I tuned out their harsh words, my heart heavy, and quickened my pace to catch a taxi to the airport. Just as I reached the intersection, a van screeched to a halt in front of me.
A man covered in tattoos climbed out, his demeanor menacing. “Is this Miss Ingrid?”
I instinctively shook my head, alert and frightened. But before I could back away, he grabbed me roughly, pulling me into the van.
Panic surged as I felt ropes tighten around my wrists and ankles, and a mask obscured my vision. Terror washed over me, but amidst the fear, a single thought persisted: Asher would come to save me.
When the van finally stopped, I was dragged out and taken to an abandoned hospital. The tattooed man suddenly threw a phone at me, his voice low and threatening. “Call Asher and tell him to prepare 5 million to redeem you, or I’ll kill him!”
Looking at the phone in my trembling hands, dread coiled in my stomach. I felt utterly trapped, uncertain of what to do next.
My hands trembled as I pressed the shortcut number, but to my horror, the call disconnected as soon as it connected. I dialed repeatedly, each attempt ending in the same cruel fate—Asher hung up on me without a second thought.
As I faced the leering, predatory gazes of the men surrounding me, despair washed over me like a wave. In a moment of hopelessness, I pressed the last number on my list—my ninth attempt, and the final one.
To my surprise, it rang through.
“Asher, please save me! I’ve been kidnapped by bad guys!” I shouted, my voice cracking with desperation.
But his response shattered my hope and plunged me deeper into despair.
“Ingrid, that’s enough!” Asher’s voice crackled with fury. “You keep challenging my limits—are you done?”
“Sleeping pills, heavy bleeding, and now kidnapping? Can you please just stop!”
His angry words echoed in the gloomy room, each syllable cutting into my heart like a sharp knife, leaving me feeling more isolated than ever.
The phone beeped with a busy tone, and the tattooed man shot me a mocking glance before snatching it away with a grin. “Tsk tsk tsk. I didn’t expect you to be such a pathetic pawn, treated like a toy by Asher, coming and going as he pleases. Now you’re in danger, and he doesn’t lift a finger to save you. Looks like your place in his heart is pretty dispensable.”