Chapter 153: Lock Her in the Dark Room

Chapter 153: Chapter 153: Lock Her in the Dark Room

When Evelyn Hollis went into the women’s restroom, Herbert Lee lit a cigarette and waited for her outside.

If he weren’t afraid she’d run off, he wouldn’t have even bothered to get out of the car and follow her.

Herbert Lee waited, his face full of impatience. He tossed the cigarette butt on the ground and ground it out forcefully with the tip of his shoe.

Seeing Evelyn Hollis come out, he frowned and asked, "What took you so long?"

"I just went to the bathroom. Was that long?" A trace of dissatisfaction appeared in Evelyn Hollis’s eyes.

Herbert Lee sighed inwardly. ’To avoid any slip-ups, I just have to force myself to be patient a little longer.

’After all, I’ve already come this far.’

Herbert Lee stepped forward, pulled her into his arms, and coaxed softly, "Erin, don’t get the wrong idea. I wasn’t complaining that you took too long. I just can’t stand being apart from you for even a second..."

Those words made Evelyn Hollis happy again.

Renee Jennings sat in the back seat, her gaze cool as she watched Herbert Lee lead Evelyn Hollis back to the car.

Zachary Conway snapped a photo of the two of them.

Henry Stark had arranged for a vehicle to wait at the service area exit. The moment Herbert Lee’s car started moving, he notified Levi Hollis in the other car to set off ahead of them.

"Chuck, how much longer?" Evelyn Hollis’s back ached from sitting. They had driven from dusk till dawn, and now the sun was setting again. "My phone is about to die."

Herbert Lee was driving. He was also tired. He frowned and said, "Don’t worry, we’re almost there."

"It’s so far. Why didn’t we take a high-speed train or a plane?" Evelyn Hollis asked, confused.

Herbert Lee gave a perfunctory reply, "It’s more convenient to drive."

Evelyn Hollis: "..."

’More convenient? She really couldn’t agree with that at all.’

Evelyn Hollis got emotional and raised her voice. "We’ve been driving for a day and a night! I don’t think this is convenient at all! It’s exhausting and a waste of time!"

Herbert Lee said coldly, "I’m driving right now. I don’t want to fight with you."

"You..." Evelyn Hollis had been so full of anticipation when they left, never imagining it would turn into this.

Her eyes reddened, and she began to sob quietly.

The burly man in the passenger seat opened his eyes, turning to give Herbert Lee a warning look.

Herbert Lee frowned, but softened his tone to console her. "Erin, don’t cry. I just blame myself for making you so uncomfortable. I originally wanted you to see the scenery along the way... If I had known, I would have taken you on a plane. I’m sorry."

Hearing this, Evelyn Hollis started to wonder if she was being too unreasonable.

The sky grew pitch-black. At midnight, Herbert Lee’s car crossed into Tarian Province.

Henry Stark immediately called the local police department, informed them of the situation, and requested their cooperation in the arrest operation.

Evelyn Hollis’s phone battery had completely died, and her power bank was dead too.

"Chuck, my phone’s dead. I want to charge it," Evelyn Hollis said, handing her phone to Herbert Lee.

"We’re almost home." Herbert Lee took her phone and stuffed it into his pocket. "You can charge it when we get there."

"Are we almost at your house?" Evelyn Hollis asked, a look of delight on her face.

Herbert Lee: "Yes."

The eastern sky showed the first hint of dawn. The first rays of morning light pierced through the clouds, illuminating the darkness.

Evelyn Hollis groggily opened her eyes and saw tall, cloud-shrouded mountains flashing past the car window.

"Why does it look so much like the mountains?" she asked with a frown. "Chuck, is your family from the countryside?"

"What’s wrong?" Herbert Lee asked tonelessly. "You look down on the countryside?"

A faint sense of unease grew in Evelyn Hollis’s heart. "Didn’t you say your home wasn’t far from Zenvia?"

Herbert Lee: "It’s not."

"What do you mean, not far?" Evelyn Hollis’s eyes widened. "It’s clearly very far!"

Herbert Lee stopped responding to her.

The rising sun dispersed the morning mist, and the view outside the window became clear.

Towering mountains rose up from the ground. Layers of dense forests clung to the steep slopes, and sharp rocks seemed to pierce the sky.

Renee Jennings tilted her head, watching the mountains recede outside her window. Her brow furrowed, and she murmured, "A mountain region this remote... no wonder the trafficked victims can’t escape..."

"Yeah," Sawyer agreed with a nod. "It’s terrifying. Forget escaping, even if we were just trying to hike through a place like this normally, we might not be able to get out."

"True," Renee Jennings said, pressing her lips together. An indescribable unease settled over her.

The car drove deeper into the mountains. The road grew bumpy, and the jarring motion made Evelyn Hollis’s heart pound with anxiety.

She remembered posts she had seen online about people getting trapped in vast mountain ranges, never to be seen again.

Evelyn Hollis asked tentatively, "Chuck, when are we going back to Zenvia?"

"We haven’t even reached my house and you’re already thinking about that?" Herbert Lee turned to look at her, displeased. "I’m from the countryside. Are you disappointed?"

"No, that’s not it," Evelyn Hollis quickly explained, shaking her head. "I just wanted to book our plane tickets back in advance. I don’t want to take the car again on the way home."

Herbert Lee fobbed her off with a casual promise. "Alright, I’ll buy the tickets later."

Evelyn Hollis quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

The car finally came to a stop.

Herbert Lee opened the door and told her to get out.

Evelyn Hollis, excited to finally meet his parents, was shocked. When she got out of the car, she wasn’t greeted by Herbert Lee’s parents, but by a group of leering, middle-aged men in yellowed, sweat-stained undershirts, baring their grossly yellow teeth.

Their gazes were slimy, sticking to her and making her extremely uncomfortable.

Evelyn Hollis’s heart tightened, and she instinctively tried to hide in Herbert Lee’s arms.

He was her only source of security here.

To her shock, Herbert Lee forcefully shoved her away.

Evelyn Hollis’s ankle twisted. She lost her balance and fell to the ground.

She looked up at him in disbelief. "Chuck, why did you push me?"

Herbert Lee’s eyes were filled with disgust as he looked at her. He turned to one of the middle-aged men, a bald one, and said, "I’ve brought the person."

Evelyn Hollis trembled uncontrollably as a terrible realization dawned on her.

She scrambled up from the ground, turned, and started to run.

She didn’t get far before she was caught and dragged back. They threw her into a small, dark room that reeked of a foul odor.

Inky landed on the tiny window of the dark room and heard heart-wrenching sobs coming from inside.

’It really wanted to tell her that Renee was already here to save her, so she didn’t need to cry so miserably.

’Too bad she couldn’t understand.’

Inky gave Evelyn Hollis one last sympathetic look, then flapped its wings and flew away.

The road into the deep mountains had been difficult. Henry Stark and his team, afraid of tipping off their targets, hadn’t dared to follow too closely.

So, Renee Jennings had sent Inky, who had eaten its fill, to follow Herbert Lee’s car. It was to leave signs for them at any forks in the road and, at the same time, scout out the situation in the village.

Inky circled the village, made a few new friends, and asked some questions. Then, it flew back to find Renee Jennings, bringing one of the Magpies with it.

Henry Stark had everyone stop two kilometers from the entrance of Yarrowdale Village.

"My back is killing me from all that sitting." Kyle Morgan got out of the car to stretch his limbs.

"Tell me about it." Levi Hollis walked over to him, rubbing his neck as he spoke. "I’m dead tired."