"They’re killing people—!"

The crowd of gawkers outside shrieked and scattered in a panic, even causing a stampede.

Mia Kane was the first to react. She grabbed Shayla Quinn’s hand and was about to leave when a cold voice rang out from behind them.

"Move, and I’ll kill you!"

Everyone there trembled in fear, frozen to the spot.

Vivian Lynch’s face was deathly pale as she gripped Shannon Preston’s hand.

"Shannon, what do we do...? A gun... that’s a gun."

"Don’t be afraid. They won’t dare kill us." Shannon Preston feigned composure. "My... my brother is Adrian Preston of the Preston Group, and her... her husband is Chase Lockwood of the Lockwood Group. You’re just after money, right? We can give you however much you want. Just don’t kill us."

"This Mrs. Lockwood... I know her. She was all over the news a while back. A real big shot. And I didn’t expect you to be somebody important too. Perfect. I’ll keep you as hostages. Call your families right now. Tell them to bring the ransom—fifty million each. Now!"

The two women frantically called their families.

"What about you two? Are your families rich? If they are, call them for money now. If not, you’re coming with us as hostages."

The robber pointed his gun at Mia’s head. Seeing how attractive the two women were, he reached out to grope Shayla Quinn.

Mia instinctively moved in front of her.

’I’m already tainted,’ she thought. ’But Shayla is still pure.’

"Oh?"

The robber raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

But he didn’t do anything else. After giving her an amused look, he walked away.

His group, several men all holding guns, had already looted the store of all its jewelry.

And it wasn’t just them. Several other high-end luxury stores in the mall had also been hit. The other robbers, having finished their work, were now converging on this location.

Once everyone had gathered, the security gate slammed down, sealing the entire store. No one could get in or out.

They had destroyed the surveillance cameras, so no one outside could see what was happening.

Mia Kane had also called Adrian Preston. He was going to have to pay a fortune this time—the ransom for three people. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"And the rest of you? Who are your parents? Let me look you up."

The remaining hostages stated their family backgrounds, but all of them combined weren’t as valuable as Mia and her group. Seeing little profit to be made and finding it too much trouble, the robbers let them go.

"These cash cows are enough. The rest are just dead weight. Out of these three, we’ll keep one as a hostage."

Shayla Quinn wasn’t part of their main consideration. She was just a bonus—one more ransom to collect.

The dark store was crowded with the robbers, who were roaring with laughter as they examined the stolen jewels.

"Once we fence this stuff, we’ll get a great price. Enough for the boys to take a nice long break."

"King, did we really have to make such a big scene? Won’t it be harder for us to make a clean getaway?"

"What’s there to be afraid of? If worst comes to worst, we’ll just fight the cops. I’ve got nothing to lose anyway. I’m not afraid to die."

"These chicks are real lookers. I haven’t gotten laid in a while. I wanna have some fun."

Hearing this, King smacked the man on the head. "Don’t even think about those three. We can’t afford to mess with them."

"Then what about this one?"

"Her... Go ahead."

King thought for a moment, then uttered two words.

Shayla Quinn’s face went white as a sheet. The man rubbed his hands together and walked over excitedly.

He reached out to touch Shayla Quinn, but Mia grabbed his hand and bit down hard.

The bite nearly took his finger off.

"AGH—!"

The man let out a bloodcurdling scream and instinctively kicked out. Mia slammed to the ground, gasping in pain.

"Mia!"

The man moved to beat her further but was stopped by King.

"She’s Adrian Preston’s wife! Control yourself. You can’t touch her!"

"But, King..."

"Enough. You can have this one, alright? Take her away and have your fun."

King placated the man.

Although furious, the man could only swallow his anger. He shot Mia a vicious glare, as if he wanted to eat her alive.

He tore off a strip of cloth to wrap his hand and went after Shayla Quinn again.

Seeing this, Mia lunged to bite him again, but the man was ready this time and seized her by the chin.

His grip was so tight it felt like he was about to crush her jawbone.

Mia was terrified, her fists clenched, but she glared back defiantly like a cornered animal.

"Damn it, you want to bite me again? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"You dare lay a finger on her!"

"Mia..."

"Let go of Mia!"

Shayla Quinn didn’t know where the courage came from, but she sank her teeth into the man’s wrist.

The man cried out in pain and let go of Mia.

Mia seized the chance to pull Shayla into a tight embrace.

"Don’t you touch her!"

"Tsk. Quite the sisterly bond."

King commented teasingly, his arms crossed over his chest.

"King, look... why don’t I just take this bitch away by force?"

"You dare! I’ll give you the ransom, but if you touch her, my husband will never let you get away with it!"

"Mia Kane, aren’t you going too far? My brother saving you is one thing, but now you’re making him pay for someone else too? By what right? The Preston family’s money doesn’t grow on trees!"

"Shut your mouth, Shannon Preston! Your brother and I are married. A portion of the Preston family’s assets belongs to me!"

"Mia Kane, you’ve gone too far! You—"

"Say one more word of nonsense and I’ll rip your mouth off! I mean what I say!"

Shannon Preston wanted to say more, but Mia shot her a look. Her eyes were devoid of warmth, terrifyingly cold and callous.

Shannon Preston opened her mouth, wanting to retort, but not a single word would come out.

’This was the first time she’d ever seen Mia like this. Even that time with the birthday trick, Mia had been furious, but not this terrifying.’

She could only shut her mouth resentfully.

Mia turned to King, her eyes bloodshot.

"Don’t. Touch. Her!"

She forced the words out through clenched teeth, pausing on each one.

Even King felt a flicker of fear. There was a ferocity to this woman that was intimidating.

"Fine. As long as you hand over the ransom without any trouble, we won’t touch her."

"King..."

"Shut up. Once we fence this stuff, you’ll get your cut. I’ll even throw in a little extra. You’ll be able to find any kind of woman you want."

The man was furious but didn’t dare to argue, so he could only swallow his anger.

He sat in a corner, but his eyes never left Mia, his gaze as sinister and unnerving as a viper’s.

"Don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you."

She would never let her best friend endure the same storm she had been through.

Outside, the police had completely surrounded the building, and a negotiator was talking to King.

So far, three people were dead and more than a dozen injured.

There were twenty-seven robbers in total, armed with the latest firearms, which had long range and high power.

The police couldn’t see what was happening inside; all they knew was that there were four hostages.

The surveillance was down. They tried to enter through a ventilation duct, but just as they opened the grate, a shot rang out.

If not for the officer’s quick reflexes, he would have been a goner.

DRIP. DRIP. DRIP. Fresh blood fell from the ceiling.

King looked at the air vent and sneered.

A drop of blood landed on Mia’s face. It was warm, just like the blood from the clerk, but it quickly grew cold.

The thick, coppery smell of blood clung to her.

She wiped her face, smearing her hand with blood.

She thought back to her own kidnapping. Whether from sheer terror or the passage of time, her memories of it were becoming muddled and hazy.

She trembled with fear, trying desperately to overcome the terror in her heart.

Soon, both Adrian Preston and Chase Lockwood arrived on the scene.