At that, his eyes grew increasingly cold, and his expression turned grim.

After a moment, he let out a sneer. "Excellent."

He’d been played for a fool!

He slammed his fist onto the steering wheel, an icy aura of fury radiating from him.

"..."

Chloe Reed hadn’t made it home yet when her phone rang again. This time, it was a call from Annie York.

"Hello, Ann."

Annie York’s voice was filled with terror. "Miss Reed... save me, Miss Reed, I’m begging you, please save me..."

Chloe Reed slammed on the brakes, stopping abruptly. Frowning, she asked, "What’s wrong? What happened?"

Annie York sobbed, "I came out for a job interview, but I don’t know where I am. The interviewer never showed up. I’m so scared. I don’t have many friends, and you’re the only one I could think of, Miss Reed... Can you come and save me?"

Chloe Reed said, "Have you tried to leave?"

"The doors here are all locked. I can’t get out..." Annie York began to cry anxiously. "The main gate is locked, too. I... I’ll send you a message." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

With that, she hung up. But Chloe Reed waited for a long time, and no message came.

Chloe Reed’s heart sank.

And at that very moment, Preston Vance’s name flashed on her screen.

"Preston."

Chloe Reed answered quickly. "Something’s happened to Annie York," she said at once.

Preston Vance said, "She just called me, too, but I was in a meeting and missed it. She sent me a message saying she was locked up. I figured she might contact you. What did she tell you?"

Chloe Reed recounted their conversation to him, then immediately asked, "Can you tell where she is from the photo?"

Preston Vance said, "She sent me a text, so I can’t track the photo’s location data. But I’ve already had people start investigating based on the scenery in the picture. They should be able to figure it out."

’But that’s too slow.’

Chloe Reed said, "I’ll have my people look into it as well. We need to find her as quickly as possible."

"Okay."

’Annie York had contacted her. If something really happened, she would most likely become a suspect.’

’So, to avoid getting into trouble, she had to find Annie York, too.’

She sent a message to Daniel Hayes, telling him what had happened.

Daniel Hayes agreed with a nod. "Miss Reed, go home first. Don’t go out. Wait for my news."

"Okay."

’There was danger lurking around her; of course she wasn’t going to just wander around outside.’

She started the car again and headed toward Maplewood Gardens, but at the next intersection, she found a roadblock. There had been an accident ahead, and no cars could get through.

Chloe Reed had no choice but to turn around and take another route. This way was a bit of a detour, and as she drove on, she noticed several cars had appeared behind her. The cars beside her matched her speed, while the one in front maintained a perfect distance, making it impossible for her to pass.

She was forced to keep driving forward, led by these vehicles in a single direction.

Chloe Reed’s heart sank instantly.

’So many cars—in front, behind, to the sides.’

’There were no buildings around, just a forest nearby. Could she just stop here?’

Her palms began to sweat, and her face grew paler and paler.

Just then, the car in front suddenly stopped, and she slammed on her brakes as well.

Immediately, the surrounding cars all stopped.

Car doors opened, and a dozen or so men in black suits got out, all of them approaching her car.

Chloe Reed was utterly stunned.

’So many people...’

’Who in the world were they?’

’What did they want?’

"CRASH!"

Just then, a loud crash erupted from behind. Startled, Chloe Reed trembled and whipped her head around to look. She saw two cars had come out of nowhere and smashed straight into the vehicles that were blocking her from the rear.