Chapter 27

Sheila said to her companions, “She shouldn’t be far. Let’s go after her.”

Shermaine was waiting for the bus at the bus stop. It was perfect for her since the bus could go straight to Lily’s place.

After a while, the bus showed up. Shermaine tossed a coin into the fare box, walked to the back, and found a seat by the window.

Sheila went out of the school gate just in time to see Shermaine getting on the bus. She tried to catch up, but the bus had already started to go. She instantly hailed a cab and said to the driver, “Sir, follow that bus please.”

The bus stopped at every station, and Shermaine clearly noticed the cab following them, but she didn’t care. She tried calling Lily, yet the phone kept ringing with no answer.

The bus finally stopped in Westbrook District, and Shermaine got off.

It was a busy area, a mix of old houses and shops. It was rush hour, so people flooded the streets to go back home.

With her school uniform and striking looks, Shermaine stood out. What was even stranger was the three other girls in matching uniforms following her.

Shermaine walked through the maze of streets, heading deeper into the area. She eventually reached an old building and went straight inside without hesitation. This was Lily’s last known location according to her phone’s tracker.

The place was dark and creepy. Rats scurried by, sending Sheila’s two friends into a shrieking panic.

One of them complained, “Why did Shermaine come to a place like this? It’s terrifying.”

Another girl said, “This place looks like a haunted house. I’m not going inside.”

The first girl added, “Me neither.”

Sheila was scared too, but she cleared her throat and said, “Let’s just wait for her to come out.”

Meanwhile, Shermaine reached the seventh floor, found apartment 707, and rang the doorbell. The sound was sharp, but no one answered.

Shermaine lost patience and was about to force the door open when an old woman, Milana Harvey, came out from the next apartment and asked, “Hey, are you looking for the girl living there?”

Shermaine nodded and replied, “Yeah.”

Milana said, “You’re too late. A few days ago, some strange men came and took her away. I called the cops, but when they came, she was probably gone.”

Shermaine’s eyes went cold, and she asked, “Can you tell me exactly when that happened?”

Milana thought for a moment and replied, “It was the 22nd, around 10 p.m.”

“Thanks,” Shermaine replied.

Shermaine thought to herself, ‘Troy only has one daughter. If something happened to Lily, Troy would be devastated.’

There was no trace. Alas, Shermaine was in a hurry to find Lily, so she didn’t have time to check Lily’s workplace. All she knew was that Lily worked at the Chanel counter at Grandview Mall after she moved to Basterel.

A month ago, she got fired, but no one knew why or what led her to move from her nice apartment into this rundown place.

Shermaine turned around and started to walk downstairs. She knew Sheila and her friends were waiting for her, but she had no time to deal with them.

Thus, she slipped out the back door of the building.

Fortunately, they didn’t notice when Shermaine left.

Shermaine went straight into an internet cafe, sat down at a computer, and hacked into the local surveillance system. Based on the time Milana gave her, she found the video of Lily being taken away.

The video showed a group of well-dressed men dragging Lily out of the building, beating her along the way, and shoving her into a luxury car.

The car’s license plate was clearly visible on the camera. Shermaine traced the car’s current location through the plate number.

Without wasting a second, she left the internet cafe, leaving the computer still running.

The man sitting next to her glanced at the screen and was stunned. He exclaimed in his mind, ‘Holy shit, I just saw a hacker in action, and she’s so damn hot!’

Right as Shermaine stepped out of the door, she ran into Sheila again, and it wasn’t exactly a lucky coincidence. Shermaine reacted faster and jumped into a cab.

Sheila spotted Shermaine immediately, and she chased after Shermaine in anger again.

Meanwhile, it was getting dark, and the city lights started twinkling in the distance. At an auto service center, the place was covered in graffiti, giving off a trendy vibe. Outside, several luxury cars were parked.

Inside, the music was blasting. People were dancing and partying, completely enjoying themselves. But in the middle of it all, Lily was tied up to a punching bag, looking utterly pathetic.

Just then, Ronnie hobbled in on crutches, his leg still in a cast.

Seeing him show up, someone turned off the music, and everyone turned to greet him. “Hey, Mr. Leeds, what are you going to do with this woman to avenge Wendy?”

Ronnie limped along and glared at Lily. If Shermaine hadn’t broken his leg, he would’ve handled this himself. Just thinking about that night in the hospital made his blood boil.

Ronnie’s eyes fixed on the punching bag, and he instructed in an icy tone, “Give her a good beating first.”

“Your leg is injured. Are you good enough to handle that?” someone asked.

Ronnie tossed a bottle at the person and shouted, “Are you fucking looking down on me?”

“No, I’m not,” replied the person.

After all, the group of people all relied on Ronnie, so no one dared to cross him.

Ronnie put on the boxing gloves and stepped into the ring. He said, “Make sure to record my cool moves. I’m sending it to Wendy.”

Lily had never felt so regretful and hopeless. She hated herself for recognizing Wendelyn as the sister sent away by their family years ago. If she hadn’t recognized Wendelyn, if she hadn’t tried to make it up to Wendelyn, she wouldn’t be in this mess now.

Lily thought, ‘We are birth sisters, but I can’t believe that Wendelyn is so heartless. She set me up and even stirred up her suitor to hurt me. Is it just because she can’t stand seeing me in this city? If that’s the case, Wendelyn is truly terrifying.’

Just thinking about it made Lily shiver with fear.

Meanwhile, the cab Shermaine took stopped outside the auto service center. She got out and looked around. The dim lights by the entrance made the luxury cars look even more menacing.

A few men were sitting on the hoods and playing games, but when they saw someone showing up, they shifted their attention to her.

Shermaine was stunning, and her beauty was striking, almost aggressive. She was pure and enchanting, but there was something intimidating about her, as if she was no stranger to danger.

Shermaine ignored the men and walked toward the door, but they stopped her. “Hey, who the hell are you? Think you can just barge into our turf?”

Shermaine didn’t answer but asked, “Is Lily inside?”

The men exchanged looks and grinned. One of them replied, “Chick, you’ve got guts to come here alone.”

Their eyes contained a sinister light as someone continued, “You are walking into a tiger’s cave, you know? Once you’re in, you aren’t leaving.”

Hearing those words, Shermaine was sure that Lily was inside.

She thought to herself, ‘A tiger’s cave, huh? If they’re tigers, I’m the butcher who kills tigers.’

She put on a sly grin, but in an instant, her grin contained a hint of a murderous vibe as she kicked one of the men to the ground.

Before the man even realized what happened, Shermaine’s fists were already flying. She knocked him out cold, leaving him dazed. She stomped on his chest, and the man instantly spit up blood.

Shermaine looked down at the man with cold eyes. “Loser, who the hell do you think you’re trying to provoke?”