Chapter 589
Sophie stood with her back to the ocean, her mouth moving silently as if she were saying something. Then, with her eyes closed, she fell backward.
James‘ pupils dilated rapidly, panic surging in his heart like a tide. He struggled, stumbling forward, but all he saw was Sophie disappearing into the depths of the sea.
“Sophie!” James cried out, his voice breaking. In that brief moment, it felt as if his heart had been torn apart.
The two mercenaries watched the scene indifferently, then turned away bored. One of them spoke into the radio with a cold detachment, “Boss, the job’s done.”
James collapsed to the ground, his vision blurring into a sea of red. He hadn’t forgotten the words Sophie had mouthed to him just before jumping.
“Avenge me.”
James turned to look at the two mercenaries and said icily, “Tell Odie there’s no peace between Burke International and him.”
The mercenaries looked at James, smirking in disbelief at his vow of vengeance against Odie.
As they approached James with their guns, a gunshot suddenly echoed from outside the cave. The mercenaries turned towards the sound, hearing the rapid approach of a large group. They tried to flee but were quickly apprehended.
Colby and Adler, leading a sizable team, arrived. Adler spotted the disheveled James and shouted, “Colby! James is here!”
Hearing this, Colby rushed to James, “Where’s Sophie? Where is she?”
“She’s down there, James replied, his voice hoarse and dry.
At his answer, Colby froze.
“What do you mean down there? What’s down there?” Adler asked anxiously.
“I mean, she’s down there,” James repeated, his gaze lifeless.
Colby immediately ran to the cliff edge. The vast, tumultuous ocean lay before him, but Sophie was nowhere to be seen.
“How could you let this happen… why didn’t you protect her!” Colby grabbed James by the collar, his eyes buming with fury.
‘Colby! Calm down!” Adler attempted to intervene, but James was already devoid of strength, questioning how he had failed to protect
her.
He had watched helplessly as Sophie jumped from the cliff, What had become of the composed and collected James of the past?
Why hadn’t he protected her?
“Colby, our priority is to find Sophie now!”
“Yes… yes, find Sophie… Colby was in utter disarray, feeling as if he could barely stand.
“You and James stay here. Il get help… and call a doctor” Adler noticed the blood on lames‘ leg, likely a gunshot wound that could easily become infected without prompt care.
Meanwhile-
Sophie felt severe pressure on her chest, the salty taste of seawater being forced from her throat.
“Cough, cough!” Sophie suddenly woke to find herself under a blinding blue sky, lying on a deck without knowing how she got there. A man’s lazy voice soon reached her ears, “Ms. Sophie, long time no see.”
Chapter 590
Sophie felt a shiver run down her spine at the sound, and she instinctively moved back, only to have her wrists grasped tightly
Odie was close, too close, his grey eyes gleaming with terrifying amusement.
“Are
you
afraid of me?”
“Afraid, my foot!”
With surprising strength, Sophie quickly broke free from Odie’s grip and, in a swift motion, slapped him across the face. The slap seemed to release all the pent–up frustration and resentment she harbored in her chest.
This bastard had treated her like prey, engaging in a tense and thrilling chase.
“Mr. Odie!” Gattlin turned pale at the sight.
The impact of Sophie’s slap had left Odie’s cheek red, a trickle of blood emerging from the comer of his mouth. He nonchalantly wiped the blood away and smirked.
“In all these years, you’re the first to make me bleed.”
Sophie’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “Is that so? I can make you bleed a second time. Wanna try?”
Odie stood up, his interest piqued as he looked down at Sophie on the ground. With a casual gesture, two men stepped forward and seized her arms.
“Such beautiful hands, what a pity… Odie drew a small knife from his belt and mused, “Tell me, if I were to chop off both your hands and send one to Colby and the other to James, would they go mad?”
Odie’s smile was devilish, his eyes radiating a bone–chilling coldness.
Inhumane, diabolical–no words could fully capture the essence of Odie. Trashy people who found joy in others‘ pain deserved to rot in hell!
“Give it a try, let’s see if they go mad.” Sophie’s tone was ice–cold, showing no sign of fear.
Odie’s smile gradually faded as he noticed the fearless defiance in Sophie’s eyes. He hadn’t planned on actually harming her. He merely wanted to see her beg for mercy on her knees, but her eyes showed none of the fear he expected.
Odie crouched down, the knife in his hand striking down towards one of Sophie’s hands. Sophie didn’t even blink, and her gaze remained cold and fixed on Odie.
The knife hit the deck, missing Sophie entirely.
“Courageous, I like that.” Odie stood up and ordered the mercenaries, “Take her inside.”
“Yes, sir!”
As Sophie was escorted away by the mercenaries, turning her back to Odie, she finally let out a sigh of relief.
She wasn’t unafraid. In fact, her back was drenched in cold sweat. It was all a gamble.
A gamble on Odie finding her interesting.
Despite having met him only twice, Sophie had realized that Odie was a man with a profoundly twisted and perverted heart. Showing weakness would make her uninteresting to him. Being too defiant would only fuel his desire to break her.
The only viable strategy was to provoke his competitive nature and his desire to conquer.
It seemed her gamble paid off.
“Get in!”
Sophie was pushed into a dark room, surrounded by walls on all sides, with a large minor embedded in one of them.
Exhausted, she leaned against the corner wall.
Overwhelmed by fatigue and drowsiness, she had no energy to worry about her current situation. Even getting locked in a dark room, all she wanted was to rest.