Chapter 79

Under the pitch-black night sky, the crashing waves mirrored the reflection of the moon,restlessly swirling

A passenger ferry docked at the pier cast out a blinding orange light. Most people would instinctively raise a hand to shield their eyes,but the woman in a black dress looked thrilled.

Just as she was about to step onto the ferry, two men in black suits suddenly closed in and restrained her.

She didn't even get a chance to struggle before being shoved into a van with blacked-out windows and fake plates.

The moment she got in, someone yanked off her mask and roughly jammed a black hood over her head.

After what felt like an hour and a half, the van pulled up at some mysterious house.

She was pushed into a room, stumbled, and fell hard to the ground.

Hearing the lock click behind her, she quickly pushed herself upright and tore off the hood. Seeing the same room she'd left just this morning, she lost it and screamed at the top of her lungs.

She thought she'd followed the masked man's instructions perfectly and evaded his eyes-thought she had a real shot at getting away.

Clearly, she thought wrong.

Now escape seemed next to impossible. She clenched her jaw, face full of anger and despair.

Outside the window, it was pitch dark. But in her mind still flashed the terrifying scene from earlier-it haunted her.

She got up, stumbled to the window, and yanked the curtains shut with force.

Turning back around, she dragged herself toward the bed.

Hot liquid suddenly started dripping from her nose.She wiped at it-it was blood.

A second later, the world started spinning. Her hand flew to her chest. The pain was awful,like steel needles stabbing straight into her heart.

She was terrified. What the hell was happening to her?

Barely keeping herself together, she crawled onto the bed.

Time dragged. It felt like forever before the ache finally started to fade.

Then her phone rang.

She fished it out from her dress pocket. The phone had been handed to her earlier that day by one of the masked man's bodyguards. Just for "convenient updates," he'd said. An unknown number popped up on the screen, way too long to be local. She hesitated and picked it up.

"Molly, got guts, don't you?"

That voice made her scalp prickle. It was him-the masked man.

He sounded casual, but every word dripped with threat and venom.

Her voice trembled, "S-Sir, I think there's been a misunderstanding..."

But he didn't let her finish. "Nosebleed? Feeling that stab in your chest?"

Her eyes flew open, panicked. So it was him. He did something to her.

Tears welled up, "Please. I don't wanna die. Just let me go..."

"Do what you're told. Or else..."

Molly felt like someone had their hand wrapped around her throat. One push, and she was doomed.

Hot tears mixed with bloody spit slid down her mouth and into her throat.

"I'll do it. Whatever you need me to do... I'll do it."

"This Saturday night, after the match ends,you-"

Eighty-eighth floor,Reid Group Tower-CEO's Office.

Tristan's sharp features looked unusually tense. He narrowed his eyes slightly, flipping through a few photos on his desk.

The woman in the photos wore a black dress, big shades, and a mask.

The pictures had been taken by the bodyguards he'd secretly dispatched to keep Megan safe.

After the acid attack by Nancy, mother of Natalie, the next day Tristan had ordered full covert protection for Megan.

His instructions were clear-never act rashly, don't expose yourselves. But if it came down to it, anyone who attacked was fair game. A kill shot was authorized,and he'd take full responsibility for all consequences.

Just yesterday, when Natalie came after Megan with a military-grade dagger, the guards had turned icy with tension, fingers tightening around their semi-autos in the bushes, ready to open fire.

Even though the scene was crowded and the riskof hitting innocents was high, their top priority was protecting Megan.

But to everyone's surprise, Megan's reaction was lightning quick. Even more unexpectedly, Jason had stepped in to help her out.The drama got defused pretty quickly.

After Megan accompanied Jason to the hospital, the bodyguard was just about to leave when something caught his eye-a woman in a black dress went to find Amelia. Something about the woman's figure made him do a double take-she looked a lot like the missing Molly He quickly snapped a few pictures.

When Molly noticed someone might be tailing her,the bodyguard didn't act rashly, just kept a safe distance so as not to tip her off.

Standing by the solid mahogany desk, Cameron lowered his head slightly. "Sir, their counter-tracking skills are top-notch. We completely lost them yesterday."

Tristan tapped his fingers on the desk rhythmically,each sound echoing in the tense silence.

After a long pause, he lifted his eyes, tinged with irritation. "Not surprising. Even if we had kept up,they wouldn't have let us walk away."

"Sir, should we tell the madam about this?"

His fingers stopped. "No need. Just tighten security around the Shaw family. Focus on the hospital."

"Yes, sir." Cameron bowed out and closed the door behind him.

Tristan walked to the massive floor-to-ceiling window,his long strides steady. Outside, the smoggy skyline of the capital city blurredthe outlines of towering buildings.

He stared into the distance,though his gaze showed no focus. Molly had resurfaced after both she and Wyatt were abducted. So-where's Wyatt? Was Wyatt running his own scheme, trying to dodge the law? Or was there someone else pulling the strings?

And if there was someone else, who the hell could it be?

The mastermind lurking in the shadows was just like the thick smog-stifling, vague, full of mystery. But sooner or later, sunlight would pierce through and wipe out the darkness at its core.

Megan and Rachel stepped out of the car,heading toward the main academic building.

That's when a shuffle of footsteps buzzed behind them.

Megan turned around instinctively.

More than thirty girls were marching toward them,clearly not in a friendly mood. Each one carried a black plastic bag-and whatever was inside didn't look pleasant.

Rachel immediately got alert and nudged Megan's arm."Megan, I'm getting the feeling this squad's here for you."

"Feeling? No need for guesswork. They're definitely here for me."

Rachel swallowed hard. "Don't tell me... they're carrying acid?"

Megan's eyes turned icy as she ran her tongue across the inside of her cheek.

She yanked Rachel behind her for protection, though Rachel stubbornly moved back up beside her.

They shared a smirk, bracing themselves for whatever came next.

The group stopped about five meters away

Leading the pack was a girl with heavy smoky eye makeup and dreadlocks, rocking a full-on punk outfit.She strutted forward with her chin high. "Thanks to you,Jason got hurt!"

Megan and Rachel instantly got it-fans of Jason.

Rachel laughed sarcastically. "He was helping someone, acting out of decency. It's even on his official site. You guys are the ones being ridiculous now."

The puunk girl spat on the ground. "So what if you've got Tristan behind you? We're not scared of his name."

The rest of the group started shouting.

"She's already married and still throwing herself at Jason-classic homewrecker!"

"Looks likea vixen, probably using cheap tricks on every guy she meets!"

"We'll make sure she learns her lesson!"

...

Megan crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Hey,you there-the wannabe Pirate of the Caribbean."