Chapter 257: Smooth Return to the Country

Chapter 257: Chapter 257: Smooth Return to the Country

The heavy iron door swung open with a harsh creak, and a burly figure, silhouetted against the light, walked into the dim corridor.

The man wore a tight black tank top, his coiled muscles looking ready to burst. Both arms were covered in menacing tattoos, and he radiated an aura of pure brutality.

Yvonne Lowell recognized him at a glance.

He was the guard from the Khemara Compound in charge of watching, torturing, and training them.

The pain from the hellish torment of the past few days was still seared into every inch of her flesh.

’It’s happening again.’

Endless despair instantly enveloped her, and her heart plunged straight into a bottomless abyss.

"Come out."

The man stood in the doorway, his voice as cold and hard as iron, without a trace of warmth.

Days of torture had long since sanded away all her edges. Yvonne Lowell’s voice was dry and hoarse, carrying a tremor that was almost numb.

"Where are we going?"

"What’s with all the damn questions?" The man’s expression was impatient as he urged her harshly, "We’re sending you back to your country. Get moving, don’t dawdle."

’Go home?’

Those two words struck her like a thunderclap, exploding in the depths of her dead heart.

Yvonne Lowell froze, dazed, thinking it was an auditory hallucination brought on by her near-death state.

But the pain that shot through every part of her body was a clear reminder: this was not a dream!

She hastily propped herself up against the cold, damp wall, struggling to her feet. She hadn’t eaten or drunk anything in days, and her body was utterly debilitated. The moment she straightened up, her vision went black. The world spun, and she swayed violently, nearly collapsing.

She bit down hard on her lower lip. After a long moment, her blurred vision slowly came back into focus.

Yvonne Lowell kept her head down, stumbling and staggering behind the man as they passed through the long, dark corridor.

From the cells lining the corridor, an unending chorus of shrill wails, whimpers, and pleas for mercy tore at her nerves.

As she passed a cell with its door slightly ajar, a gruesome, bloody scene inside assaulted her vision.

Yvonne Lowell’s whole body stiffened, her face instantly turned ashen as paper, and a chill shot up from the soles of her feet to the crown of her head.

"Walk faster." The man glanced at her coldly over his shoulder. "If you don’t want to go, you can always choose to stay."

’This woman’s not bad-looking. Heard she’s a celebrity. A hot commodity like this would definitely sell for a sky-high price. Too bad the higher-ups suddenly ordered her release before he could completely tame her.’

’He had no right to question an order from above, so he could only comply.’

Yvonne Lowell immediately tore her eyes away and hugged her cold arms tightly. Suppressing the terror churning in her gut, she hurried to keep up with the man, not daring to linger for another second.

Upon reaching the compound’s exit, the man, without a word, grabbed a black cloth and blindfolded her, then roughly shoved her into a waiting car.

The car started immediately, speeding along a bumpy road. The clamor outside gradually faded, and the surroundings became increasingly silent and oppressive.

After what felt like an eternity of torment in the darkness, the car finally came to a slow, steady stop.

The black blindfold was yanked off. The sudden flood of bright light stung her eyes, forcing them shut as tears welled up uncontrollably.

As her vision slowly adjusted to the light, Yvonne Lowell looked up and saw, to her surprise, a secluded private airstrip.

The man took a few steps back and made a phone call.

She was too far away to make out his words, but she vaguely caught the phrases "one million" and "payment received."

After hanging up, the man made a gesture to the flight crew.

Immediately, someone came forward and led her onto a helicopter.

The giant rotor blades spun at high speed, kicking up fierce gusts of wind. The helicopter slowly ascended, broke through the clouds, and flew off in an unknown direction.

Yvonne Lowell curled up in a corner of the cabin, her whole body tense. Her bloodshot eyes were fixed on the sea of clouds rushing past the window, her heart pounding with anxiety.

The several-hour flight passed in a flash. The moment the plane landed steadily and she stepped onto her home country’s soil, the heart that had been caught in her throat finally settled.

’I really... made it back home alive.’

She was incredibly emotional inside, but she didn’t dare to show it.

After landing, she was transferred again to a white van. Just as she sat down, a black cloth bag was thrown over her head, completely blocking her vision.

From day to night, the journey was long and agonizing.

After an unknown amount of time, the van slowly decelerated, and the door was pulled open with a CLICK.

A brutal shove sent her sprawling from the van.

The impact with the cold ground sent tearing pain through her old wounds. Before she could struggle to her feet, the van’s engine roared, and in an instant, it merged into the traffic and disappeared completely into the night.

