Lionelforted himself with these thoughts as he followed them.


    However, when they reached the basement and he saw Sandra locked inside, Lionel froze.


    He stared at Quennel in disbelief, only to see a faint smile ying on his lips.


    So they hadn''t moved her. Even knowing the police wereing, they had done nothing. They wanted the police to catch him red-handed, to witness his crime firsthand!


    When Mr. and Mrs. Woods saw Sandra, they were stunned for several seconds, barely recognizing the person locked inside as their daughter.


    She was filthy and utterly haggard, her cheeks so hollow and sunken she was a shadow of her former morous, radiant self.


    Mr. David Woods nudged his wife, signaling with his eyes for her to step forward. Their goal was to extort money.


    If they didn''t put on a dramatic enough show, their true intentions might be exposed.


    "Sandra!" Mrs. Edith Woods cried out. "Is that you? My Sandra, my daughter! What happened to you? Mama''s here to take you home! Look up, look at me, darling, Mama''s here!"


    Mrs. Edith Woods pounded on the nearby pirs, her shouts turning into sobs as real tears streamed down her face.


    Sandra, huddled in a corner, slowly looked up at the sound. She stared nkly at the crowd of people before her.


    In the dim light, she recognized her parents standing with police officers. For a moment, she couldn''tprehend what was happening.


    "Come here, let Mama see you. I brought the police to take you home. Don''t worry, Mama won''t let the person who did this to you get away with it. Thew will bring you justice. We''re going home, we''re going home right now!"


    "Home?" Sandra mumbled the word in disbelief. After a few seconds, it finally sank in.


    She took a deep breath, steadied herself against the wall, and staggered toward her mother.


    It wasn''t until she was brought upstairs, cleaned up, and changed into fresh clothes, and after they had briefly exined the situation, that she understood someone had anonymously called the police to rescue her.


    The problem was, she had no idea who it could be.


    But right now, she didn''t care. She was free. She could finally leave this ce, leave Lionel, once and for all!


    Sandra had briefly considered reporting Quennel for imprisoning her before.


    But when her eyes met his-mocking and amused-she swallowed the words back down.


    That man was terrifying. The consequences of reporting him would be unimaginable.


    “Ms. Woods, I need to confirm onest time. The person who illegally imprisoned you was Lionel. This man, correct?"


    Lionel''s eyes widened, ring at Sandra in a silent warning not to say the wrong thing.


    But Sandra ignored his threat. She rushed forward, grabbed the police officer''s arm, and cried out.


    "Yes, it was him! It was him! Please,


    arrest him! He locked me in the


    basement and tortured me! All these bruises on my body are from him!


    Please take me home! I''m s Scared!"


    "What nonsense are you talking?! The first person who locked you u was Quennel Those injuries are from when he beat you! How can


    frame me like this?"