Chapter 5
An hour later, inside an abandoned factory.
Liora woke up to find herself suspended 5 meters above the ground. Below her, the floor was scattered with jagged shards of broken glass.
Three masked thugs stood on the ground.
Suspended beside her was Talia, who stared at the glass–covered floor in sheer terror. She burst into tears on the spot.
“Who the hell are you people?! Let me down! I don’t want to die!”
Liora gripped the rope tightly, her face as pale as a sheet.
Her mind raced. Who could’ve orchestrated this? Who would want both her and Talia kidnapped?
The leader of the group looked up and spoke coldly, “Let’s play a little game. Whichever one of your men shows up with 1.5 million first, I’ll let you go. The other one? I’m cutting the rope:
He paused dramatically, then made a slicing motion with his hand and smirked, “Snip! She drops. Instant splatter.”
Talia screamed, her face drained of all color. She frantically called Greg, her voice shrill with panic.
“Mr. Alston! Save me! I’ve been kidnapped! They said you have to bring 5 million, and you have to get here before Liora’s boyfriend does, or they’ll kill me!”
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On the other end of the line, Greg’s expression turned dark. “Hang in there. I’m coming with the money now.”
The thug leader looked up at Liora, growing impatient. “Still not calling?”
Liora clutched her phone, her knuckles white.
Greg had never loved her. He’d probably choose to appear as Mr. Alston to save Talia, right?
Back at his place, just two minutes after hanging up with Talia, Greg’s bodyguard–leader of the Guardians of Talia–reported, “Mr. Alston, we looked into it. Those three men contacted Liora by phone a couple of days ago.”
Greg’s grip on his phone tightened, his face darkening in an instant.
“Liora! You actually collaborated with criminals to stage a kidnapping?! No wonder they demanded 1.5 million. She is probably trying to scam me into paying off her nude loan debt!
“You’ve gotten really vicious, Liora!”
wwwwww
الله الله الله الله
Just then, his phone rang. It was Liora. He stared at the screen, then hung up without hesitation.
In the abandoned factory, Liora stared at her phone, stunned. The call had been rejected.
Suddenly, Talia’s phone, which was on speaker for some reason, lit up— and Greg’s furious voice echoed throughout the silent space.
“Talia, I promise I’ll get there before Liora’s boyfriend does!
“Tell them to just cut her rope. If they take care of her for me, I’ll give each of them an extra 150 grand!”
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All hope shattered in that moment. Liora let out a soft laugh, her lips curling bitterly.
Greg didn’t just refuse to save her–he wanted her dead. He hated her. There had never been a trace of love.
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Just 20 minutes later, Greg stormed into the factory wearing a black mask and sunglasses.
He carefully rescued Talia, cradling her protectively in his arms. As he walked past the still–suspended Liora, he glanced at her like she was trash.
His eyes, cold as ice, radiated pure disgust.
Before leaving, he kicked the large suitcase of cash toward the thugs and looked them over coldly. “Like I said–if you ruin her for me, each of you gets 150 grand.”
Liora’s eyes followed the two of them as they left, her fingers trembling.
The factory fell silent again. Then–with a snap–her rope was cut.
Liora plummeted from a height of 5 meters.
Bang!
Her back hit the ground first. The shards of glass pierced through her shirt and into her skin. She screamed in agony, tears spilling from her
eyes.
She staggered to her feet like a wounded stray, blood soaking her white T–shirt and dripping onto the glass–covered floor.
She tried to limp toward the edge of the shattered glass, but one of the thugs blocked her path.
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Liora frowned and said coldly, “Talia got what she wanted. You got your money. What, you’re still not letting me go?”
The thug smirked, no longer bothering to hide anything. “Smart girl. But damn, your love life sucks. You almost died, and the guy wouldn’t even pick up the phone. Thanks to you, I missed out on another 1.5 million.”
“Are you done?” Liora asked flatly. She tried to move again, only for another thug to step in front of her. “Who said you could leave?
“Sure, Ms. Renner’s business is handled. But we’re not about to take Mr. Alston’s money for nothing.”
The three exchanged glances. One of them grabbed Liora, tied her up again, and then forced a scalding cigarette butt into her mouth.
Liora screamed in pain, her body convulsing as tears and sweat streamed down her face.
Watching her suffer only seemed to thrill the thugs even more.
“Ms. Renner gave us very specific instructions,” one of them sneered. “Three years ago, she wanted to take pictures of you swallowing a lit cigarette. You didn’t cooperate, and she ended up falling. What a pity.
“Now that she’s rich and happy, she wants to tie up that little regret. She said you should get the full bullying experience!
“Hey, we’re almost out of smokes. Should we make her eat some sand next?”
Liora’s mouth was pried open. Cigarette butts–still burning–were shoved in, followed by cup after cup of gritty sand. Her eyes were red, tears streaming uncontrollably as she was forced to swallow again and again.
The three men laughed and mocked her while she choked and bled, her
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tears mixing with blood and splashing onto the shards of glass below.
No one knew how much time had passed before they finally stopped.
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Liora trembled as she got to her feet, barely able to stand. She managed only a few steps before her vision blurred–and everything went dark again.
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