The next day, after setting a time to meet up with Rachel, Xylia left the house early.
She turned down the driver’s offer to give her a ride and called a cab herself to head downtown.
On the way, she got a call from Josie.
“Xylia, let’s set up a time to meet. I’ve got some new ideas for the studio that I want to discuss with you,” Josie said.
Xylia thought for a moment and replied, “How about tonight?”
“Sure, I’ll pick the spot and send you the detailster,” Josie said.
They chatted for a bit before hanging up.
Xylia thought Josie was always so helpful and passionate about life.
Josie was even more invested in the studio than Xylia herself.
Xylia couldn’t help but feel lucky to have Josie as her friend.
She nced out at the view outside the window.
After a while, she started to sense that something was off.
This wasn’t the route to downtown.
“Excuse me, I think you’re going the wrong way,” she said.
The driver acted like he didn’t hear her. He just kept his eyes on the road and kept driving.
Xylia finally realized something was seriously wrong. Forcing herself to stay calm, she clutched her phone, about to dial 911.
All of a sudden, the car swerved hard. She lurched to the side, her phone flying from her grip.
The driver handled the wheel with chilling skill, swerving and mming on the brakes. Xylia was tossed around in the back seat, her head mming against the window. Everything went ck for a moment.
The car screeched to a halt, and the driver finally turned to face her.
Beneath the hood, it was a surprisingly young face. The person red at Xylia, eyes cold and full of menace. “Xylia, let’s settle everyst score between us.”
By midday, the Jones Health Center was overflowing with patients.
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Rachel was on duty today, and people with all sorts ofplicated health issues had booked appointments
with her.
Only after Rachel finally wrapped up did she realize it was past the time she was supposed to meet Xylia, and Xylia still hadn’t shown up.
She called Xylia.
The phone rang twice, and then it was abruptly powered off.
Rachel frowned, a knot forming in her stomach. Something wasn’t right.
After thinking for a few seconds, she called Joshua.
“Joshua, do you know where Xylia is?” Rachel asked, a hint of worry in her voice.
Joshua was heading home. His parents wereing back today, and he was going to wee them back.
Halfway there, after getting Rachel’s call, hemanded the driver to turn the car around, his tone cold and resolute.
After hanging up, he immediately called his assistant.
“Find out everything you can about any cars that left the Ford Mansion this morning,” he ordered.
His assistant, already drowning in work in the office, nearly wanted to throw himself out the window the moment he got Joshua’s call.
It was another impossible task.
When Xylia finally came to, the sun was already setting.
Orange light bathed the world, but not even a trace of it could find its way into the warehouse where Xylia was trapped.
The stench of rotting grass filled her nose as she forced her heavy eyelids open.
All she saw was a rusty old chandelier and the filthy, dpidated warehouse around her.
She snapped fully awake and quickly pushed herself up.
Her wrists and ankles were bound, and after struggling for a while, she finally managed to sit up.
“Finally awake?” A head poked in from the doorway.
Sadie stood there in a leather jacket, her long hair loose, face caked in dramatic makeup.
“Sadie, what are you trying to do?” Xylia demanded.
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Xylia locked her eyes on Sadie, her heart pounding with fear as she tried to steady herself.
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Sadie had been running with a bad crowd since she was little. Tyson and Ruby never tried to stop her. No matter what kind of mess she got into, the Zimmer family would always clean it up for her.
That was how Sadie ended up so wild and out of control, doing whatever she wanted without a second thought.
Sadie strutted over to Xylia, smirked, and gave her cheek a taunting pat.
“Nylia, did you ever imagine the day woulde when you’d be at my mercy?” Sadie taunted.
“What do you want?” Xylia shot her a wary look.
“What do I want? Revenge, of course. You’ll have to pay for every grudge and every insult,” Sadie hissed.
Sadie’s eyes suddenly shed with cruelty.
She gripped Xylia’s chin hard. “Tessa ended up in the hospital yesterday. Did you do this?”
Xylia stayed silent, but Sadie began firing off one usation after another.
Sadie used, “Tessa missed thepetition because you made her sprain her ankle, didn’t you?
“My boyfriend dumped me right after meeting you. You must’ve seduced him, huh?
“Your son keeps pestering Tessa, forcing her to run to the Ford residence all the time and making everyone gossip about her. That’s all on you, isn’t it?
“You cheated on your husband and hooked up with other men. You’re just a slut, aren’t you?”
Sadie kept using.
To Xylia, every usation Sadie threw at her was just a bunch of false ims.
In her mind, Sadie was never the type to make such a big scene just to get revenge for someone else.
“Sadie, drop the act. If you were really doing this for Tessa, you would’ve made your move a long time ago. So what’s your real reason?” Xylia shot back.
Sadie burst intoughter,
She grabbed Xylia’s hair, ring fiercely at her.
Sadie snapped, “Xylia, what I can’t stand most is your attitude. What makes you think you’re so great?
“You’re just a slut. Why does Joshua like you so much? I could ept him rejecting me for anyone else, but why does it have to be you? Who the hell do you think you are?”
Joshua? Since when did Sadie have a thing for Joshua?‘ Xylia wondered.
<b>10:30 </b>Fri, Sep <b>12 </b>
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Sadie shoved her aside and stood up, ring down at her with a menacing, almost triumphant air.
“Xylia, aren’t you so wild? Well, today I’ll make sure you get what you deserve. Let’s see if Connor still wants you after you’ve been raped, or if Joshua will even bother to look at you again!” Sadie spat, her voice dripping
with venom.
Just as Sadie finished talking, a couple of teenage punks with all kinds of dyed hair barged in through the doorway.
They looked Xylia up and down, eyes wide with surprise and twisted excitement.
“Sadie, she’s hot! Let’s record a video. I bet we could make a fortune selling it online!” one of them snickered.
“Exactly. It’d be a shame to waste a face like that,” another jeered.
“Look at her figure. I think we’re going to have a real good time tonight,” the third guy said, his eyes lingering on Xylia with a sleazy grin.
Xylia stared at Sadie, terror and fury mixing in her voice as she shouted, “Sadie, you’re insane. Do you even get it? This is a crime.”
Sadie didn’t even nce at her, just calmly set up the camera and switched it on.
“I brought her here, so we split the money from the video fifty–fifty. Have fun,” Sadie said, her voice cold and indifferent.
A couple of punks leered at Xylia as they closed in on her, eyes narrowed with twisted excitement.
Xylia’s face went pale.
She struggled desperately, shouting, “Let me go. Get away from me.”
Her eyes rimmed red, tears rolling down her cheeks.
Reflected in her eyes were their wicked, leering faces, making her feel sick to her stomach.
At the very instant her cor was ripped open, a hugemotion erupted at the doorway.
The suffocating pressure around Xylia vanished. She curled up on the ground, hugging her knees. Her tears blurred everything.
But through the haze, she saw Joshua with a punk in each hand, pounding the crap out of them. Blood sttered everywhere as heid into their faces.
She cried louder and louder. Her hands and feet were still tied, and her blouse was wide open, letting the cold air bite at her skin. She curled up as tight as she could, trying to make herself disappear.
When Joshua heard Xylia’s cries, his heart clenched painfully in his chest.
<b>10:30 </b>Fri<b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>12 </b>
He sent thest guy flying into the warehouse wall with a brutal kick.
The guy saw stars and copsed, not even able to budge.
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Joshua quickly took off his jacket and draped it over Xylia. Then he scooped her up into his arms. “It’s okay. It’s okay,” he soothed.
AD