</i><i>, </i><i>I </i><i>might </i><i>be </i><i>kidnapped </i><i>again</i>. <i>Next </i><i>time</i><i>, </i><i>I </i><i>might </i>not be <i>so </i>lucky.
Just as Tracy left, Ronald woke up, blinking sleepily.
The strange, old surroundings made him jump up from the couch immediately. It took him a moment to remember why he was there.
His tense body slowly rxed as he looked around, but didn’t see Tracy anywhere. Instead, he noticed 200 dors sitting on the table.
Chapter 59 When Do I Get to Meet Them?