Queen of Wild Cards novel Chapter 271

Stella Hawthorne waited in the hidden room for most of the night, but no one came for them, not even Gideon Kaye.

She was growing impatient. Mostly because being deprived of sleep made her incredibly irritable!

Plus, she was starving.

She carefully scanned the basement again. Aside from the door and the air conditioning vent, there really was no other way out.

Surely they didn't expect her to crawl through an air vent? It was filthy, and she absolutely refused to do it.

Since no one had come down here, she figured something must have happened outside. Perhaps Julius Blackwood had already tracked her down, and Gideon was currently in a state of sheer panic.

There probably wasn't even anyone guarding the door anymore, right?

Walking over to the heavy iron door, she gently patted it with her hand.

She stroked her chin thoughtfully before waving at Cecilia Eames. "Come here."

Cecilia eagerly jogged over. "Stella, do you have a way out?"

Stella glanced at the younger girl's feet and said, "Take off your shoe."

"Why do I need to take off my shoe?"

"To bang on the door, obviously. Unless you want to bruise your hands? If you're not afraid of the pain, go ahead and use your bare hands."

"Oh, then I'll use my shoe." Cecilia obediently slipped off her footwear and began slamming it against the door.

She definitely didn't want to use her hands. The iron door looked incredibly thick and heavy; pounding it with her fists would hurt like hell. Her shoe was a much better option.

But why didn't Stella take off her own shoe to hit the door instead of asking her to do it?

Too intimidated to ask, she just kept enthusiastically pounding away. Banging on a solid door was a serious workout, and she was getting exhausted!

"Stella, my arms are killing me. Should I keep going?"

"No, that's enough. Stop." With all that racket and still no one coming to open it, she was certain there were no guards stationed directly outside.

So what now?

She paced back and forth.

"Got it, Stella," Cecilia quickly agreed.

The mute woman nodded, letting out a soft, affirming grunt.

Removing a small silver needle she kept concealed in her sleeve, Stella pricked the man. He slowly regained consciousness.

As soon as he opened his eyes, a pendant dangled in his line of sight, swaying gently back and forth.

He hadn't been fully awake to begin with, and now his vision began to blur again.

A soft voice murmured in his ear, telling him to relax. Following the command, he let his body go loose, and soon his consciousness slipped completely out of his control.

Seeing his glazed, unfocused eyes, Stella knew the hypnosis was successful and began her interrogation.

"Where are we?"

"Mr. Kaye's residence," the man answered in a monotone.

"Why did you kidnap me?" Just as she suspected, that bastard Gideon had ordered her capture.