’She had barely managed to escape the villa. Was she about to jump into another pit of fire?’

Mia Kane struggled relentlessly, her fierce will to survive giving her a burst of strength.

But even so, the disparity in strength between a man and a woman was too great. She was no match for him.

"Let me go!"

She was so frantic she was about to cry, her voice thick with tears.

"Don’t worry, Uncle will take good care of you. Heaven must have taken pity on me to deliver you into my hands!"

The man flashed a greedy, lecherous smile.

Mia Kane was simply disgusted.

She fumbled for a rock and smashed it hard against him.

She didn’t know where she’d hit him, but the man cried out in pain and let go.

Mia Kane seized the opportunity and bolted.

’If he dragged me into that unfinished building, no one would hear my screams.’

"Damn it..."

The driver cursed behind her and gave chase.

"Is anyone there? Help... Save me..."

"Someone’s trying to rape me! Help—"

She could only scream for help, hoping someone passing by might save her.

Suddenly, a dull pain flared at the back of her head, and her whole body pitched forward.

The driver had thrown a rock at her, hitting her in the back of the head. A warm, wet liquid trickled down.

Her body was covered in injuries, but she still scrambled to her feet immediately.

She finally made it back to the road, intending to hijack his car and drive away.

But she couldn’t see the keys, and the man was catching up.

Only then did she see that she had hit the man’s thigh, which was why he was limping and couldn’t walk fast.

Suddenly, she saw a car approaching.

The blinding high beams made it impossible for her to open her eyes.

She threw caution to the wind and rushed in front of the car.

SCREECH—

The ear-piercing sound of tires gripping the pavement.

She squeezed her eyes shut, terrified out of her mind. Thankfully, the car stopped just inches in front of her.

She could even feel the heat radiating from the car, searing her cheeks.

Her body collapsed weakly.

"Sorry, so sorry. My girlfriend is being difficult. I apologize for the trouble. I’ll take her away right now."

The driver rushed over, grabbing Mia Kane and trying to carry her off.

Just then, the car’s headlights turned off, revealing its full form.

A figure slowly emerged from the car.

"You say she’s your girlfriend?"

Mia Kane struggled to open her eyes. She never expected to see Chase Lockwood here.

Her heart sank. She was afraid he would see her plight and do nothing, since the bridge between them was well and truly burned.

"President... President Lockwood?"

The driver froze. After all, he often saw Chase Lockwood on television.

Chase Lockwood looked at the frail Mia Kane in the man’s arms, who looked as if she had been horribly mistreated.

His eyes narrowed dangerously, and his fists clenched silently.

"Take him back for questioning."

"Yes, sir."

The assistant stepped forward and seized the driver.

Losing her support, Mia Kane collapsed limply.

Chase Lockwood’s heart tightened. He caught her with lightning speed, holding her securely in his arms.

She was covered in blood and grime. The most severe injury was on the back of her head, which was still gushing blood.

Chase Lockwood swept her up into his arms. Mia Kane had already passed out completely.

But even so, she was restless, her brow furrowed as she murmured in her sleep.

"Let me go... Let me go..."

Chase Lockwood carried her into the car, his large hand gently stroking her cheek.

"Mia Kane, so you have moments this pathetic too. And I just had to be the one to see it," he said softly.

He didn’t delay, stepping on the gas and rushing her to the hospital.

What shocked him was that she not only had a superficial wound on the back of her head, but she was also malnourished, which had led to her physical weakness.

’The wife of the Preston Group’s president... malnourished? Would that even be believable if word got out?’

’Mia Kane, what in the world had she been through?’

She was put on a nutrient drip. Her wound got infected, and she ran a fever several times.

Eventually, her condition stabilized, and the fever broke.

The crucial thing was, more than a day had passed, and no one had come looking for Mia Kane.

’Didn’t Adrian Preston care about her a great deal?’

Chase Lockwood had also learned a few things from the driver. Mia Kane had left the villa late at night, collapsed by the roadside, and he had "picked her up."

