Swapping a Broken Heart for a New Start novel Chapter 1295

“Mmph… mmph…”

Audrey thrashed in her captor’s grip, but it was pointless. He was so much stronger, and since he’d come at her from behind, she had no way to break free.

The hallway was completely empty. Audrey’s heart sank, a cold wave of fear washing over her.

He dragged her into a storage closet.

Once they were inside, Audrey realized he’d planned this. Rope was already waiting in the corner.

She had no idea if he had any other weapons or what he really wanted, so she stopped struggling for now.

He seemed to pick up on her surrender. He didn’t rough her up, just tied her tightly to a chair. “Don’t try to scream. Even if you yell, no one will hear you in here. If you don’t want trouble, just cooperate.”

Then he slapped a strip of tape over her mouth to keep her quiet.

When he finished, he leaned in and said, “Just stay put for a while. When the time’s right, I’ll let you go.”

He didn’t look like he planned to hurt her, just wanted to keep her out of the way for a bit. With that, he turned and left, locking the door behind him.

Audrey wasn’t the type to just sit around and accept her fate.

The second he was gone, she started wriggling, trying to loosen the ropes. But the knots were tight. She shifted and the chair tipped over, sending her crashing to the floor.

She winced at the pain, feeling ridiculous and helpless.

After catching her breath, Audrey looked around. The closet was tiny, with nothing but a small air vent way up high. The only real way out was the door.

She didn’t know if he was standing guard outside.

She forced herself to calm down and replayed the night in her head. Iris had been scheming all along. This birthday party was never meant to be normal.

Getting tied up like this… it had to be Iris’s idea.

They’d gone out of their way to tell her she’d be set free later. Clearly, she wasn’t the real target.

It had to be about Walter.

Maybe Iris just wanted her out of the way so she wouldn’t mess up whatever plan was in motion.

If her mouth wasn’t taped shut, Audrey might have laughed. Iris really did have her tricks, even if they were dirty ones. Audrey had seen it coming, just not like this.

Abbott’s face darkened. “In that case, you shouldn’t give her hope.”

Walter almost laughed. “When have I ever led her on? I never hang out with her alone. I barely reply to her texts. Even when we’re all together, I keep my distance. Isn’t that enough?”

He decided to lay it all out. “Look, Abbott, I know you like her. If you’ve done so much for her, maybe you should be the one telling her about it. Like when you went to Jordan Smith to rat someone out for her.”

Walter’s tone was ice cold by the end.

Abbott’s eyes narrowed, his face stiff. He couldn’t quite look Walter in the eye, because Walter was right.

Abbott looked guilty for a second.

Then he pulled himself together and put on a cold mask. “So, are you accusing me, Mr. Wilson?”

Walter watched him, a little smile tugging at his lips. “Not really. Everyone looks out for themselves. I get it.

But you crossed a line. You can’t undo it now. If you’re doing all this for Iris, then keep going and win her over.

Just don’t ask me to play a part in it.”