Chapter 288

At that precise moment, an unknown number flashed on Alexander's phone screen. 'Riverside Recycling Plant. She's there. Hurry.'

Alexander's pupils dilated. His fingers trembled as he immediately redialed the mysterious number, only to be met with endless ringing.

Without hesitation, Alexander jerked the steering wheel, tires screeching as he executed a dangerous U-turn toward the specified location.

Night had fully descended when Evelyn found herself still trapped in the cramped storage room.

The sudden flickering of overhead lights revealed Victoria still pacing impatiently in the same spot.

Moments later, the hired thugs returned empty-handed.

Naturally, it never occurred to them that Evelyn had remained hidden the entire time, the discarded cloth merely a clever diversion.

The atmosphere turned volatile.

"Worthless! Absolutely incompetent!" Victoria shrieked, jabbing her manicured finger at the men. As she turned to leave, the scar-faced leader blocked her path.

"Listen princess, we did our part. Now pay up."

Victoria tossed her hair with a derisive snort. "You lost the target and still expect payment? Consider yourselves lucky I don't have you eliminated!"

Her haughty exit was abruptly halted when two men seized her arms.

Enraged, Victoria whirled around - only to receive a brutal slap across her bandaged face. The scarred man gripped her jaw with calloused hands, his breath reeking of tobacco.

"Do you know who I am? My fiancé is Alexander Blackwood of Blackwood Enterpr—"

"Shut your filthy mouth!" Another slap landed. "We don't care who you screw. We want our money!"

Victoria's screams pierced the air. "Not my face! The surgery wounds—"

Evelyn instinctively touched her own bruised cheek, the memory of similar pain still fresh.

"I-I have money! Just let me go first!" Victoria's voice turned shrill with panic.

The scarred man's lips curled into a grotesque smile. "Too late for that now, sweetheart."

Victoria's eyes widened with dawning horror. "What do you want?"

The leader traced a dirty finger down her neck. "We expected easy money and some fun. Instead we get a runaway and your bitchy attitude. Time for alternative payment."

After a stunned silence, Victoria sneered. "You think gutter trash like you could touch me? My fiancé owns half of Willowbrook—"

Rip! Fabric tore before she could finish. "Might as well enjoy yourself, princess. Makes the beating hurt less."

Victoria's shrieks turned to whimpers as they forced her onto the filthy concrete.

Evelyn's fist clenched, poised to intervene—then froze.

Hadn't Victoria orchestrated this very scenario for her? The poetic justice made her hesitate.

Karma had arrived with brutal efficiency.

"Such a tease. Fighting us but your body says otherwise," the leader taunted.

Evelyn recoiled as Victoria's protests morphed into moans. The hypocrisy turned her stomach.

Of course. Victoria had always been promiscuous, even during their university days.

A bitter laugh escaped Evelyn's lips. All these years, Alexander had worshipped this very woman.

'Open your eyes, Alexander Blackwood. This is your precious virgin goddess.'

Disgusted, Evelyn covered her ears against the obscene sounds—just as a rat scurried over her feet.

Startled, she stumbled backward, her numb legs buckling. Cardboard boxes toppled with a crash.

Dead silence.

Then—"The hell? She's been here the whole time!"

"Fuck me sideways! The bitch never left!"

"Get her! Now!"