He was an old bachelor and, overcome by lust, had planned to take her somewhere deserted and force himself on her.

Unexpectedly, Chase had just finished some business out of town and was taking a shortcut back when he happened upon the scene.

"Have you heard anything from the Preston Family’s villa?"

"We have. Miss Kane accidentally almost killed Second Miss Preston. To punish her and give Second Miss Preston an explanation, Mr. Preston put her in confinement." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"The servants at the villa cut off her food and water, took her phone, and locked her in her room. She starved for several days, surviving only on tap water, and escaped secretly in the middle of the night."

"Because she was in confinement, no servants have checked Miss Kane’s room, so they don’t know she’s missing yet. But it probably won’t stay a secret for much longer."

Hearing this, Chase Lockwood sneered. "And to think Adrian Preston acted like he cared so much in front of me. Turns out it was all a show."

He turned to stare at Mia Kane, asking silently in his heart.

’Mia Kane, do you regret it? Would it have been better if you were still with me?’

Mia Kane slowly awoke, murmuring, "Food... is there any food? I’m so hungry..."

"I just made some porridge. Have some."

In her daze, Mia Kane felt someone help her sit up and feed her a spoonful of hot porridge.

She was dizzy with hunger. Even the nutrient drip couldn’t quell the emptiness in her stomach.

She was so hungry her stomach felt like it was touching her spine.

The porridge was warm, light, and easy on the stomach.

With one mouthful, her intestines and stomach began to churn wildly.

She took several spoonfuls in a row. If the bowl and spoon weren’t in his hands, she would have snatched them and chugged the whole thing down.

But he was clearly considerate of this, keeping control of the bowl, afraid she would hurt her stomach by eating too fast.

After she had eaten half, he stopped her.

"You just woke up. It’s not good to eat too much at once. You can have more later."

Mia Kane finally came to her senses and looked at Chase Lockwood beside her.

Seeing him, she still felt a bit dazed.

A moment ago, her brain had been too starved to think. Her eyes were fixed only on the hot porridge, paying no mind to the person feeding her.

But now...

She remembered a time she had been gravely ill, and Chase Lockwood had stayed by her side.

But that hadn’t stopped him from flying abroad the very next day to find Vivian Lynch.

People are sentimental when they’re sick.

But she quickly regained her composure.

"Thank you for saving me. I’ll pay you back for the medical expenses."

"Do you think what you owe me is just medical bills? You owe me a favor."

"The only thing I owe you is for the medical bills. You saving me now is just you paying the debt you owe me for not saving me back then."

"And those three years of my sincere feelings... Forget it. No, we both owe each other, and who knows how long that would take to sort out. Let’s just call it even. From now on, we stay out of each other’s lives. Just make sure you keep Vivian Lynch in check."

Even in her weakened state, her tone conceded nothing.

Chase Lockwood watched her with keen interest, and his gaze made her skin crawl.

’Is there something wrong with him? Why is he looking at me with that interested expression?’

"You never needed to pretend to be so docile. The way you are now is much better. You have character. You’re not anyone’s shadow."

"So, you’re blaming me now?"

Mia Kane said irritably. If she weren’t sick, she would have already thrown off the blankets and walked out.

"Let’s not talk about that. This man, what do you want to do with him?"

Chase Lockwood clapped his hands, and his assistant brought the driver in.

Mia Kane looked at him coldly.

"Call the police. Let the law handle him."

"Alright. As you wish."

Chase Lockwood waved his hand, and the man was led away again.

Mia Kane glanced toward the door of the hospital room, hesitating to speak.

Chase Lockwood seemed to read her mind and said, "Adrian Preston hasn’t come. He probably doesn’t even know you snuck out, let alone that you’re in the hospital."

Hearing this, Mia Kane’s expression remained unchanged, not wanting to let Chase Lockwood see her in such a pathetic state.

But under the blankets, her hands clenched silently.

’Adrian probably doesn’t even know I got out. Was he just planning to let me starve to death?’