Chapter 4

Natalie's soft words felt like a sharp knife slicing deep into Anathea's heart. "Greg's exhausted from last night and just fell asleep. I don't think I should wake him up. How about you try calling back later?"

Anathea's grip loosened. Her phone slipped from her hand, landing on her lap.

The two abductors seemed to have anticipated this reaction. They wore smug expressions as if they were watching a show.

"What the hell? Your husband is sleeping with another woman?" Seamus Boone, the heavyset man, clicked his tongue.

"It seems you're not important to him at all," Frankie added.

His words dug into the wound in Anathea's chest, making her struggle to breathe.

Of course. Gregory had always loved Natalie. Wasn't it perfectly normal for them to be together?

"Then she's nothing to Mr. Sinclair, right?" Frankie shot Anathea a disdainful glance. "What a hassle. Might as well just let me screw her now."

"Don't be in such a rush. We're not done yet." Seamus glanced at the message on his phone. A meaningful look flashed in his eyes before he suddenly asked, "Doesn't she have a son?"

At the mention of Xander, Anathea's lips twisted into a bitter smile. She couldn't shake the image of Xander walking away from her and running toward Natalie.

Would he care if he knew she was abducted? He was the child she'd nearly given her life to bring into this world, after all.

"Call your son," Seamus ordered.

Anathea remained motionless.

Noticing her hesitation, Seamus leaned down and looked her dead in the eye. He asked, "Don't you want to see how your son will react to seeing his mom abducted? I wonder if he cares about you."

His words were like a trigger, stirring the faintest spark of hope still buried deep inside Anathea.

She struggled for a moment, then, driven by a flicker of desperate hope, dialed Xander's smartwatch.

When the video call connected and she saw Xander's face, a brief moment of joy flickered in her eyes. "Xander—"

Before she could finish her sentence, Seamus suddenly clamped his hand around her throat and shouted into the screen at Xander, "Watch carefully. This is your mom! If you don't save her, she's as good as dead!"

Seeing such a fierce and menacing expression and hearing those words, any typical five-year-old would be scared into tears.

But Xander simply stared at Anathea in the video, as if sizing her up. His small brows furrowed slightly.

"Xander!" Anathea's face reddened from the suffocation, yet she was worried about Xander. "Don't be scared."

"She's not my mom," Xander's voice rang out, devoid of emotion, as though the woman on the screen was a total stranger.

His words struck Anathea like a hammer, knocking the wind out of her. She felt dizzy.

"Look carefully. Isn't she your mom?" Seamus grabbed the knife from Frankie's hand and pressed it against Anathea's throat. Raising his voice, he continued, "If she's not, I'll slit her throat right here. You'll lose your mom!"

Xander stared at Anathea through the screen.

Anathea watched his reaction carefully. How could any child not care about their mother's life?

But Xander was the exception.

"She's not! My mom is Ms. Whitman. She's with my dad now!"

At that moment, the last spark of light in Anathea's eyes vanished. Her throat felt as if it had been sealed shut. She couldn't say a word.

Xander didn't say another thing. He simply ended the call, severing the last thread of hope she had left.

Anathea exhaled shakily, staring up at the overcast sky. A drop of rain landed on her cheek, almost like a tear, but she couldn't cry.

The man she'd loved for 15 years had never cared for her. The son she'd raised for five years wanted someone else to be his mother. Neither of them cared whether she lived or died.

Seeing her slumped on the ground, her eyes empty with sorrow, Seamus and Frankie exchanged a glance, their lips twitching. Then, Seamus pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of Anathea to report back.

"I've done what you asked. She called Gregory and Xander."

A moment later, his phone rang. A woman's voice came through when he answered. "Well done."

She sounded almost giddy. Seeing Anathea so broken, she was thrilled. Anathea had dared to compete with her for Gregory, hadn't she? What a foolish mistake.

Since Anathea still held onto unrealistic hopes for Gregory, she decided to shatter it completely.

"Now… how should we deal with her?" Seamus asked.

"Do whatever you want with her," the woman replied with a light laugh before hanging up.

Seamus pocketed his phone and looked at Anathea with a dangerous gleam in his eyes. "She said we can do whatever we want."

"Perfect!" Frankie's eyes gleamed with excitement. He rubbed his hands together and stepped toward Anathea.

"W-What are you going to do?" As Anathea watched the man approach her, she struggled to move back until her back pressed against the wall.

"What do you think? Our boss said we can do whatever we want with you. Now, we're gonna have some fun!" Frankie leered, his hand reaching toward Anathea.

"Wait." Seamus grabbed Frankie's wrist.

Annoyed at being interrupted, Frankie scowled. "What now?"

"I've got a better idea." Seamus looked at the notification of a 200-thousand-dollar transfer to his bank account, then began eyeing Anathea from head to toe, like she was nothing more than an item for sale.

"With a face and body like that, if we sell her, the profit would easily exceed 200 thousand dollars in just a week."

"You mean…" Frankie rubbed his chin, a grin spreading across his face.

Anathea could feel their lecherous stares crawling over her skin. She tried to run, but then a sharp pain shot through her neck, and darkness consumed her.

…

Anathea woke to the pounding beat of music. Her eyes shot open, and she found herself being stripped by someone.

"Get off!" Anathea pushed the person away in terror, clutching her chest as she curled up into the corner of the couch.

The one pushed away was a woman over 50. Seeing Anathea trembling in fear, she scoffed in disdain. "What's with the act? Seeing how you're in here, stop pretending to be some pure virgin. Hurry up and get changed. You've got customers to serve."

Customers?

Anathea's breath hitched.