"No, Jameson can''t get wind of this!" Alyssa frowned, her grip tightening on Jasper''s shoulder. "Think


    about it—if he finds out we''re onto him, who''s in the crosshairs?"


    Jasper met her gaze, understanding dawning in his eyes. "Amber."


    Content (C) N?v/elDra/ma.Org.


    "Amber helped Axel escape the Millennium and provided intel that brought Josh down. This time, she''d


    risked everything to tell us about Lauren. She''s clearly switched sides and be our ally.


    "Confronting Jameson would put Amber in the line of fire. He''s ruthless, and wouldn''t hesitate to kill


    Amber just to vent!"


    Jasper''s jaw clenched, a heavy weight settling in his chest. He pulled Alyssa close, his voice a low


    murmur against her hair. "You''re toopassionate, Lyse. Unwilling to hurt anyone who''s helped us,


    even a little."


    "Anyone with a conscience wouldn''t stand by while Jameson does what he does," Alyssa countered, a


    bitter edge to her voice. "There must be a reason she follows him." Despite the bitterness, her gaze


    remained resolute. "As long as there''s a spark of goodness in her, I''m determined to nurture it."


    Lauren remained woozy from being drugged, her face swollen from Freddy''s brutal assault.


    Freddy and the man in the blue suit callously dragged her out of the room, tossing her onto the ground


    without a shred of mercy. She hit the hard floor with a thud, her frail body curling into a ball as tears


    streamed down her cheeks.


    Disheveled and battered, shey there in tattered clothes, yet there was a fragile beauty in her


    brokenness, like a cracked piece of ss reflecting a deste elegance.


    Two other men, mere spectators, watched with rapt attention, their lust evident in their hungry stares.


    The woman in the red dress sneered in disdain and jealousy. "You all used to despise her so much in


    school. What''s changed? Have you suddenly acquired a taste for her?"


    "She wasn''t a woman back then. Who would have thought she''d blossom into such a beauty now? Any


    man would be captivated by her," one of the men in a white casual attire smirked wickedly.


    "Landon has good taste. No wonder he lost interest in other women once rumors spread that he found


    her. If I had a woman like her, I wouldn''t bother looking elsewhere. And she''s so dumb. A woman


    should be dumb for easy maniption," another man added with a sigh.


    The woman in the red dress coldly red at him. "Oh, do you n on marrying her, Mr. Wood, since


    you seem so enamored with her?"


    Mason Wood recoiled. "Absolutely not! My father would kill me if he knew I married someone crazy.


    Lauren struggled to open her swollen eyelids. Her face was white as a sheet. She felt as though her


    body was on the verge of copse.


    Suddenly, she noticed two figures approaching her.


    A mockingugh echoed above her. "Look who is here to see you, Lauren."


    It was Zoe''s voice.


    With a Herculean effort, Lauren forced her eyelids open, a sliver of recognition piercing through the


    haze of pain. Her throat felt constricted. She managed to rasp out, "B-Betty Beckett."


    "How rude of you to use my full name," Betty snapped, ring at her before delivering a kick. "Do you


    have any idea how hard it was for me toe back to Sna City? Do you know how miserable I was


    overseas? Tonight''s a rare chance for us to meet. We should catch up and set the record straight."