Twisted Ties of Love (Izabella Salotti and Brett) novel Chapter 195

Ryker could do nothing but watch helplessly as Izabella was tortured. His emotions gradually crumbled as he crawled forward, his hands supporting him, despite the weight on his back causing him to fall repeatedly.

"Kill me! Please, kill me and spare Bella, don't do this to her..." He had only recently regained his memory. The 15-year gap left a void, but the one impression that remained deeply ingrained in Ryker's mind was Izabella. He knew Izabella was afraid of pain, she couldn't bear to watch her being tortured like this.

The man glanced at Ryker sarcastically, then turned to Izabella and asked, "Do you want to dial again?"

Izabella was covered in a cold sweat. She seemed to not hear him as her trembling fingers once again dialed a number on her phone.

No one answered, and the screen of the phone was already blurry. As her hands trembled, she no longer had the strength to press the buttons. She could only let the man make the call for her.

At the tenth call, the person on the other end hung up directly. Izabella felt both devastated and ridiculous. Ten chances for a call, the kidnapper had given her ten chances, yet the man she had loved for sixteen years wouldn't give her one.

By this time, Brett was likely already rescued Kaley. How could he have time to answer these ten strange calls while comforting the one he loved?

"It seems Brett doesn't want to give you this chance to save her." As soon as the man finished speaking, he fired his gun without hesitation. The bullet hit Ryker's shoulder, and Ryker groaned, his body falling backward. The pain made his already pale face look even worse.

Izabella's mouth half-opened, every cell in her body feeling sharp pain with the shot. Her eyes were already out of tears, her eyes were red, her head knocked against the ground, "Don't, don't kill him, he's innocent. If you hate Brett, kill me."

"Bella..." Ryker gasped for air and called out to her, his voice was weak and hoarse, "Cry Baby, don't cry. I can't carry you home this time."

Izabella was stiff, the most beautiful memories hidden in her heart suddenly emerged. She stared blankly at Ryker.

Memories flashed through her mind like a slideshow.

—"Cry Baby, stop crying after you've had the donut."

—"Cry Baby, my surname is Windham."

—"Can I carry you home?"

Ryker's eyes suddenly brightened, he looked up and smiled at Izabella.

—"Can I call you Bella?"

"Bella, I'm not in pain. Don't be sad for me, and stop liking Brett. He's not worth it."

As Ryker finished speaking, the piercing sound of a gunshot exploded in the air. Izabella was frozen on the spot, staring blankly at the man's gun and eventually, her eyes locked onto Ryker, her expression becoming incredibly tense.

There was a large stain of red spreading across his chest. In that moment, Izabella felt time had stopped, everything in the world gradually disappeared. The whole world plunged into dark silence, her eyes blind and her ears deaf. Everything vanished as Ryker fell.

Her heart was in extreme pain, as if wrapped by thousands of sharp wires, tearing and devouring her heart and organs.

Everything happened too quickly. Ryker's last words left her extremely uneasy.

She had a hunch about the answer, but she didn't want to think about it, as there were so many doubts that she had to face.

Why did she feel Ryker looked familiar the first time she met him? Why did Ryker say they had met before?

Why did Ryker give her a donut earring? Why did Ryker ask her if he could call her Bella?

Why did he call himself Cry Baby? Why did he say he couldn't carry her home this time?

Because he was the big brother who carried her home sixteen years ago.

No wonder no matter what she said, Brett always said they had never met. It was not that he didn't remember, but they really hadn't met.

From the very beginning, she had mistaken Brett for the person who had rescued her.

What did those sixteen years mean? What did they mean!

For those long sixteen years, she had only met the person who had saved her four times.

Pain and desperate clashed in her mind, as she crawled forward frantically.

"Is he dead?" The man looked at Izabella amusingly and asked his subordinate.

The subordinate checked Ryker's breathing and heartbeat. "Dead."

"Throw him into the sea then, to avoid unnecessary trouble."