Chapter 713

Blinding light suddenly tore through the darkness.

Evelyn instinctively turned her head away, her lashes fluttering against the harsh glare. When her vision finally cleared, several rough-looking men stood in a circle around her.

The children were nowhere in sight.

"Where are they?" Her voice was hoarse, as if scraped by sandpaper.

The leader smirked, his greasy gaze raking over her. "The brats are fine, locked up somewhere else. We're here just for you."

He whistled, leaning in to examine Evelyn's delicate features. "Alexander has good taste. This face, this figure—" He suddenly made a crude gesture. "Did you pop out all three of his kids?"

Laughter exploded through the warehouse.

Evelyn's nails dug into her palms. She knew exactly what they were waiting for—a crack in her defenses.

"How much did the Laurents pay you?" she asked abruptly.

The laughter died instantly.

The leader narrowed his eyes. "What, Mrs. Hamilton looking to outbid them?" He rubbed his fingers together. "Name your price. Everything's negotiable."

Her back pressed against the cold wall, Evelyn kept working her broken nails against the ropes. "Leonard Laurent is already behind bars. Didn't you know?"

Murmurs rippled through the group.

"The Hamilton Group cut off funding to Banyan Group." She locked eyes with the leader. "Billions in projects frozen overnight. You really think Lydia can pay you now?"

A blond thug blurted, "Boss, I heard criminals' assets get frozen—"

"Shut it!" The leader smacked the back of his head, then sneered at Evelyn. "Nice try. Miss Laurent said we dump your body in the ocean when we're done. Alexander won't even find your corpse!"

His hand shot toward her collar.

"One million," Evelyn said calmly.

The hand froze midair.

"That's what the Laurents promised, right?" A faint smile touched her lips. "With a 500K deposit already paid?"

The leader's face darkened. "How'd you know?"

"Lucky guess." She flexed her numb wrists. "A million sounds good, but split eight ways—" Her gaze swept over the men. "Plus whoever's guarding the kids? What's left?"

"Bullshit!" The leader exploded. "Those suit-wearing leeches keep all the clean money! We do the dirty work and get scraps!"

Someone muttered, "Jail time costs extra."

Evelyn knew her gamble had paid off.

"Anderson Pharmaceuticals has far more liquidity than the Laurents right now." She spoke slowly, each word a hook. "You've kidnapped the future Mrs. Hamilton."

The warehouse fell so quiet she could hear breathing.

The leader's Adam's apple bobbed.