Reborn at Eighteen The Billionaire's Second Chance novel Chapter 32

Elara

I ran.

The alley narrowed. Brick walls on both sides. My sneakers hit oil-

stained pavement. Behind me, heavy footsteps. Two sets. Getting

closer.

My backpack slammed against my spine with each stride. My lungs

burned. I couldn’t get enough air. The alley turned. I took the corner

fast. My shoulder scraped brick. The pain was sharp but I kept going.

A hand caught my jacket. Yanked hard.

I went down. My knees hit concrete first. Then broken glass. The

impact sent pain shooting up my legs. My backpack flew off.

Everything scattered–the broken watch, my phone, paintbrushes,

money.

“Fucking hell, she’s fast.” The voice came from above me. Brooklyn

accent. Rough.

I tried to push myself up. A boot pressed between my shoulder blades.

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Shoved me flat. My palms scraped against asphalt. I tasted blood. Had

I bitten my tongue?

“Stay down, princess.”

I turned my head. Saw him in the dim light from the street. Gray

jacket. Heavy build. Maybe mid–thirties. The other one bent down to

pick up my things. He held up my phone. The screen was shattered.

Ex

“Vane family girl, right?” The boot pressed harder. I couldn’t breathe

properly. “Someone wants you taught a lesson.”

I forced the words out. “Let me go. I’ll give you money. Whatever you

want.”

He laughed. “We already got paid, sweetheart.”

The second man moved closer. His eyes went over my face. Something

changed in his expression. He saw me clearly now. Really looked at

1. me.

“Yo, check her face.” He nudged the other one. “She’s… damn. Didn’t

realize the target was this pretty.”

The weight lifted off my back. I sucked in air. My lungs hurt. Before 1 could move, hands grabbed my arms. Flipped me over. My head hit

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the concrete. Everything went white for a second. Then I saw stars.

Then their faces above me.

“Hold up.” The first man leaned down. His breath smelled of

cigarettes and something sour. “Boss said teach her a lesson. Didn’t

say we couldn’t have some fun first.”

My whole body went cold. I thrashed. My hand came up. My nails

caught his face. He jerked back. I saw blood on his cheek.

“Bitch!” His palm shattered across my face. My head snapped to the

side. More blood in my mouth. My own this time.

The second man grabbed my wrists. Pushed them above my head. His

weight pressed down on me. “Calm down. You’re just making it harder

on yourself.”

I kicked. My foot connected. He grunted. His grip loosened for a

second. I yanked one hand free. Went for his eyes.

He hit me. My ribs. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. Just pure panic.

Then I made myself stop. Forced my body to go still.

My heart was pounding so hard I thought it would break through my

chest. But I needed to think. I needed to know.

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“Wait.” My voice shook. I couldn’t control it. But I made myself speak

clearly. Loudly. “I need to know something. Who hired you? Was it

Victoria Vane?”

They looked at each other. Just for a second. But that second told me

everything.

“Smart girl.” The first one smiled. It wasn’t a nice smile. “Too smart

for your own good.”

His hand reached for my shirt. Started pulling at the buttons. The

fabric tore.

I couldn’t think anymore. I just moved. Shoved him as hard as I could.

He stumbled. I rolled. Grabbed my heavy paintbox from the ground

and threw it at the second man. The paintbox hit his head. He cursed.

My fingers brushed against my phone on the gritty pavement, and I

snatched it, shoving it into my pocket as I scrambled to my feet..

I ran.

My hands shook as I pulled my phone from my pocket. The screen

was shattered but it still lit up. I unlocked it. Hit Julian’s name. The

only emergency contact I had. I hadn’t changed it yet.

It rang once. Twice. My breath came in gasps.

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“Elara?” His voice was different. Sharp. Awake. “What’s going on?

Where are you?”

“Julian! Help me! They’re trying to—”

Hands grabbed me from behind. Pulled me down. The phone flew

from my hand. Slid across the pavement.

“Elara?!” His voice came from the phone. Distant but loud. “ELARA!”

A boot came down on the phone. The screen went black. Went silent.

“Grab that bitch!”

I fought. Kicked. Screamed. One of them got his arm around my neck.

Squeezed. Everything started to blur. I couldn’t breathe. My vision

darkened at the edges.

Then-

“Get the fuck away from her!”

The arm let go. I fell forward. Hit the ground. Air rushed into my lungs. It hurt. Through the tears in my eyes I saw someone tall. He had a baseball bat. He swung it. Hard. The sound when it connected was awful. One of the men went down. Screaming.

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“Try me. The voice was young. Steady. “I’m on the fucking baseball

team.”

The second man backed up. You’ll regret this, kid. You know whose

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