Queen of Wild Cards novel Chapter 278

"He blindfolded me when he brought me out. But judging by the distance we walked and the sharp smell of rotting autumn leaves right as we exited, I'm absolutely certain the entrance isn't inside the house."

Julius nodded in realization. That made perfect sense. No wonder they couldn't find a single hidden door or switch inside the villa.

"Got it. Tell me everything else about the basement."

Stella gave him a rapid rundown. "There are two other women down there. One is the Eames heiress, Cecilia. She was taken a day before me.

The other woman had her vocal cords damaged, so she can't speak. It looks like they've been drugging her, and she's been there a while. They all have one thing in common: they're young, gorgeous, and have a naturally alluring scent.

The room itself is bare—just basic cots and a table. Heavy iron door, locked from the outside. No way to open it from within. There are guards, and they bring food on a schedule."

Julius immediately recognized the description of the mute woman. It matched the missing person report Marsh had forwarded from Cloudcroft City.

Gideon was behind that one too!

"Stella, do you really have to stay here? Come back with me. We can take our time building a case against him. It's too dangerous for you to stay in this place alone. I'll go crazy worrying about you," he pleaded, his voice thick with anxiety.

Stella's gaze remained steady. "I can't leave yet. Gideon is unhinged. He just got back, and he's already kidnapped three women, counting me.

The cops haven't found a single trace of him. He has to have serious, heavy-hitting backing to pull this off without a hitch.

I need to stay here. I have to find out exactly who is pulling the strings and where their actual processing factory is. It's the only way to stop this permanently."

They had to cut the head off the snake. Without identifying Gideon's backer, they could shut him down today, and another psycho would take his place tomorrow.

get everything we need out of him, knock him out, and walk away. All you have to do is keep your men stationed outside the perimeter. I will be perfectly fine."

If she didn't give him some reassurance, he was never going to leave.

"Are you serious? You really know hypnosis?"

This genuinely surprised him. He knew she had incredible holistic medical skills, but hypnosis was a whole different level.

Stella nodded confidently. "One hundred percent. I hypnotized the guy who brought us food in the basement.

How else do you think I found out about the mystery backer so fast?"