When Love Becomes a Cage (Melanie)

The thought of what Clyde had said to me earlier made my brow furrow involuntarily.

It was all about the money, wasn't it?

If the money had been mine before we got married, then Clyde wouldn't have a claim on it.

He was probably betting on me divorcing Clyde and then having someone bump me off. As my sole heir, he'd naturally inherit all the cash.

But that would take time. After being married to Clyde for years, splitting assets and going through court battles would take at least a year or two. Waiting for Lisa to secure her position in the Patterson family and get the money to bail out her son? By then, her son would be long gone.

He was getting impatient.

But premarital assets were a different story.

The funds were abroad, and they definitely couldn't check my marital status there.

All he needed was my death certificate to prove he was my heir, and with Galen's help, getting the money wouldn't be an issue. Especially with Geneva still in his clutches...

The more I thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. Why else would he keep insisting it was premarital property?

I didn't tell him much, just asked him to meet me in T city.

But after hanging up and turning around, I realized Geneva was nowhere to be found.

I looked around but couldn't see her, so I asked someone nearby.

"Excuse me, have you seen the little girl who was with me? The one with the braids."

"She seemed to have gotten her period, borrowed a tampon from me, and probably went to the restroom," a girl at the next table pointed towards the bathroom, and I hurried over.

With both key figures at this food stall, both of us were in danger.

For some reason, I felt like something bad was about to happen. I instinctively turned on my phone's location sharing and, without anyone noticing, slid the phone into my underwear.

But I hadn't expected to be knocked out the moment I reached the restroom.

As I blacked out, I couldn't help but reflect. Ever since I returned to the country, getting kidnapped seemed to be becoming a regular occurrence.

Maybe it was because of my cancer, but my metabolism was faster than most, which meant I woke up quicker too.

When I opened my eyes, I could still smell the earth.

I tried to move but found my hands and feet tied.

No one was in sight, just soil flying from in front of me to my side.

"That should be deep enough, right? She's only about 80 pounds; this should do."

"I think it's over the top. Mr. Crawford is way too careful -

for such a small wom

tossing her out all the

way

Suddenly, two men jumped out from a hole in front of me, and I realized they had been digging a grave.

One man came over, squatted in front of me, and touched my face.

I suppressed the urge to recoil.

"Damn, such a beauty. It'd be a shame to bury her without a bit of fun."

He reached for my jeans but was abruptly kicked by the man beside him.

"Get your head out of your ass and go find a hooker if you're that

La

swno

desperate. Don't leave any marks on her!

"In case the cops find her someday, don't drag me down with you. She's from a wealthy family!"

The kicked man spat in disgust and kicked me.

"Damn it, all this work and I can't even touch her."

Just as he was about to kick me again, a familiar voice cut through the air.

"Who are you trying to touch?"

Clyde's furious voice rang out. I slowly opened my eyes to see him

vering a fierce kick to the man's

swno

Back in school, he was always fighting like this, known for his low blows, yet unbeatable.

His bodyguards quickly followed, swiftly overpowering the two men.Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.

"Melanie, are you alright? I'm here, I'm here."

Clyde pulled me into a tight embrace, and I couldn't hold back my tears any longer, sobbing into his chest. "Clyde, could you untie me first?"