All of the men turned their heads toward her when they saw her, and Myra instantly realized that she had made a bad decision when she saw the look in the men’s eyes. Running away was no longer an option to her right then; the moment her footsteps came to a halt, four or five big-sized men ran toward her and crowded behind her as they forced Myra to continue moving forward. She saw Tilly a distance away from her—the young girl was being pushed toward her by another man.
Tilly immediately let out a loud cry the moment she saw Myra. “Miss Stark… I’m so afraid…” After all, she was just a young girl who hadn’t even graduated from university yet; she had never expected herself to encounter such an incident. Myra was just as afraid right then, but she had no choice except to put on a calm front as she walked over and held onto Tilly’s hand. Myra then turned to look at the leader of the group of men. “Where’s David? Why haven’t I seen him anywhere at all?” David was another foreman Myra had often communicated with in the past; he was a lot easier to talk to and never caused any problems for her.
Before Chris could respond to Myra, Tilly spoke up between her sobs. “David was hospitalized after he got injured, Miss Stark. Chris has been the one leading the workers recently.”
Chris then gave Myra a side-eye as he scoffed. “So you’re the person in charge of this project, huh, Miss Stark?” He spoke in a roguish tone that made him seem more like a gangster than one of the construction workers. Myra pursed her lips. “I’m just in charge of the design; there are other people who are responsible for the whole project. I’ve already made some calls—”
Smack! Before Myra could finish her sentence, she felt a tight slap against her cheek that made her head spin. Tilly let out a loud shriek as she hastily attempted to help Myra. However, another man grabbed onto Tilly’s arm and pulled her away from Myra. Chris then lowered his hand as he casually turned toward the man who was holding onto Tilly. “Since this b*tch is here, we can let the other one go. I heard that this woman, Miss Stark, has a rather tight relationship with Director Chase from the Chase Group. With her around, we won’t have to worry about getting our pay!”
Myra felt her ears ringing after she received the sudden, unwarranted slap across her face. She reached a hand up and felt blood when she touched her split lip. She bit her lips and gasped in pain before she lifted her head up to glare at Chris. “The Chase Group is definitely going to pay you guys. There might have been a mistake made in one of the departments; I’ll give the company a call right now.”
Meanwhile, Tilly was crying her lungs out as she found herself being dragged away. She screamed for Myra’s name, but Myra no longer found the energy to be bothered by the young girl. If Tilly was allowed to leave safely, she would at least be able to pass the message to the others. Myra now realized that the situation was more serious than she had expected it to be. This is no longer about the riots; these people are trying to detain and kidnap me! She reached a trembling hand over to touch her cell phone. Coincidentally, her phone rang at that very moment. It was a call from Tony!
Myra held her breath as she quickly picked the call up. “Hello?” That was all she managed to say before Chris grabbed onto her hair and tugged her head toward the ground. Myra forced her eyes shut in pain, and she felt her left forehead slamming against a rock as she fell onto the ground. At that moment, all she felt was a sharp, blinding pain as she gradually lost consciousness. Her phone had fallen onto the ground, but the call was still connected. Even though Myra could hear Tony’s loud and furious cries from the phone, all she managed then was to groan in pain; she couldn’t bring herself to speak at all.
Just as she attempted to reach a hand out for the phone, Chris stomped his foot over the screen and crushed the phone into pieces. Then, he let out a cold scoff as he walked toward Myra and kicked her a few times. After that, he crouched down and spoke to her in a cold, soft voice. “Miss Stark, most of the men at the construction site have been abstinent for a long while. I wouldn’t put up too much of a fight if I were you. I’m not a cruel man; I’ll let you go eventually as long as you obey my words.” He then turned to the two men beside him. “Greg, Eric—lock this woman up in the hut. We’ll only let her out once our issues with the Chase Group are resolved!”
Myra was forcefully dragged over to a tiny, wooden hut that didn’t have any source of light; it was pitch black inside. She felt herself drowning in waves of anxiety and fear the moment she heard the sound of the men locking her alone in the hut. She could still hear Chris’s voice echoing in her head. How long are they going to keep me here? What are they going to do to me? All of the workers here are madmen; I’m afraid they might… Her entire body trembled in fear as she buried her face into her knees and began to sob silently.
She had experienced the same fear when her mother left her in the past. The overwhelming sense of helplessness, powerlessness and fear… She felt like the entire world had abandoned her then. I don’t even know if Tilly managed to leave; I don’t even know if she managed to find someone who can help me…
Myra felt herself tensing up every time she heard the voices of men outside the hut. The darkness that surrounded her felt like a beast that could swallow her whole.
She didn’t know how much time had passed, but her legs felt numb from sitting on the ground for too long. Her tears had dried on her face, and it made her skin uncomfortably tight. Just then, she heard the nearing sounds of police sirens that came from outside the hut. Her gaze was blurry; she couldn’t seem to bring herself to react to whatever was occurring outside. Myra simply wrapped her arms around herself as she continued to shake uncontrollably. It felt like everything was in slow-motion right then; each second felt like a year to her.
After what felt like a long time, the door behind Myra was thrown open with a loud bam. The entire door fell onto the ground, sending dust up into the air. Sunlight shone into the insides of the dark hut. Myra gradually turned her body around, looking as though she was still stuck in slow-motion. She narrowed her eyes as they were too sensitive to the blinding sunlight; when she saw the tall, muscular figure that stood by the door with his back against the sun, she couldn’t stop her tears from streaming down her face.
When you’re stuck in the dark and need a helping hand to drag you out, who is the one person you’d like to see the most? I know Sean isn’t going to come and save me. I know that only a single person’s face surfaced in my mind the moment I heard the door being kicked open earlier. Myra parted her lips in an attempt to call his name. “To—” She couldn’t finish her words as her throat felt too dry for her to even speak. All she managed then was to stare at the man who walked over to her.
Every step he took seemed to be filled with rage and hostility right then; even the warm, golden rays behind him felt oddly cold at that moment. There was a commotion occurring outside the hut, and a few men from the SWAT team stood outside with their rifles. They seemed reluctant to rush in without orders.
Tony’s face was darker than clouds before a huge rainstorm. With his hands still placed by his sides, he cracked his knuckles as he met gazes with Myra’s terrified eyes. Tony hastily walked toward the latter before he picked her up into his arms without a word. Myra was a complete mess right then; her workwear outfit was coated with a layer of dust, one side of her cheek was excessively swollen, and blood stuck onto the corner of her lips. Although the blood from her forehead injury had dried up, the cut still looked terrifying. Furthermore, she had suffered a few scratches on her arms and legs when she fell and scratched herself against the pebbles on the ground. Tony felt his eyes burning at the sight of all the red marks on her skin.
He instinctively tightened his arms around her body as he lowered his head to look at Myra. “Listen to me; I want you to close your eyes now,” he said with a gentle smile. She felt like he had put her under a spell right then. A tear trickled down her cheek as she blinked, but she gripped onto his shirt around his chest as she obediently forced her eyes shut. “I’m scared, Tony…” Never once had Myra revealed such a vulnerable side of herself in front of another person. However, she no longer felt like being strong right then.
“Don’t be afraid. I’m here now.” The simple words that Tony uttered with his deep voice somehow put Myra at ease.
