As soon as she cautiously stepped out of the bus onto the crowded road, a deafening screech of tires announced the sudden arrival of a colossal, ominous dark SUV that came to an abrupt halt right in front of her.
Before she could even fathom the perilous situation unfolding, a pair of strong arms yanked her forcefully into the vehicle, causing a jolt of fear to course through her veins.
An overwhelming sense of terror engulfed her as a cloth, reeking of an acrid scent, was forcefully pressed against her mouth, stifling her cries for help. The chaotic scene played out in a blur, with Lily's desperate voice desperately calling out her name in a futile attempt to thwart the unfolding calamity.
As the world around her faded into an eerie darkness, her senses succumbed to the consuming void, leaving her with nothing but haunting uncertainty.
Lily could only watch the car driving away, her anger rising at seeing the surrounding spectators recording videos on their phones instead of rushing to help her or call the police.
Her mind hurriedly sought to find a solution to get Haven out of the trouble in which she had landed.
'What to do... what to do... AHA!'
The crowd had started dispersing and she worriedly looked around, her eyes darting everywhere for the sight of an available taxi which she could grab.
No matter how badly she wanted to save her friend, she wasn't foolish enough to think that she could do it alone without any sort of help whatsoever.
Lily knew exactly who to contact.
"Where to, madam?" the taxi driver asked, nodding at her.
"Wei Corporations, please, as quickly as possible."
Considering what Haven had told her about Ezekiel Wei, he wasn't the type of guy to leave the people he had taken with him. And she was important to him. Her safety mattered since if she landed in the wrong hands, his life would automatically be in danger too.
The tall, massive building came into her sight and Lily craned her neck up high, internally pouting when she wondered how long it would take to reach the topmost floor of the company. Why do people even build such tall buildings?!
After paying the driver the money he demanded, she walked inside and received the degrading and scrutinizing stares she was expecting to receive. Her clothes were proof enough that she neither was at the level these people had reached nor had the money they had already acquired.
Still, she walked with her head held high toward the receptionist who eyed her suspiciously through her fake, long eyelashes.
Lily unconsciously frowned. How could somebody even look through such huge lashes covering their eyes?
The woman sure was talented!
"How may I help you, Miss—?"
"Lily." she smiled. "I need to speak with your Boss, Mr. Wei this instant."
The receptionist almost puked out blood at hearing her words. How shameless could a person be? The girl must have a death wish to demand the CEO's presence like that. Or she was simply too stupid to exist in this world anymore.
Nonetheless, the woman smiled as politely and professionally as she could. "I apologize but Mr. Wei is currently detained in an extremely important meeting—"
The phone in front of her suddenly rang and Li Jia smiled before excusing herself to pick up the call. While she was busy attending to the phone, all sorts of horrible scenarios were flashing inside her head at the same time.
Where was Haven?
What were those pasty-faced thugs doing to her!?
Maybe they were going to sell off her organs like they did in the movies...
Not wasting another second, she didn't bother waiting for the receptionist who seemed too busy to be attending to anyone at the moment. Her eyes were dead-set on the elevator and as the gates shut before her, the last thing she saw were the guards running toward her.
"Stop—!"
Silence echoed around her as she pressed the 77th floor of the building and continued to tap her foot against the clear marble floor of the gleaming elevator. Every second that passed seemed like hours, threatening to send her into either a heart attack or brain failure.
In either case: she would be dead before she could say 'marshmallows.'
After what seemed like ages, the doors dinged open and Lily stumbled out, her head bumping into a hard chest, almost cracking her skull midway.
Now I'll look up and find a prince charming smiling at me and asking me if I'm okay! Just my lucky day~
But the second she glanced up, her heart almost stopped beating.
He wasn't a prince charming.
He was the exact opposite.
More like a demon...
Piercing midnight blue eyes that sent a shiver of fever down her spine. If eyes could kill, she would be sizzling like bacon already! Why did he look so mean and dangerous? Lily had absolutely no clue.
Maybe he had just lost his job?
Ah, the poor gorgeous prince!
Yet his handsome, breathtaking features didn't fail to send her into a daze in an instant.
"Move."
All it took was one word and he was already on her black list.
"Sir, do you know where Mr. Ezekiel Wei is—"
"Are you deaf?" his voice reminded her of the Arctic icebergs. Lily almost froze up but the fear of having lost her friend was too much to bear. "I. Said. Move."
"Did you leave your stove on?" she asked and for a second, he frowned, wondering what the hell she meant. "If not, then nothing could be more important than telling where Mr. Wei is!"
"And why would you want to know where he is?" he tilted his head.
"My friend, Haven was just kidnapped and I don't know where she is—"
The man's aura had already made the temperature fall but suddenly it felt as if she was buried under an iceberg herself. A man walked toward her and Lily's eyes remained as wide as saucers at the sight of him.
"What did you just say?"