Annabelle Linton raised an eyebrow. "And if she can’t be cured? Are you going to offer yourself as compensation?"

Ryan Linton didn’t answer directly. He just pursed his lips and said, "I’ll find a way to cure her."

Just as they were speaking, Annabelle Linton’s phone rang.

She answered. It was a call from the bodyguards she’d dispatched. "What is it?"

"Miss Linton, we’ve captured the people you wanted. They’ve been taken to an area in the western outskirts of Port Valen. You can come over now."

A faint smile touched Annabelle Linton’s lips. "I’ll be right over."

Ryan Linton watched her, a neutral expression on his face as he raised an eyebrow. "Where are you going?"

Annabelle Linton had no intention of telling him. She gave him a slight smile. "I have some business to attend to. You should head back first."

Ryan Linton frowned and grunted in acknowledgment before adding, "No matter what happens, don’t hide it from me."

He hated being deceived.

Annabelle Linton grabbed her bag and stood. Planting her hands on the table, she looked down at his cool, handsome face and smirked. "Don’t worry, Young Master Linton. A prime specimen like yourself... I won’t let a resource like that go to waste."

Hearing this, Ryan Linton scoffed. "You’ve said that countless times."

Annabelle Linton: "..."

She gave a dry laugh. "Well, that just proves how tenacious I am."

Ryan Linton shot her an indifferent glance before looking down to sip his coffee. With a lazy, dismissive wave, he said flatly, "Be on your way, tough guy."

Annabelle Linton: "..."

’In this new life, he was the first person to ever speak to her like that.’

’Fine. I won’t hold it against him!’

...

Annabelle Linton arrived at the western outskirts of Port Valen.

The moment she stepped out of the car, she saw several people being hauled by men in black into an old, dilapidated building slated for redevelopment.

A trail of blood dripped along the path.

A cold smirk played on Annabelle Linton’s lips as a bodyguard immediately opened an umbrella, shielding her as she entered the building.

Just inside the building’s empty main floor, Faye Sheffield, Wendy King, and Charles King were kneeling on the ground, their faces bruised and swollen.

Annabelle Linton watched them, a contemptuous smile spreading across her face. She sat down imperiously on a sofa placed in front of them, directly in their line of sight.

She raised her hand slightly, and a bodyguard handed her a glass of red wine.

Annabelle Linton slowly swirled the glass in her hand, her demeanor graceful, composed, and utterly unfazed.

"What’s the matter? Where’s all that bravado from the day you attacked me? Show it to me. I’d quite enjoy seeing it again."

The moment she finished speaking, Faye Sheffield snapped her head up. Seeing the unscathed Annabelle Linton, she spat viciously, "Annabelle Linton! It’s true what they say—a scourge will live for a thousand years. You bitch, how are you not dead!"

SLAP!

A man in black standing nearby immediately struck Faye Sheffield across the face.

Annabelle Linton smiled slightly. "Go on. If you’ve got the guts, keep cursing."

"Ptooey!" Faye Sheffield spat a mouthful of blood and saliva, refusing to beg for mercy. "You scheming, slutty bitch! I knew I was dead the moment I fell into your hands! If you have the fucking guts, then kill me! Go on!"

As soon as Faye Sheffield finished, the man in black next to her kicked her hard in the face, sending her sprawling to the ground.

Annabelle Linton rose to her feet and slowly walked forward, her expression impassive, her demeanor cold and distant.

She stopped in front of Faye Sheffield, lifted her foot, and brought her four-inch stiletto heel down hard on the woman’s hand.

Faye Sheffield’s face went white with agony. She screamed, "AH! AHH! Annabelle Linton, let me go!"

At her words, Annabelle Linton pressed down even harder. She looked down at Faye, her eyes steeped in a profound chill. "Go on. Why have you stopped, hmm? You were so impressive when you captured me, weren’t you? Weren’t you determined to see me dead? So, continue."