Kate gave me the scoop on her sister Tracey''s whereabouts, sharing Tracey was nning a press conference in theing days. The n was simple. I would expose Tracey''s origins to the world, revealing her as the product of an affair, and let the chips fall where they may.


    I yed along, agreeing to Kate''s n. However, my true goal was to meet Tracey before the press conference to check if she was the same Tracie from the orphanage.


    My memories of her were fuzzy at best, except for a vivid image of her handing me a candy, her hand marked by a distinctive burn scar.


    ''If she was indeed Tracie, why would she wish me harm? Or have I gotten it all wrong?'' I wondered, ''And then there is Richard. What about him?''


    I couldn''t help but close my eyes, overwhelmed. I had to get to the bottom of this. Too many people were involved.


    I parked outside the Goodwin Mansion at the break of dawn, waiting for Tracey to emerge for her press conference.N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.


    Kate snuck up to my car from the back entrance, tapping on the window. "Don''t bother waiting. Tracey canceled the press conference."


    I frowned slightly. Tracey was always on high alert, simr to thest gathering, where she managed everything without ever showing her face. She knew every move made. Where could she be watching me from at the time?


    I scanned my surroundings. I had chosen a spot out of reach from any surveince, yet she knew I was there.


    "I guess we''ll have to coborate some other time," I said, not wanting Kate to sense my urgency in meeting Tracey.


    Kate grabbed my arm, her voice dropping to a threat, "Leave Mrs. Hart''s matters out of this, or you''ll end up just like her."


    I couldn''t help but smirk. The world turned upside down, and Kate was ying her part in the chaos.


    I asked, "Kate, what is it that you want? You already have ude. But seriously, is this weak and unrecognizable ude really what you were hoping for?"


    After losing her mother to foul y, ude was a shadow of her former self.


    "It''s none of your business. ude belongs to me, body and soul," Kate snapped, turning to cross the street That''s when a van pulled up beside her, and two burly men jumped out. Before she could react, they had knocked her out and thrown her into the back.


    My first instinct wasn''t to help her but to escape. Having been kidnapped once, I had no desire to repeat the experience. I sped off, the van inhot pursuit, seemingly


    determined to catch me, to ver


    Could it be that, besides Kate, someone else wanted to kidnap me, too?


    In a panic, I called Richard, my voice breaking, "Someone''s chasing me."


    Bang! The van rammed into my car just as I was on the call.


    The Goodwin Mansion''s forest path was usually serene, with little traffic. Therefore, the loud crash was unlikely to draw attention. "ire..."


    Hearing Richard''s voice, I stepped on the gas, shouting into the phone, "Richard, I don''t want to be kidnapped. I don''t want to die."


    The fear from my past life was


    overwhelming. Maybe I should have


    heeded their advice and seen a


    therapist. Perhaps I wouldn''t be so terrified.


    Richard shouted, "ire, stay calm. Tell me where you are."


    "Goodwin Mansion''s trail..."


    Bang! Another crash came. The van blocked my path, and I mmed right into its side.