Queen of Wild Cards novel Chapter 276

He slumped back into the driver's seat just as his phone rang.

It was an unknown number.

Normally, he would ignore a random call like this, but given the circumstances, he couldn't risk it. What if it was a desperate SOS from Stella?

"Hello?"

"Julius, it's me."

Relief washed over him instantly. "Stella! Where are you?"

Stella kept it brief. "Julius, listen to me. I'm perfectly fine. I'm at Gideon's place right now. I knocked out a guard and I'm using his phone.

Gideon also kidnapped Cecilia Eames and another woman; they're locked in the basement. Don't do anything rash just yet. I managed to get some intel out of his men.

They have a separate factory for their operations, and there's a mastermind we didn't know about. He's moved me to a private room, but I can't leave just yet.

I need to extract the location of the factory and the identity of this mastermind so we can take them all down at once. Do not alert them. I'll find a way to stay in touch."

Julius's voice was tight with stress. "Stella, I've been out of my mind with worry."

Stella softened her tone. "I know, but don't panic. You know I can protect myself, or I wouldn't have been able to call you. You can have your people monitor Gideon, but whatever you do, do not tip him off."

"Okay, I understand. Just please be careful. No matter what happens, prioritize your own safety above everything else. I can't lose you. If anything happens to you, I'll lose my mind."

Without him even realizing it, Stella had become the most vital part of his life.

The moment he discovered she was missing last night, a frantic, restless terror had gripped him, making sleep utterly impossible.

"I hear you. I have to go." Having delivered the necessary information, Stella swiftly hung up the phone and slipped it back into the guard's pocket.

She dragged the heavy man back out into the hallway and gave him a quick prick with her needle. The guard bolted upright.

Unable to wrap his head around it, the guard decided to drop the issue. "Weren't you going to the bathroom? Hurry up. It's right there. I'll wait here."

He pointed lazily to the adjacent door.

So the bathroom was right next door!

"Alright, thank you so much." She had been holding it since last night, so the relief was genuine.

They had a bucket in the basement, but there was no way in hell she was using that.

After finishing up, she obediently returned to her room, even offering a polite, "Thanks again."

Seeing how incredibly compliant she was, the guard offered a rare, slight smirk, locked the door without a word, and pulled out his phone to play games.

This woman was dumb and cooperative. As long as he didn't hear the door open, he had absolutely nothing to worry about.