Lately, the relationship between Vivian and Finnick had eased a lot. The two of them were no longer as awkward as before. However, just thinking about Finnick and Evelyn having to work together, and often, still managed to wreck Vivian’s nerves. Whenever she interacted with Finnick, it always seemed like there was some kind of barrier between the two, preventing them from becoming as close as they used to.
Vivian told herself that everything would be back to normal after Finnick’s current project was done and dusted. Then, she would work hard to get their life back on track.
On that particular day, Vivian headed to the subway station as usual after getting off work. While waiting for the subway, she received a text message from Noah out of the blue. According to him, Finnick wanted to talk to her. Noah asked her to wait at the entrance of the alley next to the subway station, where he would pick her up soon.
Upon reading the text message, Vivian had some doubts. Noah would usually call her if he had anything to say, and rarely would he send text messages. Furthermore, when she was having breakfast with Finnick that morning, he did not mention that he had anything to tell her.
She checked the text message again. After confirming that the phone number belonged to Noah, she thought nothing of it and made her way to the alley. Perhaps there was an urgent matter that Finnick badly needed to discuss with her.
Vivian eventually reached the alley, but Noah’s car was nowhere in sight. Then she waited patiently for fifteen minutes, but still, Noah did not show up. Feeling that something was amiss, Vivian took out her phone, intending to call Finnick.
As soon as she opened her bag to fish for her phone, someone attacked her from behind. The perpetrator covered her nose and mouth, and all she detected was a strange scent before her eyes weakly fell shut, and she soon lost consciousness.
After Vivian fainted, two masked men in black suits quickly carried her into a car and fled the alley.
By the time she woke up, Vivian felt like she was experiencing a sense of déjà vu. It was the same kind of feeling she had when she was kidnapped by Evelyn last time. The difference being, she woke up with a terrible headache then, but this time her whole head felt groggy, and her whole body had gone limp.
Damn it. Have I been kidnapped again? That was the first thought that came up to her after she regained consciousness. She tried moving her limbs. Sure enough, she was completely tied up.
Vivian secretly cursed herself for being her own jinx. She struggled to get up, wanting to get a view of her location.
After some effort, she managed to get herself into a sitting position. She realized that she was currently in a shabby-looking warehouse, one that probably had not been in use for many years.
However, Vivian did not have the time to linger on those thoughts. Focusing on a plan to escape, she strenuously rubbed both of her hands together in an effort to loosen the ropes that bound her.
“Don’t waste your energy,” said a familiar voice from the back of the warehouse. Vivian immediately whipped her head around, only to find Evelyn advancing towards her.
“Why are you here?” Vivian certainly did not expect to see Evelyn in such a place, but she quickly put two and two together. “You did this?”
“Vivian, Vivian… Still dumb, I see. Why do you always ask stupid questions?” Evelyn said with an air of contempt.
“Why have you brought me here? Evelyn, I’m telling you. Kidnapping is against the law. Aren’t you afraid you’ll go to jail?” Vivian confronted Evelyn angrily. She could not believe that the other woman could even resort to abduction.
“Of course I am, but you’ll have to be alive in order to call the police,” Evelyn mocked Vivian with a look of disdain as she squatted down to look at her victim.
Realizing the danger hidden between the lines, instincts told Vivian that she was trapped in a bad situation. “What are you planning to do? Let me go at once!”
“You want to know what I plan to do with you?” A loud, sinister cackle escaped Evelyn. She then stepped forward and pinched Vivian hard on the chin as she stared viciously into the captured woman’s eyes. “I want to destroy you, of course.”
“Vivian William, just who do you think you are? You have neither talent nor good looks. Your social background isn’t even worth noticing. So, what makes you think you can compete with me for my man!”
Evelyn squeezed her chin with so much force that Vivian kept shaking her head, trying hard to break free. However, her attempts only managed to fan the flames as Evelyn tightened her grip, her nails digging into Vivian’s flesh. It was so terribly painful that Vivian could hardly feel her chin anymore.
Vivian soon realized she could not beat Evelyn as she could not break free of the devious woman’s shackles. With great difficulty, she uttered, “I’ve never fought over Finnick with you. When I met him, I… I didn’t even know that you were still alive.”
