The other man immediately nodded in agreement. "We know we were wrong. Please, just let us go."


    "If that''s not enough, we can pay you. We can settle this privately," the first man pleaded, looking at Evangeline with a mixture of fear and anxiety.


    "For money? Who do you think you''re kidding?" one of the bodyguards scoffed. "Tell the truth."


    "The truth is we were just after money," the man insisted, ncing at Evangeline''s car. "We could tell a woman drives this car, and women usually try to handle these things quietly to avoid trouble."


    "We just pick remote roads like this to rob people. Once we get the money, we let them go. We swear we had no other intentions."


    The other man nodded vigorously, backing him up.


    It was obvious they were lying. The bodyguards didn''t buy it, and neither did Evangeline.


    "It seems they won''t tell the truth without a little persuasion," she said thoughtfully.


    One of the bodyguards considered this and pulled a knife from his pocket.


    Evangeline didn''t take it. "Torture is illegal," she stated calmly. "Besides, a wound like that isn''t particrly painful."


    She nced down at her dress, then unpinned the brooch from herpel. Crouching down, she held it up to the man''s face.


    He had no idea what she was nning, but her unnervingposure made his blood run cold. "What are you doing?" he stammered.


    Evangeline offered a faint smile, bringing the sharp point of the pin closer to his hand. "Have you ever heard the saying that the pain in your fingertips is connected to your heart?"


    "Imagine me sliding this pin under your fingernail. It seems like a small thing, but as it goes in, the pain will shoot through your entire hand. Your heart will ache with a sharp, itching numbness, and there''s absolutely nothing you can do to stop it..."


    The moment she moved the pin toward his finger, the man broke out in a cold sweat. "I''ll talk!" he screamed. "I''ll tell you everything!"


    "Someone hired us! They wanted us to... to ruin you."


    At his words, Evangeline''s movements ceased, and her expression turned to ice.


    "A woman hired us!" the man blurted out, his voice trembling. "She said if we assaulted you and filmed it, she''d give us a huge sum of money."


    Fearing the same treatment, the other man spilled everything.


    "The client met us with her facepletely covered, so we don''t know who she is Judging by her voice and build she''s woman-assuming she wasn''t using a voice changer."


    "She''s the one who told us what car you''d be driving and what time you''d be passing through here."


    "She told us not to kill you, just that you''d provoked her and she wanted to teach you a lesson."


    As the two men finished their story, Evangeline had a very good idea of who was behind it. Still, she asked with a cold smirk, "How do Immow you''re not tying again?"


    "We have a recording!" the man said hastily. He carefully took out his phone and


    opened the voice recorder app.


    The moment he pressed y, a woman''s voice filled the air.


    "Let me be clear. This must be done in secret. Nothing can be leaked."


    The man gave an embarrassedugh. "We''re not stupid. We don''t just do whatever someone tells us to. We don''t know herrso of We took precautions."


    Cotarse


    Evangeline ignored him, a flicker of recognition in her eyes.


    The woman''s voice was familiar. Despite the deliberate attempt to alter her tone,


    Evangeline knew instantly that it was Poppy Yates.