Chapter 2

I angrily yelled, "All the bodyguards she hired are gone! Ask her yourself. Does she even care if Cyril lives or if I'm still her brother? I'm not asking her to abandon her precious darling to come here, I'm just begging her not to block our only way out!"

When Cyril saw that the call was connected, he quickly leaned over and asked, "So? What did Ella say?"

My eyes burned red with frustration, but I didn't have the heart to tell him the truth.

On the other end of the line, the call had been transferred to Gabriella. When she heard this, she growled, "What do you expect me to say? Vance, you know perfectly well that Cyril has nothing to do at home except overthink everything, and you're still helping him pull these stunts!"

She added angrily, "You're a Rutherfurd, so maybe you should think about where your loyalty lies. You've been repeatedly helping an outsider interfere with my staff! I'm on a business trip right now and don't have time for your drama!"

In the background, I heard the sound of elimination gunshots from the game. Freddie's voice rang out, excitedly calling Gabriella's name and telling her to hang up.

After the bloody lesson of being tortured in my previous life, I felt increasingly cold toward Gabriella.

I forced myself to help Cyril up and tried to save us both. However, just as we were crawling forward, a flashlight beam hit us.

"Boss, they're here!"

A strong, tanned hand grabbed Cyril's ankle and yanked him backward. Then, a dirty boot stomped hard on his wrist, and the sound of breaking bone rang sharply through the night.

Cyril broke out in a cold sweat from the pain. Yet, he still desperately grabbed on to the man's pant leg with all his strength and shouted at me, "Vance, run! Find Ella! We agreed on an emergency signal... No matter where they take me, she'll come for me when she sees it!"

He held onto the man's legs tightly, but his body swayed from excessive blood loss, his face pale.

At that point, Cyril had no one left to count on but me. I bit down on my lip, turned, and sprinted a few hundred yards before diving straight into the river. I swam along the current to the shore, where Hannah Lowell's house was nearby.

The evening wind was chilly, and my soaked clothes clung to me, dripping water down my legs.

"Hannah! Hannah! Please open the door. I'm begging you to save us!" I frantically pressed the doorbell for help.

After a full ten minutes, the door finally opened.

Hannah wore a lace camisole nightgown and lazily leaned against the man beside her. She glanced at me and raised her hand to finish the red wine in her glass.

She purred, "Well, if it isn't Mr. Rutherfurd. What an unexpected visit."

I didn't have time to deal with her sarcasm. I rushed forward and grabbed her sleeve, pulling her outside.

"Please, bring your bodyguards and help me save Cyril! They're at Magnolia Avenue right now. It's not far. I'm begging you, please. If we wait any longer, it'll be too late!"

She disgustedly yanked her sleeve away and said, "Mr. Rutherfurd, you were quite arrogant when you didn't need anything from me, acting all cold and distant. You were too good for the likes of me back then, so why are you playing the victim and demanding help now?"

She continued, "You're not going to apologize or offer an explanation? Just orders?"

My heart sank. When Hannah pursued me before, she had sworn that she'd do anything for me.

I never agreed to be with her because I knew that Gabriella had done too many terrible things and had made too many enemies. Consequently, everyone close to us was being watched.

Additionally, Hannah had a background in criminal investigations. If she got involved with me, Gabriella would undoubtedly force her to do her dirty work.

She hummed a tune as she stared at me, her sharp eyes practically tearing through my soaked clothes. Out of options, I dropped to my knees and slapped myself twice.

"I'm sorry. I was wrong before. Please, be the bigger person. I'm begging you to send three or four people, or even just one or two, to come with me! Cyril's life is hanging by a thread. Even if you don't care about me, at least remember that your job is to save lives."