Second Chance: Marrying into Wealth Chapter 287

"Don't sweat it, boss. I got this," the skinny guy said with a confident grin.

The scar-faced man just grunted, not really caring.

But the skinny guy looked worried and asked, "Boss, in the rush, I didn't notice the woman was wearing a mask, so I grabbed both of them. Which one are we supposed to nab tonight?"

"Shut up! If you can't talk right, then zip it!"

The scar-faced man shot him a glare, clearly annoyed. He didn't want him to spill any more.

The skinny guy pouted, looking hurt, but he did shut up.

"Fine, I won't say anything. But we grabbed two of them. Think the client will pay for the extra one?" he asked, sounding anxious.

The scar-faced man thought for a moment. "We've got them now. Whether the client pays for the extra one or not, we can't just let them go. Are you dumb? What if the one we let go rats us out?"

The skinny guy knew he wasn't the brightest, but he had enough sense to listen and keep quiet.

Paula seized the moment and shouted, "Who hired you to kidnap us? Let us go, and we'll pay you double whatever they're offering."

The skinny guy's eyes lit up, and he tugged at the scar-faced man's sleeve. "Boss, double..." He got smacked on the head immediately.

"Ever heard of honor among thieves? We can't go back on our word. She says double, but do you really think we'll get it?" the scar-faced man said.

I could see the scar-faced man was more rational and wouldn't fall for it. But this was our only shot. As the car drove further from Starlight City, escaping would be nearly impossible once we hit the mountains.

Paula and I exchanged a glance, understanding each other perfectly.

"Sir, if double isn't enough, we can offer triple or even quadruple. My friend's family is loaded. Instead of kidnapping us and being hunted down, why not let us go and take the money quietly?" I said softly, trying to appeal to the skinny guy's greed.

The skinny guy was clearly tempted, but he quickly realized he was being tricked and got angry. "Really? You think I'll fall for that?"

The scar-faced man scoffed at us. "Stop trying to tempt him. You've been caught, so deal with it."

"Are you sure you don't want to consider it? If you let us go for triple or more, you might make enough to last a lifetime," Paula made one last effort to persuade them.

But the scar-faced man stayed firm, or maybe he was tempted but didn't dare take the risk.

Seeing no other option, Paula began to think of another plan. If one of us had to escape, it would be Paula. She had a better chance of running away than I did.

Suddenly, I shouted, "I don't feel well. I think I ate something bad and need to use the bathroom."

Paula quickly chimed in, "I need to go too. You can't expect us to hold it in, can you?"

We both put on our most pitiful expressions, and the skinny guy softened.

"Boss, they just need to use the bathroom. We can handle it. If they pee in the car, it'll stink," the skinny guy suggested.

I immediately volunteered, "Let me go first."

Paula quickly added, "No, I need to go first."

We both acted desperate, jostling each other. Taking advantage of the distraction, I shoved the scar-faced man hard.

Paula reached the door and, as the skinny guy opened it, she pushed him aside and bolted.

The scar-faced man reacted quickly, slapping me hard across the face, making me see stars and my face swell instantly.

"You ungrateful wretch, trying to run," he cursed, possibly to warn Paula.

Thankfully, Paula didn't look back. I endured the pain, silently praying she would escape.

But things didn't go as planned. The car had already left the city, and Paula, unfamiliar with the mountainous terrain, stumbled and fell. She wasn't as agile as the skinny guy who grew up in the mountains, and the lingering effects of the drug slowed her down.

"Running away, huh? Ungrateful wretch," the skinny guy muttered as he caught Paula, slapping her hard several times.

When Paula was dragged back, her face swollen and bleeding, I felt a pang of guilt and worry. "Paula, are you okay?"

Paula, despite the pain, reassured me, "I'm fine."

But she clearly wasn't. Her mouth was bleeding. My eyes welled up with tears, and I shouted at the men, "Your client didn't say you could hurt us, did they? If you harm us, you won't get a penny."

The scar-faced man, though furious, didn't hit us again.

As I breathed a temporary sigh of relief, leaning against Paula and thinking of our next move, the men suddenly covered our mouths with drugged cloths.

This time, they held the cloths over our mouths for a long time, ensuring we were completely unconscious before letting go.

When Paula and I woke up, our hands were tied behind our backs, and our legs were bound. We looked around and realized we were in an abandoned factory, our mouths gagged.

Both of us lived alone, and it was the weekend. No one would notice we were missing. Christopher might not even realize I was gone.

Tomorrow morning, Christopher would expect to see me for our usual workout, but if we were moved tonight, we could end up in a remote village, and that would be the end.

I silently prayed Christopher would come looking for me and realize I was missing. But we couldn't rely solely on that. We had to save ourselves.

Paula and I exchanged a look, understanding each other perfectly. We began to inch towards each other, ignoring the pain as our ankles scraped against the floor. We positioned ourselves back-to-back, trying to untie each other's ropes.

Unfortunately, the knots were too tight to undo by hand. I spotted a piece of metal nearby and shuffled over to grab it, then moved back to Paula.

"Paula, this might hurt. I might accidentally cut you," I signaled with my eyes.

Paula nodded, ready for what was to come. I carefully sawed at the ropes, even though it meant cutting my own hands and Paula's. I smelled blood and heard Paula gasp in pain.

But I couldn't slow down. If we did, we might never escape.