Miffed by her stare, Aubree turned her head for a glance. The moment the two men noticed her looking, they immediately averted their eyes and revealed friendly smiles. One of them asked, "Is something wrong?”

Aubree frowned, feeling something was off about them. She tightened her grip on Isla’s hand. As she looked away, she caught a glimpse of identical tattoos on the sides of their necks.

‘Trouble’s coming!’ Aubree thought.

Isla tensed up as well and asked nervously, “Aubree, are they bad guys!”

The elevator was small. No matter how quietly they spoke, anyone paying attention could hear. Yet the two men seemed completely oblivious. Aubree realized they didn’t understand Odionlandian.

Aubree whispered urgently, “As soon as the doors open, run like hell!”

Although unable to understand Odionlandian, the two men behind them still sensed Aubree and Isla’s heightened alertness. They exchanged a glance and, in unison, pulled switchblades from their pockets.

Fortunately, someone pressed the elevator button at that moment. Seizing the opportunity, Aubree grabbed Isla and bolted out.

They crashed into the person waiting outside, who snapped, “Hey! Got a death wish or something?”

A split second later, two burly men burst out of the elevator, making the bystander jump in fright.

“Move! Don’t block the way!” one of the burly men growled.

Aubree and Isla were on a high floor, so taking the elevator was out of the question. Without hesitation, Aubree grabbed Isla and pulled her toward the emergency stairwell. Aubree knew there were security guards outside the mall. If they could make it out, they’d be safe.

The two men chased relentlessly, each footfall a drumbeat of dread in Aubree’s veins.

As she ran, Aubree snatched out her phone, quickly pulled up a pre-saved SOS message from her drafts, added their location, and sent it out to all her contacts.

She thought, ‘Ever since I started going up against the Wilson family, I’ve been on guard, expecting they might come after me. That’s why I prepared this emergency message in advance. I didn’t think I’d need it so soon. But what exactly are these people after?”

Then, Aubree quickly dialed 911. “Help! I’m being chased. I’m at Horizon Plaza!”

“Aubree!” one of the two burly men yelled. Then, the two men, hot on their heels, suddenly lunged at Aubree and Isla.

Isla let out a terrified shriek.

Bowen was attending a company meeting, seated among the attendees as the department head delivered the presentation.

Suddenly, the conference room door burst open. Kelvin rushed in, phone in hand. “Mr. Turner, Miss Miller is in trouble!”

While the others in the conference room were still puzzling over who Miss Miller was, they saw Bowen, seated at the head of the table, freeze, his expression turning glacial.

The entire conference room immediately fell into a deathly hush. The glow from the projector only deepened the ominous shadows on Bowen’s face, making him appear even colder and darker.

Chapter 191

Without a word, Bowen snatched the phone and stormed out of the conference room. The stunned attendees only caught his clipped order: “Contact Ethan and Samson. Tell them to get the team ready!”

He strode out, his pace quickening with every step until he finally broke into a run.

Bowen clenched his phone in his hand. There was not just Aubree’s SOS, but Alvin had messaged him too.

Bowen thought anxiously, ‘She’d blasted the message to everyone. It must be an emergency!’

His chest tightened with dread. As he stepped into the elevator, he realized his hands were trembling. He quickly called Mark. “Mark, pull up the surveillance footage at Horizon Plaza. Bree’s in trouble!”

Before Mark could ask any questions, Bowen abruptly ended the call.

The elevator was still descending as Ethan and Samson raced to Horizon Plaza at full speed with their team.

Bowen made his second call to Horizon Plaza’s management. “This is Bowen. Lock down the mall immediately. I’ll cover all damages tenfold.”

Hearing Bowen’s name, Horizon Plaza’s management, out of respect, initiated an emergency lockdown without hesitation.

As the elevator descended to the parking garage, Bowen kept calling Aubree, but each call went straight to voicemail.

Had something already happened to her? he wondered, anxiety tightening his chest.