Chapter 144 Act
52
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“Just untie me already. If something really happens to my leg, how will you explain it to Zacharias? You heard the recording. Zacharias still cares about me, still wants me. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have paid thirty million just to get here.”
Anneliese’s words finally cut through Rory’s stubborn silence. He exhaled sharply and flicked on the overhead light, his face tightening with irritation.
“Lift your leg. I’ll take it off.”
“I can’t lift it. There’s no strength or feeling at all. God, is it really damaged?”
Rory watched her strain to move, her face twisted in pain, yet her leg wouldn’t respond. A knot formed in his chest.
Had he tied it too tight? Had the circulation been cut off this whole time?
“D*mn it,” he muttered under his breath. He dropped to his knees, leaned close, and tugged furiously at the knots biting into her skin.
The rope finally gave way.
“Try moving now.”
Before he could even blink, her legs shot forward. Both feet struck his chest with brutal force.
The blow launched Rory back into the driver’s seat. His head smacked the frame, and his back slammed against the leather with a harsh crack.
Anneliese twisted fast, grabbed the USB drive from the center console, shoved the door open, and stumbled into the storm.
She clawed her way upright and bolted toward the back of the car, slipping and sliding on the soaked ground.
Rory stayed stunned for a heartbeat, then snapped to. She was already running.
1/4
14:42 Sun, Sep 7
Chapter 144 Act
:
52
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He shoved his own door open and lunged out, but when he realized he couldn’t catch her on foot, he scrambled back in, slammed the engine alive, and wrenched the wheel hard.
Anneliese ran fast, but her bound wrists threw her off balance. She tripped again and again, each stumble stealing precious seconds.
The headlights loomed behind her, glaring and relentless.
She knew she could never outrun a car. Her only chance was the woods. If she reached the trees, Rory’s bad leg would cripple his pursuit.
She had seen the line of trees earlier. That had to be it.
She pushed harder, forcing her body toward the shadows.
But the Audi closed in, the growl of its engine rumbling closer, the ground trembling beneath her feet.
Then, through the curtain of rain, another set of headlights cut across the storm.
Anneliese squinted, blinded by the glare.
A dark SUV charged toward her like a predator unleashed.
The storm blurred everything. She couldn’t see who was behind the wheel. But Rory had spoken of Zacharias, said he was on his way.
It had to be him.
Her chest sank. Rory chased from behind, Zacharias pressed from ahead.
There was nowhere left to run.
Her legs gave out. She dropped to her knees as her strength bled away.
Rain drenched her face as the headlights burned against her eyes. She shut them and froze, bracing for impact.
2/4
14:43 Sun, Sep 7
Chapter 144 Act
Inside the SUV-
“Mr. Fullbuster?”
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In the back, a man’s eyes locked on the Audi rushing toward the woman. His voice cut through, calm but edged with steel.
“Hit it.”
“Yes, sir.”
The driver’s lips curved faintly as his foot crushed the pedal.
The black Mercedes G–Wagon ripped through the storm like a streak of lightning.
It thundered past Anneliese and spun hard, its frame slamming into Rory’s Audi.
The collision exploded across the night, metal shrieking as the Audi buckled.
Another hit followed, then another.
The brutal impacts rolled the car until it flipped, grinding against the soaked ground in a twisted wreck.
Anneliese’s scream tore from her throat, lost beneath the violent clash of steel and rain.
She collapsed into the mud, arms thrown over her head, waiting until the chaos broke and silence returned.
Only the hiss of rain and the moan of the wind remained.
Slowly, she lifted her face toward the glowing beams.
The rear door of the G–Wagon swung open. A tall figure emerged, framed by the light.
The driver rushed around, snapped open a black umbrella, and handed it over.
3/4
14:43 Sun, Sep 7
Chapter 144 Act
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The man took it without a word and walked toward her, each step long and steady.
The light behind him and the storm blurred his features. His black leather coat whipped in the wind, slick and gleaming under the rain.
Anneliese’s legs shook. Fear surged through her, urging her to flee.
She tried to push back, but her knees buckled, dropping her into the muck.
A firm hand caught her arm, steady and unshakable.
The rain stopped falling on her.
Her gaze dropped to the hand gripping her. Long fingers, pale and veined, cold and controlled, like ice–chilled stone.
She knew this hand.
This wasn’t Zacharias. It was obviously…
Her head snapped up, eyes colliding with the man’s. His dark stare locked onto her, deep, relentless, and unyielding.
4/4
