Chapter 2102
“What the heck, how’s that even possible?” Raven scowled, flicking his cigarette butt to the ground and crushing it with a twist of his boot. “How could she wake up so soon? You guys pulling one over on me?”
But as Raven drew closer, he locked eyes with Ivy’s lucid gaze.
Man, those peepers were something else. No wonder she was a star!
He was not one for fancy words, this roughneck. All he knew was he had never seen anyone as stunning as Ivy.
“Who are you people? What do you want with me?” Ivy’s voice quivered as she huddled into a corner.
She had scoped out the place already. It was a wreck, with no windows, wind whistling through every crack-a derelict building forsaken mid-construction.
“So, you really did wake up, huh? Tsk, tsk, tsk. Don’t you worry about who we are. You just remember you’re gonna keep us company for a bit,” one of the goons snickered.
Ivy’s skin crawled with fear. Why? She had no beef with these thugs. Why target her?
“You…you guys… I’ve done nothing to you. Why are you doing this to me?”
The buzz-cut man, Raven and the other lackeys did not give a damn about Ivy’s pleas.
“Don’t come any closer! Don’t touch me! Let me go, and we can talk, anything you want… Don’t touch me. I’m sick and it’s contagious.”
At the mention of sickness, the buzz-cut man recoiled. “Sick? Who are you trying to fool? You look all pristine and delicate, not a hint of illness.”
“I’m serious! You know how it is, with all the schmoozing in showbiz. I’ll be straight with you-I’ve got… A certain kind of illness…. My thin frame, it’s because I can’t eat a thing. I’ve got no quarrel with you. I don’t want to drag you down with me. Why are you doing this? Let’s sit down and have a chat. I’m not long for this world. Can’t have you guys cutting your lives short, too, right?”
Even though the starlet looked tempting, none of them wanted to catch whatever she was peddling.
And truth be told, they all knew the kind of sex mess that could happen in showbiz. Why else would Clara send them to corner a celebrity like Ivy?
“Come on, don’t all you rich folks pride yourselves on being clean? How’d you catch something like that?”
Raven settled back, lighting another cigarette.
“Boss, I’m just a small-time actress. I have no control…” Ivy’s voice broke, tears welling up.
Her acting chops might have been green, but they were more than enough to handle these brutes.
With a sob, she covered her face and wept. “Truth be told, not even my agent knows. I only spilled ’cause I was cornered now. I’m just a walking corpse with a pretty face, sometimes even less free than you guys!”
The buzz-cut man softened, seeing the beauty in tears. “Didn’t think you celebs had it rough… But we took a job, and we gotta deliver. We can’t let you walk out unscathed, or we can’t face the music! We won’t touch you, but we gotta strip you down, take some photos!”
Ivy’s eyes, red-rimmed, lifted to meet theirs. “Even if I die, I need to know why. Who did I cross? Who wants me gone so badly they’d send you…”
“Can’t say! That’s the rule! Look, let’s be considerate here and make it quick. Strip yourself, save us all some trouble.”
Ivy shivered, realizing they had not abandoned the idea of laying hands on her.
“I’m telling you I’m sick for your own good/Did you ever think, the one sending you to harm me, knowing full well I’m contagious, why would they risk you getting close to me? It shows they don’t just want me gone-they don’t care about you either. How can you be sure they’ll keep their promise and pay you off? Guys, whatever she’s paying you, I’ll triple it, no, tenfold, and I can wire it now!
But if I’m paying you ten times more, you’ll have to do me the favor of bringing the person who ordered the hit. How about it?”
