Chapter 3

"You bitch! You ruined the big deal I worked so hard to set up!"

Hugo's fierce face suddenly appeared in her view. Isabella jumped in fright, her face instantly turning pale. The fear buried deep in her bones made her instinctively step back a few paces.

"I didn't... I really did what you told me to do, but I didn't expect..."

A heavy slap cut off Isabella's trembling voice.

Hugo's hand, calloused from years of playing cards, grabbed Isabella by the collar, his teeth grinding with hatred.

"You're just like your bitch mother, always going against me! Now you've made me lose Mr. Hall as a client. Today I'm going to beat you to death, make you end up just like your mother!"

Hugo swung another slap at her.

Isabella barely had time to react. Immediately, everything spun before her eyes, and she fell heavily to the ground.

Under the pale streetlight, her cheek swelled up, and blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.

Hugo's tall figure stood against the light, his face looking dark and terrifying, like a demon crawling out of hell.

Seeing his hand coming down again, Isabella, just like when she was a child, instinctively raised her arms to protect her head.

Hugo had been abusing her for years, so she had long developed a mindset.

No matter how badly her body got hurt, as long as her head was okay, she could keep going.

But the expected pain didn't come. Hugo suddenly grinned, bent down, and snatched Isabella's bag, pulling out two checks from inside.

"That's my mom's medical expenses!"

Isabella's eyes widened. She struggled to get up and reached out to grab them.

Hugo wasn't about to give her that chance. He kicked her hard in the stomach.

Isabella fell to the ground again, cold sweat beading on her forehead from the pain. She could only watch helplessly as Hugo stared at the huge amount on the checks with greedy eyes, showing his yellowed teeth stained from years of smoking.

"You little bitch has some skills. Even though the egg-selling thing didn't work out, you've been hiding this much money! I really underestimated you!"

Hugo spat phlegm from his throat, letting it land shamelessly near Isabella's feet. His cloudy eyeballs rolled around.

"I'm your real father! You haven't given me a cent all these years. This money, consider it your filial duty to me!"

Hugo moved to stuff the checks into his pocket. Isabella's pupils shrank. Her tightly wound nerves snapped instantly. Her eyes filled with hatred, and her trembling fingers clenched tight.

That was Nora's lifesaving money. She absolutely couldn't let Hugo take it!

Isabella gritted her teeth hard. As Hugo turned to leave, she struggled to get up, grabbed the pepper spray from her bag on the ground, and lunged at Hugo.

Hugo's screams echoed above the street corner. When he fell to the ground in pain, Isabella didn't hesitate for a second. She snatched the checks from his pocket, hurriedly stuffed them into her bag, and ran in the other direction.

Just as she ran past the corner, a sharp horn sounded from the left. Isabella turned her head to see a black Bentley heading straight for her.

Isabella screamed, her legs went weak, and she fell sideways. When she looked up again, the car's front was only three millimeters away from her.

If the car had been going any faster, she would already be a corpse on the road.

Isabella patted her chest, feeling scared. Just as she stood up, the driver ran down from the car, looking at her with concern.

"Miss, are you okay? Do you need me to take you to the hospital?"

Isabella had been feeling dizzy since earlier, with ringing in her ears. Now, after this intense shock, even taking a few steps made her unsteady, as if she might pass out any second.

But Hugo would probably catch up soon.

The reason Hugo could threaten her to sell her eggs was that he had found where she worked.

Hugo used her job and Nora's life to threaten her, forcing her to agree to sell her eggs.

Now she had finally moved to a new place. She absolutely couldn't let Hugo find it.

"No need, I'm fine."

Isabella shook her head, then wanted to find somewhere nearby to hide. She would wait for a car while watching Hugo's movements.

Once Hugo was completely gone, it wouldn't be too late to go back.

She had just turned around and hadn't taken a step when the rear window of the Bentley behind her slowly rolled down. A deep, magnetic voice mixed with the cold wind reached Isabella's ears.

"Isabella."

Isabella trembled in fright and whipped around. Even though she could only see a dark window, when she staggered closer, behind the half-open window was William's cold, deep face.

At this moment, William was staring at her with cold, indifferent eyes, his gaze seeming to contain winter frost and snow, making her shiver involuntarily.

"Mr. Brown, what a coincidence. I didn't expect to run into you here so late."

Isabella forced out a smile. Even though her nose tip was red from the cold, her cheek bore a clear handprint, and she hadn't had time to wipe the blood from the corner of her mouth, looking utterly disheveled, she didn't want William to have any more negative opinions of her.

Right now, she was like duckweed on water, able only to cling tightly to that one support point. Once that support collapsed, she would completely sink into the abyss.

William narrowed his cold eyes, his satisfied indifference tinged with some impatience, his icy gaze seeming able to see through people's hearts.

"Get in."

Isabella froze for a few seconds, blinking, her mind unable to process this.

Did William know she was being chased and wanted to help her?

No.

Who was William? How could he possibly help a small employee like her? He probably had some work matters to discuss.

She happened to need to escape from Hugo. Right now, getting in the car was her only option.

Isabella quickly nodded and jogged to the other side, pulling open the door and getting in.

The heater was on in the car. The coldness around Isabella gradually dissipated, and her previously anxious heart slowly calmed down.

The car started moving slowly. After a long silence in the cabin, Isabella gathered her courage to turn and look at William.

William's features were nearly perfect—a high nose bridge, a perfectly sculpted profile, a sharp jawline. No wonder so many women went crazy over him.

Isabella's gaze moved down, and she suddenly remembered that night when William was on top of her, moving. His heavy breathing still echoed in her ears.

Sometimes, she felt that wild night was like a dream. If she hadn't walked into the wrong room, an ordinary person like her would never have had any connection with someone like William in her entire life.

"Seen enough?"

William suddenly turned his head, his cold gaze locking onto Isabella, carrying a hint of scrutiny and examination.

He had seen everything that had just happened to Isabella.

It seemed she wasn't a spy sent by some rival force. Otherwise, how could she be stupid enough to get beaten up like this?