She struggled to open her eyes just a little, trying to clearly see what was in front of her. But the next second, she heard a familiar voice—
"What to do next, I don't need to teach you, right?"
"Understood! We've already informed President Clark to bring the ransom money. He can choose one of you two to save, and the other will come back with us as a hostage!"
…Was that Elise's voice?
Kelsey felt a chill run through her whole body. She thought she must've misheard.
"At that time, President Clark will definitely save you. As for this woman... according to our original agreement, we'll take her somewhere remote and get rid of the child in her belly…"
The man paused for a moment and then asked cautiously, "Miss Collins, what if President Clark doesn't choose you…"
"Do you think that's possible?"
A soft laugh cut him off. Elise slowly stepped out. "I still believe in myself. But… I changed my mind."
She walked up to Kelsey, looked down at her unconscious face, and suddenly pinched her chin with her sharp nails, saying coldly, "I didn't want to kill her, but she actually had the guts to get pregnant with Rhett's child!"
There was a jealous look in Elise's eyes, and her fingers dug in harder.
She had been sick of Rhett's cold attitude for a long time.
Whenever she remembered that he had married Kelsey, she wanted to rip the woman apart!
Even though they had already broken up back then… she always thought Rhett would come back to her and fix everything. But instead, he married someone else so fast.
At first, Elise didn't care about Kelsey at all. She didn't even take her seriously.
But when she found out Kelsey was pregnant with Rhett's baby, everything changed. If she hadn't seen her randomly start vomiting that day, she might've kept believing Kelsey's act!
"You think having his child means you can climb the social ladder?" Elise sneered.
Kelsey's face turned pale. She forced herself not to shake.
Her nails dug deep into her palms, and the sharp pain kept her awake and alert, reminding her not to let them realize she was conscious.
Elise shoved her away in disgust, then stood up and told the others, "Once everything's done here, do whatever you want with her. Just make sure I never see her in Spring City again!"
Her tone was full of killing intent. It was obvious what she meant.
The leader hesitated. "Miss Collins, are you saying… you want her dead? That's a whole different thing. She had a relationship with President Clark. If he comes after us—"
"With me here, what are you afraid of?" Elise looked up at them and said calmly, "Don't worry. I'll take care of Rhett. Just make sure it's clean and leave no evidence!"
"Okay, understood."
Kelsey shivered and broke out in a cold sweat, but she didn't dare make a sound. She just listened quietly, holding her breath.
Everything around her went quiet, like she was the only one left.
After a while, she heard fast footsteps coming her way. A bad feeling hit her instantly, and sure enough, she was yanked up from the ground and dragged outside.
She instinctively opened her eyes and let out a painful groan. Tears filled her eyes, but the person dragging her noticed she was awake and snapped impatiently, "Since you're awake, walk by yourself!"
Kelsey took a deep breath and said nothing. She just nodded, trembling.
She had to stay calm. She had to survive.
As long as she could tell Rhett that everything was Elise's plan, she might still have a chance to be saved.
She was shoved forward and realized she had been taken to the rooftop of a tall building.
The sunlight was blinding, and the loud sound of helicopter blades suddenly filled the air, making her ears ring.
Several helicopters hovered above the building, and Rhett was among them.
She wanted to lift her head, but the burly man beside her grabbed the back of her neck and cursed, "Stay still!"
Kelsey gritted her teeth and obediently lowered her head.
Stay calm, stay calm…
She repeated it to herself over and over, determined to survive, to keep living.
The wind howled around them.
The kidnappers dragged her forward, their steps rough and unsteady. Her long hair got whipped around by the wind, sticking to her gaunt cheeks, and her face was pale like paper.
The sound of the helicopter's blades grew louder and louder, and the powerful gusts made it hard for her to stand still. Finally, the noise eased up as the aircraft began to lower.
She saw the helicopter hovering not far away, and a familiar figure appeared—
Kelsey couldn't take her eyes off the man.
Even though she had already decided to cut him out of her life, when faced with death, she couldn't stop the fear and desperation from creeping in.
Deep down, she still believed in him.
He must've rushed straight here from the company.
He was wearing a full suit and leather shoes, not a single thing out of place.
His naturally cold and distant aura didn't weaken in front of the kidnappers, instead, it felt even stronger.
"President Clark, that's Miss Collins and her wife over there. The other side is a gang of criminals, and there are some more hiding in the shadows. What do we do now?"
"Don't act recklessly. No matter what happens, keep them safe first."
The man looked down from the sky, holding onto the harness with one hand. His eyes swept sharply across the rooftop, his jaw clenched tight.
He loosened his collar and, with one clean motion, jumped out of the helicopter, landing steadily on the ground.
The wind caught his coat and sent it flying behind him. He hit the ground, raising a small cloud of dust that only made his tall, powerful figure look more intimidating.
His face was dark, his expression full of menace as he stared at the kidnappers. He calmly took off his suit jacket and tossed it aside, unbuttoning his white shirt as he strode forward.
Two cold syllables left his lips, full of killing intent: "Release them!"
The kidnappers stiffened and stepped back in panic. "Don't come any closer! If you do, both women die!"
"Mr. Clark…" Kelsey instinctively called out to him as the man next to her yanked her backward.
Rhett froze. His eyes locked onto Kelsey's face. He saw the bruises and cuts all over her, the bloodstains, her pale skin...
His expression turned completely cold. A heavy layer of frost covered his eyes, like he was ready to kill.
He had only ever seen Kelsey cry like that in the middle of the night. Usually, she put on a tough front.
Rhett used to enjoy seeing her beg and cry for mercy.
But now, seeing her like this, the fury rising in his chest was overwhelming.
His fist clenched tightly, the sound of his bones cracking faintly audible.
He was just about to move toward Kelsey—
When suddenly, a faint cry came from behind.
"Rhett…"
That voice stopped him in his tracks.