Just then, the man on the ground coughed violently, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the pavement.


    The sight of it startled Evangeline, and she instinctively moved to get out of the car.


    But with her hand on the handle, she froze.


    Something was wrong.


    Getting out of the car right now would be a mistake. Staying in the car was safer. Whether she''d struck him was almost irrelevant-their presence here was suspicious enough to make the risk too high.


    Even if she had struck him, the blood suggested internal injuries, and moving an injured person could be dangerous. If this was a trap, getting out would put her in immediate peril.


    Forcing herself to remain calm, Evangeline thought for a few seconds and decided to stay inside the car. She ignored the man yelling at her to get out and instead sent a quick text before pulling up the footage from her car''s dashcam.


    She watched the recording twice. She had braked in time, not touching him at all.


    The man had simply timed his fall to coincide with her car''s approach, even ncing at her license te just before he went down.


    This was an ambush, carefully set up just for her. A cold sweat broke out on her back.


    Seeing that she wasn''t getting out, the other man seemed to realize his n had failed and circled around to try the rear door. Fortunately, she had a habit of keeping her doors locked.


    With a vicious curse, the man started pounding on the window with his elbow.


    *Thump—*


    The heavy impact echoed inside the car.


    Evangeline mmed her foot on the elerator, but as the car lurched forward, she spotted a spike stripid across the road ahead.


    Driving over it would blow her tires, leaving her stranded and vulnerable. It was clear they hade prepared.


    She stomped on the brake and


    grabbed her phone again, intending to call for help. But before she could dial, the man who had been feigning injury on the ground seemed to realize she had nowhere to go. He stood up, dusted himself off, and walked toward her with a cold,


    leisurely smirk.


    Evangeline watched as he pulled a small, cylindrical object from his pocket. When she saw what it was, her heart sank.


    It was a window breaker.


    She was safe inside the car, but if they dragged her out, anything could happen.


    Her heart hammered as Evangeline''s gaze darted around the car''s interior. Her hand flew to her ring, fingers closing around the familiar


    band and the hidden de within. She just had to hold out. Buy herself every second she could.


    Gritting her teeth, she saw the man raise the window breaker. As he brought it crashing down toward the ss she squeezed her eyes shut and threw an arm over her heads


    A few seconds passed, but the expected sound of shattering ss never came.


    Evangeline opened her eyes and looked out the window to see both men pinned to the ground by two bodyguards Glenn Carlisle had assigned to her.


    "Miss Whitmore, are you alright?" one of the bodyguards asked urgently as she cautiously stepped out of the car.


    Evangeline shook her head. "You got here just in time."


    Anyter, and she couldn''t imagine what would have happened. Her gaze fell on the


    two men being held down. "Who sent you?" she demanded.


    Now that she could see them clearly, she realized they were in their thirties or forties, their eyes shifting nervously.


    They didn''t look like professional killers.


    They didn''t even try to resist, their heads bowed in fear as the bodyguards held them fast.


    "She asked you a question. Speak!" one of the bodyguards said, kicking one of the


    men.


    The man stammered, his eyes darting around. "Nobody sent us. We... we just wanted some money."