"I’ll be right there."
Though Sophie Smith didn’t know why Eva Miller wanted to meet her, she agreed without hesitation.
When she arrived at the coffee shop where she had agreed to meet Eva Miller, she was unable to find any sign of her.
She took out her phone, but there was no answer on the other end.
Just as she was feeling anxious, a man in his thirties walked up to her.
"Are you Miss Sophie Smith?"
"Yes, I am. Who are you?" Clearly, she had never met this man before.
"I’m Miss Eva Miller’s manager. She’s been waiting for you for a while. Let me take you to her." The man was stiff and formal. Sophie had no reason to refuse, so she followed him into the car.
"Are you Eva’s manager? What’s your name?"
"Is Eva very busy with engagements recently?"
"I haven’t seen her for a long time."
Sophie tried hard to make small talk with the person in front of her, but the man showed no interest in interacting.
"Where is Eva waiting for me? Why is it taking so long?" Sophie couldn’t guess the man’s intentions, which made her feel even more uneasy.
"It’s not far now, just wait," the man said with a hint of impatience.
As she thought more about it, something seemed off, and the places the car was passing by became increasingly deserted, giving her a bad feeling.
The car finally stopped in front of an old, abandoned warehouse.
"Get out." The man ordered coldly.
Sophie’s legs were almost unresponsive, and she felt there was a strange atmosphere surrounding her.
"I said, get out!" The man lost his patience, revealing a ferocious expression, "Don’t listen, and you’ll regret it!"
"Who exactly are you?" Sophie pressed herself against the opposite side of the car window, every cell in her body on high alert.
"Why ask so many questions? You’ll find out soon." The man opened the car door and forcibly dragged her out. Her knee collided with a large stone, cutting a long gash, bleeding profusely.
The man continued dragging her into the warehouse, then with force, threw her to the ground, throwing her one or two meters away. Sophie felt like her entire body was falling apart, her bones nearly shattering.
She heard a familiar voice and suddenly looked up, finding Eva Miller’s figure not far away. She wasn’t in much better condition—her clothes were tattered, hair disheveled, looking very forlorn.
She spent two seconds scanning her surroundings, observing the situation. There were about a dozen people in the warehouse, all well-built, with hostile expressions. In front of them sat a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties, seemingly the leader.
"Eva, what on earth happened?" Sophie tried desperately to maintain her composure; she was certain it wasn’t anything good.
"I’m sorry, Sophie, I’m sorry..." Eva Miller kept apologizing, leaving Sophie at a loss.
"Let me tell you what happened." The man who had been sitting stood up abruptly and walked over to Sophie, looking down at her.
"Your friend owes me money and can’t repay it. She was originally planning to film some ’good stuff’ as collateral, but she abandoned the idea two hours ago." The ’good stuff’ the man referred to meant forcing Eva Miller to shoot indecent videos. Though Eva was a minor celebrity, selling such videos to studios or magazines could still be profitable and attract enough buzz.
Sophie was still puzzled. How much did Eva owe that she couldn’t repay it? Why did she borrow money from them in the first place?
"How much does Eva owe you? I’ll pay it for her!"
"Pay?" The man picked up a long whip from the table and brandished it in his hand, "I think I’ve decided not to let you repay it."
What did he mean by that?