Chapter 37 Candice Jumped into the Sea? Is She Dead?
It was the deputy general manager of the branch company–Nick!
Candice had suspected there might be an insider, but she never expected it to be him.
“How rough. How could you tie up our delicate and tender Miss Hale like this?”
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Nick spoke in a faux–sympathetic tone. He strolled in, closed the door behind him, and turned on the light–an old bulb covered in cobwebs that glowed dimly.
Under that faint light, Candice finally saw the room clearly.
There was a dining table, a sofa, and a TV cabinet–it looked like an old–fashioned living room. The place was thick with dust and cobwebs, clearly abandoned for years.
Candice looked away from the room and locked her icy eyes on Nick.
“Ooh, such a fierce little glare.” He smirked, reaching out to stroke her cheek.
Candice jerked her head in disgust, her skin crawling.
Nick rubbed his fingers together, savoring the softness of her skin, then brought them to his nose and sniffed. “So fragrant. Tossing a beauty like you into the sea would be such a waste.”
Candice’s eyes trembled.
The fear she had only recently endured surged back again, gripping her heart.
But this time, she was fully conscious.
She struggled desperately against the ropes binding her hands and feet. Her frantic movements caused one of the already- decayed chair legs to snap with a loud crack.
The chair tilted, and she fell hard to the floor.
Dust flew into the air, entering her nose. She wanted to cough, but her mouth was taped shut. She couldn’t, and her face turned red from the pressure. Tears welled up and spilled down her cheeks.
Nick crouched down, gleeful. “Such initiative–you’ve already laid yourself out?”
He let his hand slide up her leg, inching higher and higher, relishing her helplessness, her fear, her tears, her despair. It only made his urge to violate her stronger.
“I’ve changed my mind. I’m not throwing you into the sea. I’ll keep you here. Whenever I’m in the mood, I’ll come play with you -experience a little of the president’s kind of fun.”
Candice’s eyes burned with fury.
“No need to be so resistant. You serve a man either way. I may not be as young or handsome as the president, but you get to stay alive. Isn’t survival more important than anything else?”
Despicable scum! Trying to brainwash her?
But suddenly, Candice went quiet. She lowered her gaze as if seriously considering his offer. After a few seconds, she looked up again, teary–eyed, and nodded.
His hand, which had been resting on her waist, paused. “You agree?”
Candice nodded again.
Like someone desperate to survive.
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Chapter 37 Candice Jumped into the Sea? Is She Dead?
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She tilted her head slightly toward the stairs behind her, then looked down at the floor, pitifully shaking her head at him.
She meant: I want to go upstairs—not do it here on the dirty floor
“Tunderstand. I don’t want to do it on this filthy, hard ground either.” The thought of such a stunning woman serving him like a prostitute made Nick’s lust override his common sense.
He untied her legs and moved on to the ropes around her wrists.
Halfway through, his phone rang from his pocket. He ignored it.
Once the ropes were off, he made a noose with one of them and looped it around her neck–just in case she tried to escape.
“Come on. Let’s go upstairs.”
He yanked her up from the floor and started leading her up.
Candice obediently followed.
She noticed his phone kept ringing in his pocket. That likely meant Charlie and Jerry already knew she was in trouble–and maybe even had their eyes on Nick.
Maybe… they were nearby.
Nick brought her upstairs.
He flipped the hallway light switch, but it didn’t work. Cursing, he pulled out his phone. The call was still ringing, so he angrily hung up and turned on the flashlight.
Candice carefully observed the upstairs layout: a straight hallway, windows lining both sides. The old–style double–pane windows—one was broken.
Judging by the direction of the door downstairs and the sea breeze blowing in through the broken pane–that window faced the
ocean.
Her one shot at escape.
She feigned weak legs and stumbled toward the side of the hall. He followed her, heading toward a room.
From the moment he untied her, she had been obedient, not trying to run even once. To him, it looked like she was willing to do anything to survive–even give up her body.
Nick was smug, convinced he’d figured her out.
But just as he reached for the door, Candice suddenly slipped the rope loop off her neck, sprinted to the window, pushed it open
–and leapt.
No hesitation. Smooth, sharp–like a trained special agent.
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Nick’s mouth fell open as he watched her jump.
Then–splash!—the sound of a body hitting the water snapped him out of it.
He rushed to the window, but the sea was pitch–black–nothing could be seen.
She had actually jumped.
His phone rang again.
This time, after a dozen rings, he picked it up. “Sally, sorry! I was driving and dropped my phone… Huh? What?! Everyone gets
fired if she’s not found? That’s… that’s not fair! I had no idea what was going on. This is totally unjust!”
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Chapter 37 Candice Jumped into the Sea? Is She Dead?
He glanced toward the sea again, a ruthless gleam in his eyes.
A
Jerry, following Charlie’s instructions, didn’t respond and simply ung up.
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Nick stared at the call screen, then dialed Jessica.
He immediately started stirring the pot. “I’ve been with the branch company for years, and now the president’s making this huge fuss over a secretary? Just who is she to him?”
Jessica gripped the steering wheel tightly.
“Ms. Barnes, we don’t even know what happened yet. We’re not even there. And he’s already giving out hard orders? What if… what if she’s really gone? How are we supposed to find her? We’re not the police! This is insane–dragging all of us down for some woman?”
He knew the tension between Jessica and Charlie–and was deliberately pushing her buttons.
Jessica: “Enough. We’ll talk once we get to the factory.”
“Ms. Barnes! You were sent by the chairman himself. I suggest you call him right now and get him to rein the president in!”
“Shut up! It’s not your place to sow discord between them. I’ll handle it–just keep your damn mouth shut.”
Jessica ended the call and threw her phone into the passenger seat, seething.
Nick sneered at his screen. He knew Jessica was already triggered. Even if he said nothing else, she would act on her own.
He looked out at the ocean again. “Beauty, you chose this yourself Don’t blame me.”
Charlie arrived at the factory.
Kyle was right behind him.
Inside the administrative building’s conference room, factory staff and a few other company members who’d been summoned were all there. The room was in total chaos, everyone arguing at once.
The moment Charlie stepped in, the whole room fell silent.
