One of them noticed Hannah stirring. "The woman''s awake. What do we do now?"


    The bald man in charge nced at her, then went back to his phone. "Ignore her. We''re after Lionel anyway. She''s just bait."


    The bald man''s phone rang. He stood up, holding the phone respectfully with both hands as he walked outside, bowing and scraping as he spoke.


    The others instinctively fell silent, not daring to make a sound.


    "Hey! Who told you to kidnap me? Are you after Lionel for money or his life?" Hannah suddenly shouted at them.


    As expected, the men looked at her in rm.


    "Gag that bitch! Is she crazy, making noise at a time like this?"


    Anky man, thin as a reed, walked over and mped a hand over her mouth.


    "Shh! Shut your mouth. If you say another word, we''ll take turns on you, you hear me?" he hissed.


    Hannah''s muffled screams were useless.


    When the bald man finished his call and returned, he red at her, his face etched with displeasure.


    "You kidnapped someone, and you didn''t even call Lionel to demand a ransom?"


    For a moment, the only sounds in the dpidated house were the howling wind and pounding rain.


    Hannah was speechless.


    Weren''t these guys supposed to be professionals? This is almostical.


    "Huh? Do we need to call? His wife gets abducted in front of his family''s home in a storm. We made it pretty obvious, and the security cameras must have caught


    it. It''s been hours. Her husband will definitely realize she''s missing and figure out a way to find us," thenky man said.


    The bald man stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Makes sense!"


    Hearing this, Hannah scoffed internally. She made a series of muffled noises, trying to signal that she had something to say.


    But thenky man didn''t get the hint and kept her mouth covered. In desperation, Hannah struggled to open her mouth and bit down hard.


    "Fuck, you bitch, you bit me!" he yelped, yanking his hand away.


    "Don''t you guys do a background check before you kidnap someone?" Hannah spat "Even if I didn''te I home for ten days, he wouldn''t care You''re expecting him toe looking for me on his own? You''re even more delusional than Tam."


    Once, she had run away from home for three days in a fit of anger. During that time, Lionel hadn''t sent her a single call or text.


    When she finally returned, Lily told her that Lionel hadn''t been home at all during those three days and hadn''t once asked about her.


    The kidnappers fell silent.


    "Boss, I think this is a trick. The bitch is trying to mess with us! We can''t believe her."


    Hannah''s eyelids drooped as she let out a faintugh. "My phone is in my pocket. The passcode is 0217 You can call him and tell him I''ve been kidnapped."


    The kidnappers conferred in low voices for a moment and


    Let


    wait a few more hours to


    they


    now and were immediately traced their n would be ruined


    Five hourster, as the sky began to lighten with the first hint of dawn, the bald


    man finally took Hannah''s phone and called Lionel.


    "Tell him you''ve been kidnapped!" the bald man ordered.


    Hannah nodded. When the call connected, she spoke in a dry, hoarse voice. "Lionel, I''ve been kidnapped."


    After a ten-second pause, a muffled voice came from the other end.


    "So?"