After dinner, Rosemary and Eunice left the restaurant and took the elevator down to the lobby.
Outside, the world was a white blur as large snowflakes began to fall like feathers from heaven.
That was when Eunice’s phone rang, her tone souring instantly.
"You let her go?"
On the other end, Leno was taken aback, having thought that roughing up Serena was enough. He hadn’t expected his boss to insist on keeping her.
"It’s my fault, ma’am! I’ll bring her back immediately."
"Just text me the location," Eunice commanded.
It dawned on Leno that she intended to handle Serena personally.
Meanwhile
After a brutal beating, Serena finally wriggled out of the sack as she heard her assailants’ footsteps fade away.
The alley was deserted, stretching endlessly under the snowy night sky.
She was crying, and her heart shattered with fear. She spotted her purse not far away. Wincing with pain, she crawled towards it, trembling hands fumbling for her phone.
"Terrified and in disarray" didn’t begin to describe her state. She knew there was only one person in all of Dawnstar who could save her.
She scrolled through her contacts and dialed Bard’s number.
The call connected in seconds, and Bard’s calm voice came through.
"Serena?"
Tears choked her words.
"Uncle Bard... I’ve been bullied!"
Bard’s voice immediately filled with concern.
"What happened? Where are you? Who did this to you?"
Through her sobs:
"Please... send someone to Hill Street to pick me up."
It was crowded with people— even her attackers wouldn’t dare touch her in plain sight.
"You’re in Dawnstar? Stay put. I’m nearby. I’ll come for you myself."
After hanging up, Serena wiped the icy tears from her face and staggered forward, shivering with cold and fear.
On the other side
A convoy of cars stopped in front of Eunice and Rosemary. Eunice took an umbrella from a bodyguard and held it over Rosemary.
"Rose, you head back first. I have some business to take care of."
"Alright." Rosemary didn’t pry. Climbing into the car, she gave her aunt a glance.
"Come back soon."
"Will do." Eunice affectionately patted her head before closing the car door for her.
As she watched the main car drive away with Rosemary, Eunice casually got into one of the security vehicles. After looking at the address Leno sent her, she commanded coldly,
"To find the girl."
Leno had immediately rallied his men to recapture Serena after getting orders from the boss. She was almost out of the alley when someone grabbed her, stuffing a rag into her mouth.
A large burlap sack was slipped over her upper body, and the opening was tied tight with a rope.
The familiar terror overwhelmed Serena as she whimpered and struggled, but to no avail.
She couldn’t understand why they had come back, and the feeling of utter despair made her tremble uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face.
Oddly enough, after dragging her to the middle of the lane, the men didn’t proceed further.
That was until a car stopped at the entrance.
When Serena heard the noise, her tearful eyes flickered with hope.
Was it her uncle coming to save her?
He was nearby and had promised to come quickly.
The car door opened and a bodyguard held an umbrella aloft. Eunice stepped out, her elegance and authority mingling with each step, her presence commanding yet alluring.
As the footsteps drew closer, Serena grew fearful.
Why was she hearing the click-clack of high heels on the pavement?
"Why are you here?" Eunice’s gaze shifted back to her husband, then to the person on the ground.
"Recognize them?"
Bard didn’t know anyone who dressed like that.
"I heard Serena was in Dawnstar and came to pick her up."
"Serena?"
Bard nodded, his focus returning to the person on the ground, considering the situation at hand.
It took a lot to get his wife this angry.
Bard asked,
"What did this person do to Rose?"
"Rose had her eye on a dress, and this one just had to snatch it away—over and over. She took advantage of my absence, dousing Rose with champagne." Eunice’s voice trailed off, evidently still fuming, and she kicked the sack a few more times.
The person inside the sack never expected the attacker to be her own aunt.
Nor could she have imagined that her aunt had ordered her men to bag and kidnap her.
It had nothing to do with Rosemary.
And there stood her uncle, right beside her, yet she didn’t dare cry out for help.
If her uncle had been oblivious, she could have lied, smeared Rosemary’s name—
But now, her aunt had beaten her to the punch, airing her misdeeds.
Her uncle already knew she was the one who had bullied Rosemary.
"It seems a beating was letting her off easy." Bard’s gaze lingered on the sack, his eyes mixing with the snow and wind.
Rose had been in Dawnstar for just two days, and someone dared to bully her under their watch?
"Two beatings," Eunice corrected coolly, "one from Leno and his men, one from me."
Eunice’s cold eyes fixed on the person on the ground.
"Now, the question is: do we light a fire and burn her, or do we just throw her into the sea?"

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