Shela gently stroked her arm and vented, âElgin threw me into the lionâs den of men, what chance did I
stand! To make them disgusted by me and keep their hands off me, I had to slash up my face so bad it
would turn their stomachs!â
Her face twisted with fury. Her look could kill Letitia where she stood!
âHow did you manage to escape?â Letitia asked.
âHeh, thatâs none of your beeswax,â Shela shot back, âLetitia, youâve wrecked everything for me, and
Iâm not gonna let you off the hook!â
âYouâve made your bed, now lie in it! Why the hell blame me?!â
âItâs all on you! All your fault!â Shela was losing it, âI know Iâm a goner. Elgin wonât let me die, but heâll
make me wish I could! So, Iâm gonna drag you down with me!â
âHa ha ha ha, since Elginâs so smitten with you, Iâm gonna kill you! Make him pine for you for the rest of
his miserable life, forever out of his reach! We both die, and he wonât get off easy either!â
âJust you wait, Letitia, Iâm about to give Elgin a ring. Heâll come running to save you, and then, in front
of his very eyes, Iâll carve up your face, make you uglier than meâ¦After that, Iâll invite a few guys over
to⦠âtake good careâ of you, let him watch. Finally, Iâll join you in death⦠ha ha ha, isnât my plan just
perfect?â
Letitia glared at her, âYouâve lost it.â
âYes! Iâve gone mad, ever since you blew my cover, Iâve been mad! Iâve got nothing left!â
Letitia didnât argue further. Whatâs the point in reasoning with someone whoâs on a kamikaze mission?
She had
to look out for herself.
She couldnât die, at least⦠not by Shelaâs hand!
Sheâd survived two grueling years in the psych ward.
Sheâd survived the early days of marriage to Elgin.
Now, when sheâs on the brink of uncovering the truth and rescuing her dad, she canât just die!
The ceiling hatch stayed open, light streaming in. Shela paced back and forth, occasionally flirting with
the
men.
Letitia kept her eyes closed, conserving energy.
But those dirty conversations and voices⦠were too much to bear.
Downstairs, Shela sat on a bald guyâs lap, deliberately showing off her shoulder, âThanks for helping
me out, I wonât forget this favorâ¦â
The bald guy leered, âToo bad about your face, otherwise it wouldâve been even better.â
âStop it.â
It turned out that Shela had seduced the bald guy to help her escape and capture Letitia.
Half an hour later, the bald man got dressed as he said, âYou sure know how to cling. But I gotta split.
The stuffâs with you, you deal with it.â
He knew Shela had a death wish and he wasnât about to get his hands dirty.
A moment of pleasure could cost him his life.
Time to hit the road, no one wanted to be mixed up with a crazy broad.
Footsteps faded.
Shele sat up and dialed Elginâs number.
Ring ring, ring-
Hearing the sound, Letitia perked up too.
âHello, Elginâs voice was deep, âWhoâs this?â
Itâs me. Mr. Ramirez, Shela cooed.
Shela!
âYep, havenât seen you in a few days, thought you mightâve forgotten about me. Big shots tend to be
forgetful, you know.â
You took Letitia!â Elgin guessed immediately, âYouâve got some nerve!â
Ivory Towers was in an uproar, and Elgin had his people scouring for Letitia.
Unfortunately, the place where Letitia went missing had no cameras!
He was frantic and brainstorming strategies when Shelaâs call came in.
Shela should be suffering, unable to live or die, and here she was calling him!
She was behind this!
âNo wonder youâre Mr. Ramirez, so smart, right on the money,â Shela replied, âYep, Letitiaâs with me.
Mr. Ramirez,
what do you think I should do with her?â
Elgin was icy, âDonât you dare!â
âMr. Ramirez, get this straight, youâre the one begging me now, why the tone?â
âShela, Elgin threatened, âdonât you care about your father? Your family?â
âHa ha ha ha ha, Iâm ready to cash in my chips, why should I care about anyone else? My dadâs pretty
much a vegetable now, just let him die! Death is the real relief!â
Elginâs face was grim.
Shela was ready to burn bridges, with nothing left to lose.
If playing hardball wasnât working, time to switch tactics and negotiate gently.
Buy some time first!
âWhat do you want?â Elgin asked, âName your price! Anything!â
âI want cash, I want to live.â
He didnât hesitate, âOkay.â
His top priority was to stabilize Shelaâs mood, otherwise, Letitia would bear the brunt.
He cared too much!
The hurt on her was pain in his heart!
Heh, forget it, Shela sneered, âCut the crap. Elgin, Iâll tell you I want nothing. I just want Letitia dead! I
want her
to join me! At least Iâll have company on the way to hell!â
With that, she hung up and tossed the phone into the water!
Elgin stared at the screen, fire in his eyes!
Letitia fell into anyone elseâs hands, heâd have some leverage to save her, because no matter what the
* drapper wanted, he was willing to meet their demands to ensure her safety.
A person? Heâd trade himself!
But the kidnapper was Shela, a desperado who wanted nothing!
Elginâs worst fear had come true.
No, he couldnât panic, Letitia was counting on him to rescue her!
âTrace the call we just got,â Elgin ordered, âAlso, gather all the bodyguards, be ready to move out!â
âYes, Mr. Ramirez!â
With his face stern, he strode out.
Letitia⦠hold on, you have to wait for me!
Even if it meant sacrificing himself, he needed her to live!
âMr. Ramirez, weâve got a location,â the head bodyguard reported, âItâs in a small village in the
suburbs!â
âLetâs go, get the lay of the land, set up an ambush, and be ready for a rescue!â
Elgin hopped into the car and slapped on his Bluetooth headset, hitting the gas to peel out of Ivory
Towers.
Heâd move heaven and earth to save Letitia!
She just couldnât be in trouble!
Cars were streaming out of Ivory Towers, one after another.
It was the witching hour at 1 AM.
Letitiaâs stomach was growling louder than a bear. Her feet shackled with chains made her move
around a real pain. She was so cold that her face seemed to be in concrete.
She could pass out any second now. But she kept telling herself donât sleep, just donâtâ¦
âWhoosh!â A bucket of ice-cold water was dumped on her, soaking her from head to toe.