Chapter 193: She Really Didn’t Have the Courage to Live On
Chapter 193: Chapter 193: She Really Didn’t Have the Courage to Live On
"Of course I believe you!" the man with glasses chuckled, rubbing his hands together. "But you’d need the chance to call the police, wouldn’t you?"
The man with the crew cut stared at her lecherously. "What do you think will happen if you take out your phone? You think we won’t snatch it?"
Eliana Sinclair’s body trembled slightly with fear. ’What terrible luck,’ she thought. ’I should have listened to my roommate and stayed in tonight.’
She pressed her lips together and took a deep breath.
"I don’t think I need to call the police!" Eliana Sinclair shouted, pointing behind the two men. "There are police right there!"
Startled, the man with glasses and the man with the crew cut quickly turned to look.
The moment they turned, Eliana Sinclair spun around and broke into a sprint.
"Fuck! She played us!" Realizing he’d been tricked, the man with glasses cursed.
The man with the crew cut immediately chased after Eliana Sinclair.
Eliana Sinclair fumbled for her phone in her fanny pack as she ran, but the more frantic she was, the harder it was to get out.
Just as she was about to get her phone out, she suddenly felt her scalp tighten, followed by a sharp pain.
The crew-cut man had grabbed Eliana Sinclair’s ponytail. He gave it a vicious tug and snarled, "You dare trick us!"
"Let go of me!" Eliana Sinclair screamed in terror. "Help!"
The man with glasses ran over, pulled a small bottle from his pocket, and sprayed it at Eliana Sinclair several times.
Eliana Sinclair’s eyes flew open, and she quickly held her breath.
But the colorless, odorless drug still made her limbs feel weak and her consciousness fade.
In just a few minutes, Eliana Sinclair lost consciousness and fell into the crew-cut man’s arms.
"Did you get all of it on camera?" Henry Stark asked in a low voice.
Kyle Morgan replied, "It’s all recorded."
Henry Stark’s dark eyes narrowed. He uttered a single word: "Go!"
The crew-cut man and the man with glasses had already scouted out a spot without any surveillance cameras when they decided to do this last night.
Now, the two of them carried the unconscious Eliana Sinclair between them, her feet dragging limply on the ground.
Gigi and Coco circled above their heads the entire way.
Meanwhile, the personnel Henry Stark had arranged were hidden in the darkness, silently closing in on the targets.
The crew-cut man and the man with glasses carried Eliana Sinclair over an arch bridge spanning the river, arguing over who would get to ’have fun’ first as they entered a dark grove.
The man with glasses snorted. "This was my idea, and I bought the drug. I definitely get to go first!"
With him putting it that way, the crew-cut man had no reason to argue further. "Fine, fine," he said reluctantly. "You can go first."
When they reached the spot they had picked out the night before, they laid Eliana Sinclair on the grass.
The man with glasses shone his flashlight over Eliana Sinclair’s body, his eyes full of lust. "Damn, she’s fine!"
With that, he eagerly lunged at her.
A powerful beam of light suddenly shone on them. The man with glasses asked suspiciously, "Why is it suddenly so bright?"
The crew-cut man turned his head and saw several figures standing not far away. His heart sank. "There’s... there’s someone here..."
"Why would anyone be here this late?" The man with glasses frowned. "Go get rid of them."
The crew-cut man had no choice but to speak up. "Hey fellas, my buddy’s getting busy with his girl here. Could you guys find another spot?"
"Police." Henry Stark presented his badge, his sharp gaze scrutinizing the man.
The crew-cut man’s eyes shot wide open.
The man with glasses was terrified too, frozen on top of Eliana Sinclair, not daring to move.
Seeing this, Renee Jennings strode forward with a dark expression, yanked the man with glasses up, and said coldly, "Disgusting!"
Zachary Conway was stunned. ’I can’t believe she’s that strong,’ he thought, ’lifting a grown man so effortlessly.’
Henry Stark’s voice was frigid. "You two deliberately drugged another person with the intent to commit assault. You’re coming with us to the station."
"We didn’t do anything!" The man with glasses scrambled up from the ground and protested, "Officer, you’ve got it all wrong!"
The crew-cut man nodded vigorously in agreement. "Yeah, yeah, we didn’t do it."
"Shut up!" Kyle Morgan barked. "Save it for the station."
The man with glasses and the crew-cut man tried to run, but several uniformed officers nearby quickly subdued them and put them in handcuffs.
Henry Stark led the team back to the station, while Renee Jennings, Kyle Morgan, and Zachary Conway took Eliana Sinclair to the hospital.
Around four in the morning, Eliana Sinclair groggily woke up, her mind still hazy.
As she gradually became more alert, she remembered what had happened last night. Her eyes instantly reddened, and she began to tremble uncontrollably.
Renee Jennings, who had been resting with her eyes closed, suddenly heard Eliana Sinclair stir.
She opened her eyes and saw the girl’s distressed state. She quickly got up and explained everything that had happened after she passed out.
Learning that she had been rescued in time and hadn’t been physically harmed, Eliana Sinclair was overcome with emotion. She got out of bed and knelt before Renee Jennings with a THUD, choking out, "Thank you! Thank you so much!"
’If those two bastards had violated me,’ she thought, ’I really wouldn’t have had the courage to go on living...’
"It’s okay now. Try not to go running so late in the future." Renee Jennings helped her up and said softly, "I know that being able to go out whenever we want is our right, but..."
Eliana Sinclair nodded emphatically. "I understand! I won’t do it again!"
The incident had left her deeply traumatized; she wouldn’t dare to go for a night run ever again.
"Since you’re awake, just stay here and rest." Renee Jennings smiled. "Someone will come tomorrow to take you to the station to give your statement. I should get going."
Both Zachary Conway and Kyle Morgan had told Renee Jennings to go home first, but she worried that Eliana Sinclair would be scared if she woke up to see men in her room, so she insisted on staying until she woke up.
In reality, she was exhausted.
Renee Jennings walked out of the hospital room and saw Zachary Conway and Kyle Morgan dozing on a bench in the hallway, their heads lolling against each other.
A small smile touched her lips. She took out her phone and snapped a picture before waking them up.
"Is she awake?" Kyle Morgan asked, rubbing his eyes. Zachary Conway’s head was still resting on his shoulder.
Renee Jennings nodded. "She’s awake and her emotions have stabilized. We can go back now."
"We can go back?" Zachary Conway’s eyes flew open.
Kyle Morgan shoved his head away in mock disgust. "You... you were awake and still leaning on me?"
"I like your broad shoulders." Zachary Conway deliberately gave him a flirty wink.
Kyle Morgan rubbed his arms. "You’re giving me the creeps. I’ve got goosebumps all over."
"Let’s go, let’s go." Zachary Conway stood up, brushing off his wrinkled pants.
Kyle Morgan pulled out his phone and checked the time. "Whoa, it’s almost morning. Should we grab some breakfast first?"
"Sure," Zachary Conway agreed.
They both turned to look at Renee Jennings in unison.
She raised an eyebrow. "If you guys are fine with it, then so am I."
The three of them walked to the hospital entrance, only to find Henry Stark standing by his car.
"Boss?" Kyle Morgan called out in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
Henry Stark said flatly, "I just finished up. I can give Renee Jennings a ride home, it’s on my way."
Kyle Morgan blurted out, "We were going to give her a ride even if you hadn’t come!"
Zachary Conway stared at Henry Stark, a mischievous grin spreading across his face.