The contents of the syringe flowed into Rachel’s bloodstream. The effects of the substance were soon evident: her eyelids became heavier and she could hear the sound of brakes echoing in her drowsy state. Her body swayed once before she lost consciousness.
She did not know how long had passed when she woke up. Since the effects had yet to wear off, she could feel her temples aching slightly. After waking from a nightmare, her eyes had shot open to see the intricate patterns above her. There were large passifloras blooming all over the canopy, which made it rather dizzy to look at.
As she breathed heavily, she began to calm down. Soon, she realized that she was on a large bed and felt that the blanket underneath her fingers was silk. It had a soft yet expensive texture.
Suddenly, the door creaked open. She became alert immediately before tightening her fist and shutting her eyes.
“Why isn’t she awake yet? What did you do?” A girl’s voice came from beside the bed, the sound crisp and clear. Her tone was clearly annoyed.
“The doctor checked on her and reported that the effects of the sedative haven’t passed, so we may need to wait for a while. Miss, why don’t we get the doctor to check on her again?”
The other female voice was respectful and addressed the first girl as ‘Miss’. Rachel could not help but frown briefly because she did not know these girls.
At that moment, the first girl suddenly fell silent as if she had noticed something. “Rita, get out of the room.”
“Yes, Miss.”
When the door closed, it was just Rachel and the haughty-sounding girl left in the room. Even though Rachel’s eyes were closed, she could feel the girl studying her; she could even feel the girl bending close to her, blocking out part of the light. Feeling anxious, Rachel could not stop herself from clutching onto the sheets beneath her. She was afraid of the unknown, even if the other person sounded like a girl of sixteen or seventeen.
“I know you’re awake.”
Rachel squeezed her eyes.
“If you don’t open your eyes right now, I will tickle you!”
When she heard this, she was stunned and could not believe her ears. In the next moment, her blanket was pulled away. Before she could collect herself, she felt a wave of itch spreading from her armpit. It immediately made her burst into laughter as she rolled into a pile together with the girl and the blanket.
“Haha… Hahahaha…”
“Here comes the tickle bomb!” exclaimed the girl as she tickled Rachel. Out of desperation, Rachel quickly pleaded for mercy. “Okay, my eyes are open!”
It was then that Rachel saw the girl before her. The girl was like a sunflower, with curly brown hair resting on her shoulders, pale skin, deep-set features that looked foreign, red lips, white teeth, and pretty eyes. The girl’s eyes were bright as she blinked twice at Rachel. Rachel’s first thought was that if Charlotte saw this girl, she would think she had met Snow White. The girl was only sixteen or seventeen, yet she was already this beautiful. She would be a gorgeous woman when she grew older.
“I warned you to stop pretending to be asleep. I am very good at tickling.” At this, the girl wiggled her fingers at Rachel, which made her look adorably menacing.
Rachel was a little confused. “Who are you?”
It had been such a messy introduction and she still did not know what was happening here. The girl did not look like she had any evil intentions, which left Rachel wondering whether this was a kidnapping incident—one planned by her former best friend, Julian, no less.
The girl looked calm as she crossed her legs to sit in a more comfortable position. “I saved your life, you know.”
Rachel froze. “You did?”
“Yep. You were kidnapped and sedated via an injection. It was me who sent someone out to save you.”
“Where’s the man who was kidnapped with me?”
“We took him with us.” The girl waved her hand carelessly. “He’s fine, don’t worry.”
The girl had already saved Rachel and she probably would not lie about something like that. The knowledge that Justin was fine made Rachel relax slightly as she looked around.
“What’s this place?”
“A hotel, can’t you see it?”
Rachel shook her head. After all, she had just regained consciousness and her brain still felt foggy. The fun little altercation she was forced to join before made it worse, and now her mind was full of thoughts. What on Earth is happening?
Night had already fallen. In the Burton Group office building, the lights in the president’s office were still on.
When Julian heard the report coming from behind him, he turned around in his chair. “What?”
His expression shifted immediately. “What do you mean by that? Justin and Rachel got kidnapped by someone else during the journey?”
Robin swallowed hard, murmuring carefully, “I don’t know.”
If only he had known how dangerous these words were. Sure enough, Julian shoved the files off his desk in anger. “It was daytime; both of them were thrown inside the vehicle and even sedated. Are you telling me you don’t know who exactly took them?”
Robin’s face was pale and he bravely explained, “We didn’t even see them coming. The whole group was made up of strong muscular foreigners. They came after us as if they were re-enacting an action car scene by crashing their vehicles into ours! Eventually, we were forced to stop and they took Justin and Rachel away immediately.”
As he recalled the scene on the highway, Robin still felt terrified. He had been there, just not in the same car as Rachel and Justin. His car was the one behind the kidnapper’s vehicle as he was escorting them to their destination. No one had anticipated that they would get ambushed even before they exited the highway from the airport.
“Spare me those useless details. Go and investigate who took them at once; you have one day to get them back.” Julian was extremely furious. “Are you going to bear the consequences if you derail our plans?”
Petrified, Robin did not dare to utter another word. He had not even thought that the plans they had so expected to succeed would end up a failure.
As for Rachel, she pulled open the curtains of her room. From there, she could see the night view of Riverdale. That eventually convinced her that she was in a hotel.
She then turned to the girl beside her. “Why did you save me?”
“You finally thought of asking that question, huh? Well, you could just see me as someone who rescued you from injustice.”
“Is that so?”
The girl shrugged. “I am hungry. You should have dinner with me.”
As she said that, she walked out of the bedroom without a care in the world and Rachel had no choice but to follow.
The girl had said this was a hotel, yet there were many private collector items displayed inside glass cases in the living room. They all looked expensive; it was immediately obvious that this was a private suite. Even the interior decoration had been customized to the owner’s tastes.
The maid was also not local as her hair was styled in a bun, which added to her respectful manner. “Miss Hudson, are you awake?”
Rachel looked dumbfounded. “Both of you are fluent in Spanish.”
The girl’s face was calm. “My father grew up here, actually.”
Rachel did not move toward the girl and stayed where she was instead. She frowned. “I don’t think I have told any of you my last name, have I?”
