Summer checked in the rearview mirror as she drove, making sure Lynn and Vicky were following behind. She had to negotiate a tight corner as she was about to arrive at the abandoned car scrapyard. After the bend, she did not see Lynn’s car again.
As she parked up in front of the scrapyard, someone raised the rusty roller shutter. A man, tall with a mask on his face, emerged, looking at her.
“You are Summer?”
Summer nodded.
“Did you bring the money?”
“Let me see my mom first!” Summer made herself stay calm.
The man scanned the surroundings, making sure she was alone. He then turned to walk back in as he said, “Follow me.”
So Summer followed.
The abandoned warehouse had seen better days with a thick layer of dust on the ground. Stuff was everywhere. The place was a mess.
Walking cautiously from behind the man, Summer could now spot Karen from afar. She was tied in a chair. Her meticulously kept hair now looked like the hair on a scarecrow, and her face was pale. Just like the warehouse that had seen better days, age had definitely caught up with her. When Karen saw Summer, she was overjoyed, but her voice was a little hoarse.
“Summer, you’ve finally come!”
“Are you all right?” Summer came closer, looking at her with no emotions on her face.
Karen shook her head. “With you here, I will be fine. Give them the money. They are just after the money!”
Just then, the man who brought her in stretched out his hand, blocking her. “Enough. Where is the money?”
“You gave me too short a time, I couldn’t raise that much cash,” Summer said calmly. “Since you know I’m a young mistress in the Emerson Family, I’m sure you should have heard of the Emerson Family’s Black Card. I can give you the card.”
The man’s face changed. “You think I’m stupid? After I take the Black Card, you’ll deactivate it and call the police!”
Summer’s heart skipped a beat-that was what she had been thinking. Another man, who seemed to be the first man’s follower, came up and mumbled a few words with him. Then the masked man lifted his hand toward her.
“Well, I can free this old woman. But we will have to go with you to withdraw the money.”
“Deal!” Summer agreed at once without even looking at Karen.
They untied her. Karen glanced at Summer, panicking as she said, “Be careful, Summer.” That said, she flew out of the scene.
Summer smirked and said nothing as she took out the Black Card and gave it to the man. The man extended his hand. But midway, he changed his mind, striking her on the back of her neck. Summer did not see it coming. Her vision went dark, and for a split second, before she passed out, everything that happened today flashed across her mind. She came to her senses, but it was too late.
…
When Summer regained her consciousness, she found herself no more in the abandoned car scrapyard but a different place. Still in a daze, she heard someone talking.
“Those who hire us are Jarretts too?”
“That’s her family!”
“It must be a deep enmity there… Will the Emerson Family come for us if we… this woman?”
“Have you forgotten the abduction of Mrs. Emerson over ten years ago? They played down the incident. The rich are more concerned about their good name…”
Summer’s heart skipped a beat. She felt like she had plunged into a pool of icy water, a chill was spreading through her body. When she barged into Jarrett family’s residence earlier, she smashed Vicky’s bowl, but strangely, Vicky did not react angrily. And she stopped her from calling the police.
Summer must have been too nervous at the time. Although she no longer looked forward to anything from Karen, she could not bring herself to let anything happen to her mother. At the end of the day, she was just too naive and no match for the ruthlessness of the Lynn-Vicky combo.
“Big Brother, she is awake now!”
The talking man had noticed that Summer was awake. Her face looked icy cold, so calm that it was as if she was not going to buckle under pressure. “I heard what you all said. The ones hiring you two are Lynn and Vicky, isn’t it?”
Annoyed, one of the men sneered, “Why ask when you are going to die soon?”
“Just want to know before I die.” As she spoke, she carefully scanned her surroundings. She was in a space that looked like a living room. There was a sofa and a dining table. She was tied in a chair. So tight she felt her body aching.
“So what if I told you? Yes, they are the ones hiring us but don’t blame us. Blame it on her bad luck.”
The man was willing to talk to her a little longer, perhaps because of her beauty.
She now really thought luck was not on her side, and that she had underestimated what Lynn and Vicky could do. But where did Karen fit in here? What role was she playing? Did Karen know about their plan from the start? Did Karen willingly gang up with Vicky to get their hands on her Black Card at the expense of her?
Another man came up, leering at Summer. “Just stop the crap talking with her. Let’s get done with her and leave Hoover City as soon as possible! Now, who comes first?”
“Big Brother, you first!”
Summer’s heart sank. She instinctively tried to struggle. But the ropes tying her to the chair were too tight. She was a sitting duck.
The guarding angel was with her the last time Vicky set her up in Violet Gold Club. Had she run out of luck and this was the end for her this time?
She was indignant. Forcing herself to calm down, Summer raised her head slightly to make herself look confident.
“Do you all really think you can get away from the Emerson family? Are those involved in the abduction of Mrs. Emerson back then still alive today? The Emersons might want to take care of their family’s dignity. But do you think they will allow anyone to step over them?”
The Mrs. Emerson, whom the man mentioned had to be Leonardo’s mother. Sensing the two men’s confidence started to shake, Summer continued.
“No matter how much money Vicky pays you, you will not live long enough to use it. If you free me and leave Hoover City now, the Emerson family will not pursue you.”
“Heck, this bitch is threatening us!”
“I don’t expect to live that long. Even if the Emerson family are not coming for us, the cops will. What’s more, I have never tasted a woman this beautiful. I’m going to have you today no matter what…”
While speaking, the man reached to grab her. Summer’s face turned pale. But she forced herself to calm down, thinking, There must be a way! She wore a down jacket with a zip in front. The kidnapper took the down jacket off her with ease and then reached his hand into her sweater.