In desperation, I remembered Sophia once saying she liked to take photos at an old factory on the outskirts of Chicago. Through gritted teeth, I blurted out an address: “She’s… at the abandoned factory outside Chicago!”
Ryan immediately sent men to check.
Half an hour later, they returned with news. They had found Sophia there—lying on the ground, her abdomen wrapped in bloody bandages, her face pale as death.
Ryan rushed to scoop her into his arms. Sophia opened her eyes, pointed at me, and sobbed, “Ryan… it was her… Evelyn sent them. They kidnapped me and… they cut out my kidney!”
“What?” Ryan’s head snapped toward me, his eyes murderous.
He stormed back, slashing the rope that held me. I crashed to the ground, my bones splintering in pain.
He ground his foot onto my hand, his voice colder than ice. “Evelyn, you dared touch her kidney? Then I’ll take your brother’s in return!”
Before I could explain, he ordered me locked in the warehouse and carried Sophia to the hospital. I pounded the door, screaming, but no one came.
It was deep into the night when Brown slipped in, his eyes red. “Ma’am, Ryan… Ryan had your brother’s kidney taken out to give to Sophia.”
“What?” My vision went black. I nearly collapsed, but Brown caught me and shoved a medical report into my hands. On it was Aaron’s name. Diagnosis: “Acute renal failure, postoperative hemorrhage.”
I ran to the hospital like a madwoman. But at the ward entrance, guards stopped me.
Through the glass, I saw Ryan standing inside. Sophia lay in bed, her face glowing with health. And my brother… my brother was covered in tubes, barely breathing.
Ryan stepped out, his voice icy. “Evelyn, this is what you owed Sophia. If you dare touch her again, I’ll double it on your brother.”
I was dragged back to the abandoned warehouse near Chicago and locked inside for three whole days. I nearly thought I would die there.
By now, the visa should have been approved. Ryan’s mother had already wired one hundred million dollars into an offshore account in the Cayman Islands. All I needed to do was leave Ryan, go abroad, and I could use it. I was so close to escaping this nightmare with my brother. I couldn’t die here.
On the fourth day, Sophia Reed suddenly appeared, wearing a hospital gown and carrying a metal canister. She smiled with twisted pride. “Evelyn, want to know where your brother’s kidney went?”