Chapter 27

The bodyguard took the order and left. Ella shot Victoria a smug look and sneered, "Let's see how you continue to be arrogant now, bitch!"

Victoria knew fighting back would only make things worse, so she let them take her bag and phone. They shoved her into the basement of an old, abandoned factory, tossed a bottle of water at her, and locked the door behind them.

The basement was damp and dark, with walls covered in mold and a sickening smell of decay. A faint light trickled in from a high-up ventilation window.

In the eerie silence, the occasional rustling sounds around made even someone as tough as Victoria feel a chill down her spine.

She slowly slid down the wall, hugging her knees, trying to calm herself and figure out a way to escape. Then, a weird-looking bug, about the size of half her palm and glowing a strange green, crawled toward her. Her eyes widened in horror, and she let out a scream.

The natural fear of bugs made her scoot back into a corner until she had nowhere else to go.

As the bug got closer, Victoria summoned her courage and stomped on it hard. It squished instantly, splattering a foul-smelling, sticky goo.

Victoria looked at the disgusting mess on her shoe, and her stomach churned. She dry-heaved a few times, almost throwing up.

Finally, the tears she had been holding back spilled over, streaming down her face. She cried and cried, then suddenly laughed. Wiping away her tears, she started to pull herself together and plan her escape.

She felt along the wall, hoping to find a crack or something to grip, but it was too smooth. She searched the ground, hoping to find something useful. Instead, she found a few sharp stones that cut her fingers, making them bleed and sting.

She quickly wrapped her hand with a piece of her clothing and kept looking for a way out. But even after the sun had set, she hadn't found a clue.

Complete darkness swallowed the basement, like an endless black hole, terrifying and deep. Even though Victoria wasn't claustrophobic, she felt anxious and uneasy in that environment.

She stood still, trying to ignore the creepy sounds of insects and dripping water. She tried to control her trembling arms, then found a corner to sit down and hugged herself tightly.

"Will anyone come to save me?" Victoria muttered with a bitter smile, clinging to a sliver of hope.

What if Nora got the money and, out of guilt, called Victoria? If Nora couldn't reach her, would she worry and come looking for her? But deep down, Victoria knew it was just wishful thinking. Nora would never care about her life or death.

Nora was probably celebrating with Bobby, spending the money she got from betraying Victoria. Thinking of this, Victoria couldn't help but lower her eyes and smile bitterly.

Alvin was right; she shouldn't have cared about them anymore. Her indecisiveness had led to this situation, and she deserved to be here, suffering.

But besides Nora, who else could possibly come to save her? As soon as this thought crossed her mind, William's image flashed before her eyes. What if he was willing to help her? But she quickly dismissed the thought.

Victoria bit her lip, shaking her head, forcing herself not to fantasize about such a possibility. William despised her, so why would he help her?

Thinking of this, Victoria hugged herself even tighter, trying to sleep to conserve energy; otherwise, she wouldn't be able to think of a way out tomorrow.

Late at night, William was still grinding away in his office. Harry knocked and stepped in to remind him about dinner. "Mr. Scott, your dinner's ready."

William barely glanced up. "You can have it."

Harry hesitated, then asked, "Are you working on the Starry Studio Gallery deal?"

Only something big like that would keep William working this late. William's eyes locked onto Harry, sharp and intense. "Got a lot of extra energy, do you? Since when is it your place to question my business?"

Harry gulped and quickly backed off. "Sorry, Mr. Scott. I'll leave you to it."

William went back to the contract.

Hugo Simpson, that sly fox, knew William was desperate to get Starry Studio Gallery and jacked up the price, making him pay a premium for just 45% of the shares. But Hugo still held the management rights.

Normally, William would never sign such a bad deal. But now, he didn't care. Did Victoria think she could get away from him? Not a chance. He had to keep her close and make her suffer. The thought made him sneer.

The next morning, Victoria woke up starving. She hadn't eaten since yesterday morning, and her stomach was growling.

She took a small sip of the mineral water, struggled to sit up from the cold floor, and staggered to the door, leaning against the wall. It was an iron gate, thick as a thumb, welded shut with heavy steel bars, solid and unmovable.

Victoria tried pulling it a few times, but not only did it not budge, but her wrists ached from the effort.

Not ready to give up, she turned to the ventilation window. If she could break it and climb up, she could escape. She picked up a small stone and threw it at the window with all her might.

After several tries, she finally broke the glass. The shards fell, almost cutting her. Looking at them on the ground, she got an idea.

She tore a piece of cloth from her sleeve, wrapped it around the glass, and used it to dig into the wall, trying to make some holes to climb up to the window.

It was a clumsy method, but better than waiting to die in this awful place. Victoria kept at it, digging into the wall.

Even with the cloth, her palm got cut by the glass shards, but she didn't give up. She tore more cloth to wrap around her hand and kept digging.

Victoria, standing at 5'6", could reach up to 6'5" with her hands raised. From day to night, enduring hunger and exhaustion, she worked tirelessly until four or five in the morning, finally making a few holes. She collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.

Next, she needed to tear her coat into strips, tie them around a rock, and toss it onto the window to wedge it open. Then she could climb up and through the hole onto the windowsill.

Feeling a surge of hope, Victoria got to work. She made a rope out of her clothes and, after much effort, secured the stone on the window frame.

Luckily, she was slim; otherwise, the window frame would have broken immediately.

Victoria tugged on the rope, finding it stable enough, and slowly climbed up using the holes. As she neared the window, joy filled her heart, and she climbed even harder.

But just as she was about to reach the window, the makeshift rope snapped, and she lost her balance and fell backward.

With a dull thud, she hit the ground hard. Her waist struck the floor, sending waves of intense pain through her body, and she blacked out instantly.