With trembling hands, Yvonne Lowell ripped the bag from her head. She pushed herself up from the ground in a sorry state, and the moment she looked up, her pupils contracted slightly.

Her eyes landed on two large words: Starlight Entertainment.

Those people had dumped her at the company entrance and fled.

Just as she steadied herself, a female voice, tinged with surprise, sounded from behind her.

"Yvonne Lowell?"

Yvonne Lowell slowly turned and recognized her.

Sue Linton, an artist also under Starlight, though they weren’t close at the company.

Rushing forward and seeing her disheveled, haggard, and wounded appearance, Sue Linton instantly covered her mouth, her eyes wide with shock.

"It really is you! Where have you been these past few days? Miss Lana has been going crazy looking for you!"

"What on earth happened to you? How did you end up like this?"

Yvonne Lowell was mentally and physically exhausted and in no mood for pleasantries. Her voice was terribly hoarse. "Let me borrow your phone."

"Okay."

Sue Linton didn’t ask any more questions and immediately took out her phone and handed it to her.

Yvonne Lowell quickly dialed a number, said a few brief words, and returned the phone.

"Thanks."

"Do you need me to take you home?" Sue Linton asked kindly.

"No, thanks." Yvonne Lowell had always been a loner and wasn’t used to being too close to people. She said flatly, "Lend me a hundred. I’ll pay you back tomorrow."

’Even though they were from the same company, people’s hearts were hard to fathom.’

Sue Linton readily took out a hundred and handed it over.

Yvonne Lowell took the money, raised her hand to hail a taxi, and bent down to get in.

As soon as the taxi had completely disappeared into the night, Sue Linton immediately dialed Lana Chandler’s number.

"Miss Lana, I just ran into Yvonne Lowell at the company entrance! She’s back, but she’s in really bad shape, covered in injuries. She looks awful..."

On the other end of the line, Lana Chandler’s face showed no trace of surprise.

That afternoon, President Rivers had specifically instructed her that Yvonne Lowell’s whereabouts had been determined and she would be back soon, so there was no need for her to follow up anymore.

’Lana Chandler understood. This was definitely the result of President Grayson and President Hawthorne maneuvering and applying pressure behind the scenes.’

’Roya Winters... truly audacious and lawless!’

’Everyone knew Terrence Lloyd was so utterly infatuated with Roya Winters that he was nothing but a dog who obeyed her every command.’

’For her, he didn’t hesitate to pay a sky-high contract termination fee, ruthlessly divorced his wife of many years, and spent his entire fortune to please her.’

’He had thrown away fortunes for her at auctions on multiple occasions.’

’His spending was extravagant—the very definition of generous!’

’For Yvonne Lowell to return safely, you could only say she was lucky.’

’She was the brand ambassador hand-picked by Vesper Grayson herself. With President Grayson willing to back her up, there was a chance. Otherwise, for an ordinary, little-known artist like her, neither Starlight nor President Rivers would have wasted the energy to care whether she lived or died.’

Lana Chandler sent Vesper Grayson a message saying Yvonne Lowell had returned safely.

Upon receiving the message, Vesper Grayson immediately called Yvonne Lowell’s phone, but unfortunately, it didn’t go through.

Unable to rest easy, she instructed her assistant, Dolly Hughes, to go check on the situation.

"Go to Yvonne Lowell’s place now and confirm whether she made it home safely."

Dolly Hughes didn’t dare to delay and drove straight to Yvonne Lowell’s villa.

She rang the doorbell for a while before the door was finally opened from the inside.

Yvonne Lowell had just finished a hot shower and was wearing a set of loose, soft cotton pajamas. The warm white light of the room mercilessly revealed the overlapping bruises, scrapes, and old marks of varying shades on her neck, shoulders, back, and arms—a shocking sight.

Seeing Dolly Hughes at the door, the nerves that had been taut for days suddenly slackened, and her eyes softened a little.

"Assistant Hughes, what brings you here?"

"President Grayson couldn’t reach you and was worried, so she specifically asked me to come and check," Dolly Hughes said softly.

"Come in and sit."

Yvonne Lowell stepped aside to let her in.

On the living room coffee table were iodine, ointment, and gauze. It was obvious she had just been treating her wounds.

Dolly Hughes’s gaze swept over her numerous injuries, her tone full of concern. "Are the wounds serious? Do you want me to help you apply the ointment?"

"I’m fine, I’ve already treated them. Sit down, have some tea." Yvonne Lowell shook her head and poured her a glass of warm water.

Dolly Hughes took a sip of the water, looked at her pale, haggard face, and asked softly, "Are you okay?"