As evening fell, a police car disappeared down a side road, heading toward a reservoir.

It finally stopped at an abandoned reservoir management facility, surrounded by a fence and shrouded in dark, menacing tree shadows. The whole place gave off a sinister, terrifying vibe.

Eleanor's consciousness returned as she was thrown hard onto the ground. Before she could even take in her surroundings, a heavy slap struck her across the face.

"You bitch! You're the one who got Drew's chemical plant shut down, aren't you!" a beefy man growled, grabbing Eleanor's hair and forcing her to look at him. "If you hadn't stuck your nose where it didn't belong, my brothers and I wouldn't have been jobless all this time."

Eleanor gritted her teeth against the searing pain. She knew instantly these were Drew's men. "Your plant's emissions were dangerously high, and you know how many villagers you harmed," she shot back.

"Oh, listen to her, still got some fight left. Boss, why are we wasting time talking to her?" one of the kidnappers sneered. "Let's just have the good doctor entertain us brothers for a bit, as compensation."

"Damn right. Too bad we couldn't get that lan Goodwin to suffer with her. His men beat us so bad back then we couldn't even return to the country. Today, we'll settle the score with her. Messing with lan's wife is revenge enough."

Another man spat. "If it weren't for that bastard lan, Drew wouldn't have had to do two years in jail. We were lucky to get away, or he would've never let us go."

Eleanor closed her eyes, a silent tear slipping down her cheek. She clenched her jaw, knowing there was no escape.

She looked up at the wall opposite her. Her daughter's face flashed through her mind, followed by the memory of lan's gentle gaze as he looked at Evelyn. Even though the medicine she was working on wasn't finished, at least Smith would take over. The research plan was on her computer-

In this moment, Eleanor's mind was like a flurry of last words, putting her affairs in order.

lan, please take care of Evelyn-

She only has you now-

lan's love for their daughter flooded Eleanor's mind, and she knew that even if she left this world, Evelyn would still have someone who loved her more than anything to watch her grow.

Her surroundings told her escape was impossible, but she would never let these men defile her.

Eleanor opened her tear-filled eyes and stared at the dark gray wall. While the four kidnappers were still sneering, she gathered her strength, scrambled to her feet and lunged toward it.

But the kidnapper closest to her saw her move. He lunged forward, grabbing her by her long hair and yanking her back.

The excruciating pain made Eleanor's vision go black, and despair washed over her like a tidal wave.

"Trying to die? Not that easily," the leader of the kidnappers sneered, crouching down to grip her chin. "My brothers haven't had their fun yet."

A rough hand began to tear at the collar of her dress. Eleanor struggled with all her might. "Let go of me! Let me go, you bastards!"

"Save your breath. There's no one for miles around. No one's coming to save you."

"Better save that energy for servicing us. Maybe we'll make your last moments a little more pleasurable."

Eleanor's nails raked across one kidnapper's arm, drawing blood. He cursed and grabbed her clothes, about to rip them open with brute force.

Just then, a deafening crash echoed

from outside the warehouse. The

locked iron gate buckled and

collapsed inward, and a pair of

blinding headlights pierced the

darkness, like two beams from hell.

With a tremendous roar, the gate fell to the ground. Silhouetted against the light, a

tall figure stepped out of the car and strode forward with urgent steps.

The four kidnappers had been expecting a whole team, but after a few seconds, they realized only one person had gotten out. They pulled out their weapons, grinning menacingly at the fool who had come to die.