bChapter 188 /b

Anna spoke so pitifully that it was all too easy for Monroe to believe her. He felt awful inside, like he’d just poked at her old wounds. He said, “Anna, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have doubted you.”

A glint of smugness shed in Anna’s eyes as she cursed him as an idiot in her heart. She said, “It’s okay. Ste did that just to make you doubt me. I really don’t want to admit it, but Ste can be really scheming.”

The more Monroe thought about it, the more it all made sense to him. Things would y out like that when someone was plotting them. He thought, ‘I must have been out of my mind to ever trust Ste.‘

As he left, Andrew walked over, and Anna gave him an OK sign.

Andrew looked at Anna. He hadn’t expected her to go as far as murder, but now that it had happened–and since he also wanted to get rid of Ste–they’d have to take their time and n things out.

At Hayes Group. The whole thing about Ste getting thrown in jail was the talk of the town for a while, but then the gossip just vanished. Nobody had a clue what really happened.

Meanwhile, N was really worried. She wanted to get in touch with Jordan, but she didn’t have his number. She asked around, but none of the people she knew were important enough to have his contact info.

All she could do was desperately hope that Jordan would try calling Ste, realize she wasn’t picking up, and then maybe call her instead. Otherwise, there was just no way someone like her could possibly get Ste out of this mess on her own.

In prison. Ste hadn’t even been questioned yet, but she was already thrown in with the inmates who’d already been sentenced. It was obvious Anna was behind this.

Ste thought, ‘From the very start, Anna never nned to let me out of here. She must have found out that Jordan isn’t in Seavale right now. That’s why she’s rushing everything.

‘She’s clearly hoping I’ll die here. By the time Jordanes back, it’ll all be toote.‘

As Ste was trying to piece things together in her mind, a woman suddenly yanked her hair. Her hair had grown out into a neat short cut.tely, so she didn’t need to wear a cap anymore. She looked sharp and full of energy.

The pain was sharp, but after everything Ste had been through, this was nothing. She red right back at the woman, her eyes cold and

unyielding.

The woman pped her hard across the face and said, “How dare you look at me like that? Looks like you don’t want to get out alive, huh?”

Ste spat right in her face.

“Bitch, still got fight in you? Ladies, let’s teach her what happens to people who don’t know their ce,” the woman barked.

As soon as she said that, a group of women swaggered over, ready to join the fight. Ste was no match for them. She tried grabbing one, but it waspletely pointless.

The women fought like a pack of wild animals, totally chaotic. Someone yanked Ste’s hair again and smashed her head against the wa!!

over and over.

18.03

Meanwhile, a bossy–looking woman just stood there watching, somehow lighting up a cigarette and puffing away like she was enjoying a

show.

Ste’s head was ringing from the blows, and she couldn’t see a thing. In the end, they dragged her down and started brutally kicking her all

over.

“Think you can fight back? Do you even know where you are? Do you have any idea who we are?” one of them snarled.

Ste’s fingers dug into the cold floor. She told herself, ‘No matter what, I have to survive this.

Someone saw it and stomped hard on her hand, grinding it mercilessly. The pain was so sharp that tears nearly sprang to Ste’s eyes. But she didn’t let out a single sound.

Finally, the bossy woman finished her cigarette. She looked at Ste, who was too beaten to fight back, and grinned. “You’ve got guts, not even a peep out of you.

“You never did anything to me, but hey, I take money, I do the job. As long as you’re stuck in here, my girls are gonna make your life hell every single day.”

Ste slowly lifted her head. “How much did she pay you? I’ll pay you triple whatever she gave you!”

The bossy woman burst outughing. “Triple, huh? Sounds tempting, bute on, who knows if you’ll ever get out of here? How am I supposed to believe you can actually pay me that kind of money?”

“Can you contact anyone on the outside?” Ste asked.

The bossy woman sat there and said casually, “You trying to pay me off?”

“That’s right. Just help me get a message to someone, and he’ll make sure you get paid,” Ste said.

The bossy womanughed. “You think I’m an idiot? Like I don’t know you want me to snitch for you? If word gets out Iid a hand on you, they’ll skin me alive. Take my advice, just keep your head down and stay put.”

Ste hadn’t expected her to be this wary. It was not like she was going to hurt that woman or anything. She just wanted the woman to help her get in touch with Jordan, and honestly, she was ready to make a real deal.

“How can I prove I’m not lying to you?” Ste asked.

“This is the first time we’ve ever met. Why should I believe you’d keep your word?” the bossy woman shot back.

Ste locked eyes with her. The bossy woman looked away and turned to the others. “Keep an eye on her. The higher–ups said as long as we torture her to death, we’ll get our reward.”

The others replied, “Got it.”

The bossy woman walked off. Ste knew this woman was her only hope, so she kept shouting for her, but it was useless. The woman didn’t even look back. She didn’t even have time to think before another round of beating began.

Ste’s body had only just started to recover, so she didn’t stand a chance against these women. They were nothing like anyone she’d dealt with before. It was obvious these women were used to doing this kind of thing in prison.

Just then, she heard more footsteps. Ste thought maybe help had finally arrived. After all, there were guards in the prison, and surely they wouldn’t ignore all this noise.

But she was wrong. She heard the leader of them say, “Who’s this?”