When the van finally stopped, I was dragged out and taken to an abandoned hospital. The tattooed man suddenly threw a phone at me, his voice low and threatening. “Call Asher and tell him to prepare 5 million to redeem you, or I’ll kill him!”
Looking at the phone in my trembling hands, dread coiled in my stomach. I felt utterly trapped, uncertain of what to do next.
My hands trembled as I pressed the shortcut number, but to my horror, the call disconnected as soon as it connected. I dialed repeatedly, each attempt ending in the same cruel fate—Asher hung up on me without a second thought.
As I faced the leering, predatory gazes of the men surrounding me, despair washed over me like a wave. In a moment of hopelessness, I pressed the last number on my list—my ninth attempt, and the final one.
To my surprise, it rang through.
“Asher, please save me! I’ve been kidnapped by bad guys!” I shouted, my voice cracking with desperation.
But his response shattered my hope and plunged me deeper into despair.
“Ingrid, that’s enough!” Asher’s voice crackled with fury. “You keep challenging my limits—are you done?”
“Sleeping pills, heavy bleeding, and now kidnapping? Can you please just stop!”