Chapter 49 Scared
Since the building didn’t have a backup power supply, the elevator was also out of service. Fortunately, Group 3’s office was only on the ninth floor–not too high up. Relying on her memory, Audrey felt her way along the wall, pushed open the emergency exit door, and stood at the top of the staircase, looking down.
1/5
All she could see was pitch–black darkness, so deep it seemed bottomless, and the silence was so complete she could hear a pin drop..
Images from horror movies flashed uncontrollably through her mind. Her nerves tensed, and she instinctively gripped the railing and bit her lower lip.
She was never scared watching horror movies.
But in a confined, dark space, every sense was heightened, and fear crept in naturally.
After a long pause, she finally summoned the courage to start descending the stairs, step by step.
But the further down she went, the darker it got, and Audrey almost missed a step several times. She kept counting the stairs in her mind, but she didn’t know if it was because of her nerves. or fear either way, the pain in her lower back was growing
more intense.
Suddenly, she heard faint footsteps coming from below.
Chapter 49 Scared
It was silent.
Audrey waited, but no one answered.
2/5
She thought she might have imagined it. Pressing her lips into a thin line, she took a deep breath and continued down the stairs.
“Rumble!”
Thunder seemed to shake the air around her.
At the same time, a flash of white light illuminated a figure not. far below her.
“Ah!”
Audrey gasped, her foot slipped, and she felt herself tipping backward, losing her balance.
Suddenly, the figure moved. Strong arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her into an embrace. Audrey’s mind went blank; she reflexively clutched the person’s collar tightly.
Boom, boom, boom…
In the silence, she could hear a heartbeat, steady and rhythmic.
Wait!
That wasn’t her heartbeat.
Audrey suddenly realized she was in someone’s arms.
Chapter 49 Scared “Don’t move.”
A deep, familiar voice came from above her.
Audrey was stunned.
Did she hear that right? This voice…
3/5
As she wondered, a familiar, cool, woody scent filled her senses.
“Theodore?” she called uncertainly.
Theodore lowered his gaze. In the darkness, he couldn’t see her expression, but he could feel that she was still trembling slightly from fear.
“You’re scared, but you turned off your phone!” he thought.
The thought of her scream and near fall just moments ago filled him with frustration.
If he hadn’t arrived when he did, seen the power outage in her office, and come up the stairs, she could have fallen to her death, and no one would have known!
Theodore swallowed hard, his arm tightening around her waist. He hadn’t realized until now that he was afraid, too.
He let out a deep “Yeah.”
It wasn’t someone else, nor a ghost. Audrey’s nerves finally relaxed. “Why are you here?” she asked.
“Your phone was off. Hazel couldn’t reach you.”
Chapter 49 Scared Audrey understood.
Hazel must have tried to call her several times, but with no response and her late return, she’d contacted Theodore.
Audrey pursed her lips and released her grip on his shirt. “Thank you.”
4/5
“Don’t flatter yourself. I just came to check if you were still alive. If you were dead, it’d be over once and for all. But if you were half–dead…”
He lifted her chin, his eyes cold. “Who knows if you’d use that as an excuse to cling to me again, just to stay Mrs. Ainsworth for another year.”
Audrey’s entire body went rigid. His breath, icy and close, made. it hard to breathe. Theodore’s arm was pressed against the. spot where she was hurt, and the sharp pain shot through her, reminding her not to show any weakness–not to look back.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Ainsworth. I have no intention of breaking our agreement before the year is up.” She took a deep breath and met his gaze. “Now, can you please let me go?”
Theodore’s expression darkened. Her calm answer only fueled his anger. The veins on the back of his hand stood out.
After a moment, he released her with a sneer. “You’d better keep your word.”
The pain in her back finally eased a little.
Chapter 49 Scared
Audrey sighed in relief. When she looked up, he had already turned and headed downstairs.
5/5
Remembering the pitch–black staircase, she hesitated but decided not to linger. She pushed through the pain and followed Theodore down, using the faint light from his phone.
But every step felt like a needle jabbing into her back, and the pain grew sharper with each movement.
Audrey gritted her teeth and managed to descend a few more steps. Sweat formed on her forehead from the strain and pain in
her back.
As she slowed, gripping the railing, her head bowed, the
staircase suddenly became brighter. A pair of leather shoes came into view, followed by a cold, firm voice.
