Melody Summers’s heart leaped in alarm at the sight. This person had clearly been kidnapped by Gene Young and Yvonne York!
’I can’t believe it... Even though that couple missed their chance with Crystal Mart in this life, they still became outlaws. A leopard really can’t change its spots!’
The kidnapped person was lying on their side on the floor, their back to the door. Melody couldn’t see their face, only that they had long hair, leading her to surmise that the victim was a woman.
Melody hesitated for a split second, then tightened her grip on her phone and cautiously stepped forward.
The person on the floor must have sensed the beam from the flashlight or heard Melody’s footsteps, because they began to stir from their unconscious state.
As Melody watched warily, the bound woman on the floor slowly struggled to sit up.
She then turned, her gaze hazy as she looked toward the door, right where Melody had just entered.
The moment their eyes met, Melody’s own widened in astonishment—
It was Noelle Quillan, who had been missing for ages!
The mistress of her ex-foster father, Adam Lawson!
Noelle clearly recognized Melody as well. Her eyes shot wide open, filled with shock.
Noelle wanted to ask Melody why she was here, but with her mouth taped shut, she couldn’t speak at all.
Melody stared at Noelle tied up on the floor, feeling conflicted. She debated whether she should just turn around and leave—after all, she truly detested this woman for breaking up a family.
But after a moment’s thought, she decided against it. There were, after all, some things she needed to ask Noelle.
So Melody closed the utility closet door behind her, walked over to Noelle, and asked in a hushed voice, "...Were you kidnapped and brought here by Gene Young and his wife?"
Noelle nodded frantically, muffled whimpers escaping her lips. Her eyes, fixed on Melody, were filled with a mixture of excitement and desperation, as if begging Melody to rescue her.
Melody frowned in annoyance. "...Keep it down," she whispered, "or you’ll wake up Gene and Yvonne."
At the mention of their names, Noelle’s pupils instantly contracted in fear, and she fell silent.
Seeing that she had calmed down, Melody again whispered, "I’m going to peel the tape off your mouth now. Don’t make a sound. Understand?"
Noelle nodded repeatedly.
Melody leaned forward and ripped the tape from Noelle’s mouth.
Once her mouth was free, Noelle pleaded with Melody, "...They—they’re going to kill me! Please, I’m begging you, you have to save me!"
Her eyes were wide with terror, and her voice trembled uncontrollably.
Melody quickly put a finger to her lips, signaling for her to be quiet. Then, she asked in a low voice, "How did you end up here? And how do you know Gene and Yvonne?"
Melody remembered that during the heatwave last year, Adam Lawson had sold both Noelle and her stepdaughter, Joelle Lawson.
Melody later saw Joelle at The Crestview Hotel, but Noelle was nowhere to be found. After two years of natural disasters, she had assumed Noelle was long dead.
She never would have guessed that Noelle would turn up in The Metropolis Residences, locked up by Gene and his wife!

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