His Belated Love for the Abandoned Ex-Wife Chapter 299: Refusal and Torture

The man's voice was thick with bloodlust. "You've got two options: either you die, or you purify this for me."

Iris glanced at the drug in front of her—about three grams' worth—and tried to figure out a way not to end up committing a crime. She asked, "Is this for making medicine?"

The man curled his lip. "Yeah."

"If I purify it for you, will you let me go?"

"Of course."

Iris swallowed. She realized she had no idea what she was walking into. With a gun to her head and her life on the line, running a drug test under those conditions wouldn't be enough to convict her of anything. To save herself, she had no choice but to go through with it.

Ten minutes later, Iris handed over the two grams of highly purified powder she had extracted. "Done."

The boss and his thugs just stared at her in shock.

"That fast?" The boss was blown away. "Those so-called pharmaceutical PhDs I killed before—they all tried to pull some crap like that on me."

Iris said confidently, "There won't be any impurities."

The boss grabbed one of his men. "You go try it."

The thug was trembling so hard his legs gave out. He dropped to his knees and begged, "Boss, please don't kill me... please... th-this stuff... it'll kill someone in seconds. You sniff that... you're not coming back..."

The boss shot him a vicious look and ordered the others, "Make him do it."

Iris stepped back in fear.

Several men forced the terrified thug to inhale the powder. Everyone went completely silent and watched nervously. But the man didn't drop dead. Instead, he looked like he was enjoying it.

They all stared at one another.

The boss went from shocked to thrilled, from excited to fired up. He suddenly burst out laughing and walked over to Iris eagerly.

Still wearing gloves, he took her hand and said politely, respectfully, "Hello, Iris. My name's Arden Solis. I hope we have a good partnership."

Iris yanked her hand back. "What partnership?"

Arden grinned. "Our partnership from now on, of course. I've got over ten tons of product contaminated with chemicals sitting in my warehouse. It's all going to depend on you. Don't worry. Stick with me, and you'll enjoy a life of riches and luxury."

Over ten tons?

Celeste had not only ruined Ethan—now she was trying to drag Iris down too. What a despicable piece of shit.

Iris swallowed. Her heart went numb on the spot. Without even thinking, the words came out of her mouth. "Just kill me now."

Arden's face immediately darkened. "Don't be ungrateful. I've got a bad temper. I could kill you without blinking."

Iris' gaze was firm, her voice strong. "Too bad. I'm pretty stubborn too. I refuse to commit a crime, and I don't hesitate one bit."

Arden's face twisted with cruelty. He pulled out his gun immediately, clicked off the safety, and pressed it against Iris' head.

Iris wasn't afraid. Getting dragged into a pit like this, either way she was dead. She closed her eyes and waited for it.

Just then, a thug rushed in breathlessly. "Boss, there's a woman outside the orchard with two cops. She says her friend went missing in our orchard."

Arden's face darkened. He searched Iris' body and pulled out a phone.

Iris looked at him warily.

Arden turned around and slapped the thugs who had "invited" her there several times. He yelled angrily, "You idiots. How did you let her bring a phone in?"

The thugs who got hit bowed and scraped, apologizing timidly.

Arden tossed the phone to one of the thugs. "Put it on a drone and fly it out."

"Yes, sir."

"Let them come in and search."

"Yes, sir."

After giving his orders, the thugs moved quickly. Some packed up the lab equipment, while others went to the orchard entrance to meet the police.

Arden took a few thugs, forced Iris into another car, and drove away on a back mountain road.

*****

Iris sat in the car, blindfolded. Fear slowly ate away at her soul—a fear she had never felt before.

Her emergency contact was Zoe. But how would Zoe ever know she had been taken by a drug lord?

Zoe had come with the police to track her down, but against a cunning drug lord, it didn't help at all. Iris couldn't believe she had been targeted by these murderous outlaws.

Her hands were tied, her eyes covered with a black cloth. She had no idea where they were taking her. No light. No hope.

Whenever they asked if she was willing to work for them, her answer was always, "No... way..."

What followed was round after round of beatings. Her weak body couldn't take it.

She passed out from the pain, got woken up while unconscious, and got beaten again after waking up.

The only thing she couldn't let go of was her three-year-old daughter. But then she thought about how her daughter still had a father who loved her very much. Suddenly, she had no more attachments.

Even if she died, she would never enable evil and do something so terrible for a drug lord.

When she was barely conscious from the pain, she vaguely heard Arden's sinister, vicious voice. "You really don't know when to quit. You think it's hard for me to control you? Since you're not afraid to die, I'll just give you a nice little hit every day. Get you addicted. Once you're hooked, you'll listen."

Iris lay on the ground. The taste of blood was strong on her lips. Her whole body hurt so much she couldn't move. Her heart felt like it was being sliced. After two days of beatings, she was already numb and no longer afraid. With the last bit of strength she had, she spat out a few words. "The second I... have the strength... the first person I'll... kill... is myself. You're not... going to use... my hands and skills... to hurt people..."