Chapter 218

When Carl saw Elsie run out, his first thought was that the traffickers were to blame—but not Elsie. Hearing Yunice now accepting her fate suddenly snapped him out of it. Elsie might be innocent, but Yunice was even more so. He had been Will’s best friend. The one he was supposed to protect was Will’s daughter—not Elsie.

With his stance now firm, Carl felt a pang of guilt for that fleeting moment of hesitation earlier. Freya added fuel to the fire. “If someone really wants to die, you can’t stop them; if you can stop them, then they never really meant it.” Women understood women best—and every trick Elsie had pulled, Freya had seen before.

Yunice looked at Freya in surprise. She’d assumed their pool game the other day had turned them into rivals; she didn’t expect Freya to take her side. Freya raised a brow and said, “I work for the boss; if he’s protecting you, what sense would it make for me to go against him?”

Yunice looked at her with a curious, amused expression; she’d been wanting to ask about Freya and Carl’s relationship for a while. It was obvious Freya had feelings for Carl—but Carl’s attitude was harder to read. At that moment, the two locked eyes. Just as Yunice was about to test the waters and ask something, the whole car jolted violently.

Yunice, seated in the back with too much empty space around her, was flung straight into Freya’s arms from the force. Freya caught her, and Yunice ended up smacking right into her soft chest. Before they could even feel awkward about it, the car jolted again. Carl reached out to steady Lily, who nearly rolled off her seat. Freya turned her head back; her expression dimmed, just for a second.

Up front, the driver fought to steady the wheel, then glanced back to report, “Boss, I think there was a pileup behind us. We got clipped.” Freya rolled down the window. Yunice looked out at the chaos outside. A mess of cars had crashed into one another; several were piled on the emergency lane, smoking from crumpled hoods. Carl’s car slowly steadied again.

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Chapter 218

Carl looked at her. But Yunice had already stepped out. “Mr. Carl, you go ahead to the hospital first. I’ll wait for Wyatt; we’ll come find you together.” Carl opened his mouth to speak, but Yunice went on, “Rainier Arc Street isn’t safe. I won’t feel right until I see him.”

Carl hesitated, then said nothing. Freya stood up. “I’ll stay with you.” “I’ll be fine,” Yunice said. “You’re needed more at the hospital. You should stay with Mr. Carl.” With that, she waved and shut the door behind her.

She stood by the roadside, waiting. Freya looked back at Carl, wanting to speak, but held back. Carl seemed deep in thought. After a moment, he raised a hand. “Let’s go.” Freya’s face was tight with worry. She turned to look out the window, watching Yunice’s figure get farther and farther away.

Riverston Street was relatively safe. Things should…be fine, right? Yunice kept checking the time. Five minutes had passed, and still no sign of Wyatt or his so-called backup.