In the corner, Vivienne Ashford, all skin and bones, clutched a phone with a shattered screen.
Her right hand still covered her hugely swollen belly on instinct, not daring to move away for even a second.
The ringtone had been turned down to almost nothing. Vivienne was terrified of alerting the thugs switching shifts by the door.
At last, the call connected. That familiar cold male voice came through, sharp and distant.
"Vivienne Ashford, what stunt are you pulling this time?"
"Nathaniel, don't hang up! Please, save me. Serena Ashford had people kidnap me!"
Vivienne didn't even want to think about what the last three days in this place had been like.
They hit her whenever they felt like it, cursed at her like she was dirt, threw her leftovers and sour soup to eat, and even forced her to bark and crawl like a dog just to entertain those sick monsters.
And every bit of it was thanks to her half-sister, Serena Ashford.
Even the engagement she once had with Nathaniel Blackwell had already been called off by him, just like that, without giving her any choice at all...
There was a brief silence on the other end, then Nathaniel let out a cold, mocking laugh.
"Vivienne Ashford, your lies are getting worse and worse."
The tears in Vivienne's eyes froze. She looked stunned.
He didn't believe her?
"If you were really kidnapped, then why are you calling me on your own phone?"
"Why don't you take a photo of yourself being kidnapped right now? Just like those photos you used back then to humiliate Serena. Prove it to me."
"Using the same cheap trick you pulled on Serena to frame her now? You really are unbelievably stupid."
Vivienne opened her mouth, but all she felt was bitterness choking her chest. She didn't even know where to begin.
"Nathaniel... I wasn't the one who caused your father's death. It was Serena Ashford. Why won't you believe me just once?"
"Even if you hate me, even if you don't want to hear a single word of explanation, at least... at least for the sake of the baby I'm carrying, your child... save me, okay?"
Vivienne kept one eye on the half-closed door, panic flooding her whole body. Her voice was so low it was almost a whisper, trembling so badly it barely sounded human.
But Nathaniel Blackwell cut her off, his voice full of disgust.
"At a time like this, you're still trying to pin this on Serena?"
"You really think I don't know who the bastard in your belly belongs to?"
"Vivienne Ashford, even if you were actually kidnapped, I still wouldn't save you. Hell, I'd rather you just die!"
Before Vivienne could squeeze out another word, Nathaniel had already ended the call.
Standing nearby the whole time, Serena Ashford's eyes flashed with even deeper smugness, dark and poisonous.
But in the next second, she wiped that look away and put on a worried face.
"Nathaniel, is my sister really okay? Maybe... maybe we should still send someone to check on her?"
Nathaniel frowned, impatience written all over his face. "No need. I've had enough of this kind of act."
Again and again, he'd given her chances. He had hoped she would finally change.
But Vivienne's cruelty had gone way beyond anything he could imagine.
This woman had caused his father's death, smeared mud all over her own half-sister, and had even hired a bunch of thugs trying to ruin Serena's innocence.
If Serena hadn't told him herself that the child in Vivienne's womb was the result of her messing around outside with some random man, he would still be kept in the dark even now.
It was unforgivable. Straight-up beyond saving.
The corners of Serena's lips lifted slightly, but her tone stayed soft and worried.
"Alright then... I just hope my sister is okay..."
On the other side, Vivienne broke down in despair, tears sliding nonstop down her face.
Her phone had already died completely after draining the last bit of battery. The one tiny thread of hope she had for staying alive was gone too.
Then, all of a sudden, screams burst out from outside the door—sharp, miserable cries from the kidnappers.