Capítulo 398: Trapped Sheri (Part 1)
Having been thrown into the back seat of the car, Sheri found herself trapped between two men. The one driving kept silent, eyes fixed on the road ahead, while Jett sat beside her, grinning, his elbow propped against the window as he stared lazily outside. His calmness only made everything feel worse.
Through the rear-view mirror, Sheri caught glimpses of the cars following close behind. She could see the faint reflections of headlights cutting through the evening light, each one holding more of the men who had stormed the Fortis Group. It made her chest tighten. Whatever this was, it was organized. She wasn’t some random target.
Her thoughts spiraled. What happened to me? How did I end up like this?
The scene in her head kept flashing back to Abby. The day she’d learned Abby had been shot had changed the way she looked at everything. If Abby’s attackers had been connected to the military, the police, or the gangs, then what about these men? The way they dressed, the way they moved, they looked more like gangsters than anything else. If that was true, what was going to happen to her?
She reached for the door handle and pulled. Nothing. It didn’t move. She tried again, harder this time, but it wouldn’t open. She then reached for the window switch, pressing it down repeatedly, but the glass didn’t even shake. Locked. Completely sealed in.
For a moment she thought, If I could get the window down, would I even have the courage to jump? The car was moving fast, too fast. The idea of hitting the road made her stomach twist. She might break something, or worse.
Still, she couldn’t stop her mind from searching for other options. Maybe she could lean forward and grab the driver from behind, wrap her arm around his neck, try to strangle him. But before she could finish the thought, she imagined Jett’s reaction, his hands crushing her arms before she could even move. The image made her freeze.
So instead of fighting, there was only one thing left to do.
“Why…” Sheri’s voice trembled, weak and uneven. “Why are you doing this? I’ve never met any of you in my life. If I did something wrong, I’m sorry, I really am. We can talk about this. We don’t have to do this.”
Her words stumbled, half falling apart as she spoke. Her throat felt tight, her voice breaking in and out.
“Why?” Jett repeated, still looking out the window, not even bothering to turn around. His tone was casual, indifferent, like someone answering a stranger’s question on the street. “I heard your family is quite wealthy. You know, it’s hard to tell who really has money these days, but we got a little tip. Apparently, your family would be willing to pay quite a bit for you.”
Wealthy. The word made Sheri’s heart sink. Within the upper circles, there were people who knew her family name, the Curts family, but it wasn’t something anyone could just search online. They weren’t celebrities. And she had never been the type to appear at public events. Outside of those circles, no one would even recognize her face. That meant whoever sent this “tip” had to know exactly who she was.
“My family,” Sheri said, her voice rising in desperation, “we might own a lot on paper, but we don’t have any money! Our business is struggling. We’re drowning in debt! I promise you, you can look it up, there’s nothing left to take. They don’t have anything to give you!”
For a moment, Jett was silent. Then he let out a short laugh, low and cold.
“Don’t worry,” he said finally. “Our target wasn’t to get money directly from you anyway.” His grin widened, reflected faintly in the car window. “We heard your family has close connections with a particular group, one that would be willing to pay quite a bit to get you back. So don’t you worry, we’ll get our money one way or another.”
Sheri’s stomach dropped. The way he said it, the calm certainty of his tone, told her he wasn’t lying. They already had a plan.
Once they reached their destination, they would contact the Billion Bloodline Group directly. Jett and his men would demand both money and the presence of a red-haired individual to deliver it. If that didn’t work, they would turn to her family, forcing them to pressure the Billion Bloodline themselves. Either way, Jett would get what he wanted. The only thing he was thinking about now was how much to charge.
It was an easier job than he had expected. Breaking into a private security company had sounded dangerous, but in the end, it had been almost simple.
Sheri pressed her lips together, her thoughts racing. If talking won’t work, I have to do something else.
She looked around the car again. Maybe if she moved suddenly enough, she could reach the driver. The road ahead seemed clear, open. If she caused a crash, maybe someone would notice, maybe she could run.
Her pulse quickened. Her body trembled, not from fear this time, but from adrenaline. Slowly, she shifted, trying to move across the seat. Her arms tightened, ready to strike,
But Jett’s hand moved faster.
His grip caught her wrist mid-motion, his fingers wrapping around her arm with the precision of someone used to breaking things.
“Everyone’s allowed to do something stupid once,” Jett said, his tone sharp now. “Try that again, and I’ll tighten my grip. I’m not about to get killed in a car crash because of you.”
He held her there for a moment, then released. Sheri immediately pulled back, cradling her wrist. The warmth of his hand still burned on her skin.
That was it. She was out of options. Every possibility ended the same way, with pain, with failure, with no one to save her.
Max won’t come again, she thought bitterly. Not this time.
The car rolled on for several minutes. The hum of the engine filled the silence, broken only by the faint sound of wind brushing against the windows. Then, suddenly, the car slowed. Her heart jumped. It stopped.
The sound of the door opening snapped her head up. For a moment, hope flashed through her chest, maybe this was her chance, maybe she could run, but then she felt it. The weight of Jett’s stare, cold and steady.
Her body froze.
And then, through the open door, a familiar figure stepped inside.
“Anton…” Sheri whispered, her voice barely holding together.