514 No Escape


    Selina had been the pampered daughter of the White family for years, and her air of indulgence deceived people at first nce.


    The four punks hesitated, exchanging uneasy nces, and their leader forced a strained, awkward grin.


    "Hey, we


    were just messing with you, that''s all. Don''t be mad, beauty. We''ll back off now."


    Seeing their unease, Selina exhaled sharply, relief washing over her.


    Yet the four men didn''t leave. They lit cigarettes a short distance away, lingering like predators, waiting for an opening.


    Selina''s heart raced. She wanted to run, but she dared not break character, fearing they might realize her fear. Tears threatened to spill.


    As panic pressed against her chest and she contemted iming a bathroom


    break as an excuse to flee, the stillness of the night shattered with the roar of engines, growing louder and closer.


    Selina''s eyes lit up. Relief flooded her-


    Timothy had to be returning with that insufferable Anneliese.


    Her nerves snapped to alertness, but the four punks paled at the


    approaching noise.


    Then Selina sensed something was wrong.


    Beams from multiple cars cut through the darkness, illuminating the derelict factory. In an instant, the


    ce glowed like midday.


    Clearly, this was no ordinary arrival.


    Timothy would never make such amotion. So it wasn''t him.


    If it''s not Dad, then... No way!


    It can''t be Jonathan''s people. There''s no way they''ve found this ce so quickly. That''s impossible.


    She tried to steady herself, but the


    next moment the battered factory doors exploded inward under a forceful kick. A tall, cold


    figure stormed in, nked by a squad of men in ck suits.


    That face-sharp, unnervingly handsome-was


    just as she remembered from the first time she


    had seen him years ago, the kind of face that could ensnare admiration at a nce. The difference now was- back then, he had never looked her


    Now, he saw her. Only her. way.


    But the frost in his gaze, sharp and merciless, cruel and predatory, made her stomach twist.


    "M-Mr... Mr. Fullbuster..."


    Selina''s lips trembled, but no sound emerged. She stumbled back


    two steps until her spine struck the wall.


    Once, she had schemed endlessly for any chance to encounter Jonathan. Now, she wanted nothing more than to vanish and never meet him again. Isn''t he in Serava? How could he have returned so quickly?


    Is he really so desperate, so worried about Anneliese?


    Jonathan''s eyes swept the factory as he burst in, but there was no sign of Anneliese.


    But if Selina was here, then Anneliese must have been here before her.


    His gaze hardened, colder and crueler. He didn''t need to speak; the four punks, already ttened by the initial rush, began howling on the floor.


    "Ouch! Sorry! I''m so sorry! We didn''t mean to offend Mrs. Fullbuster!"


    "Please, sir, give us a chance to make it right! Don''t hurt us! Please spare us!"


    "We''ll take care of that b*tch Mrs. Fullbuster mentioned, we swear!"


    Pinned beneath the bodyguards'' guns, the punks trembled with pure terror.


    They had believed Selina''s earlier ims and assumed Jonathan and his men were her allies. They begged for mercy ceaselessly, their pleas frantic and disorganized. Jonathan''s eyes sharpened like razors. Selina''s vision dimmed in stages, darkness creeping in.


    "Enough! Shut the hell up!" she shrieked at the punks, panic cracking her voice.


    She looked at Jonathan in sheer terror. "Mr. Fullbuster, I-...”


    The punks'' frantic babbling needed no rification; Jonathan already understood why they were here.


    He regarded Selina as if she were already dead. He wasted no words. Tilting his head, he issued a singlemand.


    "Do it now."


    In a blur, Zaxton stepped forward. By the time he reached her, his de had already struck.


    The dagger sank into her lower abdomen-


    not fatal, but agony ripped through her, bone-


    deep, reminiscent of what Anneliese had endured four years ago.


    Selina doubled over, the pain stealing her scream.


    "Where is Mrs. Fullbuster? Speak!"


    Zaxton''s voice was ice. He twisted the de slowly, inching it deeper


    with precision.


    Selina smelled the metallic tang of blood, felt it seep from her, life ebbing with it.


    She shook her head, sobbing, her words ragged and broken.


    "I-I don''t know. Please... Ah!


    I really don''t know. I stepped out for a moment, and when I returned, Anneliese and my dad were gone. He was supposed to be watching her. If... if you don''t believe me, ask those four. It hurts... please, let me