Love’s New Bloom By Simone Hastings

Chapter 169 Confrontation in Person 

The woman’s voice that came out of nowhere startled Erin greatly. She anxiously looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. 

Tessa lazily sat in a chair with a pair of black headphones over her ears. She chuckled and said. “Take a close look at the deer head hanging on the wall. The deer’s eyes are actually surveillance cameras.” 

Her hint immediately drew Erin’s attention to the deer head. She stood up and took a few steps forward, carefully staring at the eyes of the deer head. Indeed, there were cameras as the lemale voice had said. 

“Who the hell are you? Why did you lock me up here? This is kidnapping and illegal imprisonment!” Erin angrily shouted at the eyes of the 

deer head. 

Tessa burst into raucous laughter. She said amusedly. “You’re a prisoner at my mercy, so whether you live or die is completely up to me. Are you sure you want to lecture me about legalities under such a circumstance?” 

Hearing how smug she sounded, Erin took a deep breath to calm herself down. Suppressing her urge to curse at the other party viciously. she asked seriously, “Stop beating around the bush. What is your purpose in doing this? Tell me now!” 

If the other party had intended to kill her, they wouldn’t have kept her captive for so long. They would’ve ended her life the moment they 

had the chance. 

The smile on Tessa’s face gradually faded, and deep jealousy appeared in her eyes. Despite being in a plight, Erin’s lively and bright eyes were still captivating. This sparked enormous hatred in Tessa, as she had an ugly scar on her forehead. 

“Erin, don’t you think Chandler is just infatuated with your face? Let’s say you’re disfigured Do you think he’ll still love you?” Her voice was sinister, carrying a hint of murderous intent. It made Erin tremble with a sense of unease. 

Hearing the unknown woman mention Chandler, Erin quickly guessed that her kidnapping was somehow related to him. 

“If you really know Chandler, then you should understand that he’s always surrounded by beautiful women. In fact, plenty of them are far more beautiful than me.” Erin spoke calmly even though her palms were slightly cold. If the woman planned to disfigure her, what could 

she do? 

Tessa fell silent. After about a minute, she suddenly said, “Erin, I’ve changed my mind. I want to release you early, but of course, I won’t let you go. I just kind of look forward to speaking with you face to face.” 

Erin didn’t say anything. She was completely at the mercy of this unknown lady. Meanwhile, Tessa had already turned off the microphone. 

Half an hour later, Tessa steered a drone to fly over the roof and drop a ladder through the sunroof. After that, the drone flew away. 

Erin stared at the rope ladder on the ground, feeling somewhat perplexed. She didn’t know what Tessa was playing at. 

After about two minutes, Tessa spoke again through the microphone, “Erin, use the rope ladder to descend from the wall. I’ve already sent 

Jack to pick you up.” 

That name came crashing at Erin’s heart like a wrecking ball. 

After arriving at the restaurant where she’d agreed to meet Jack, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her lower back as she proceeded along the route specified by Jack. She then lost consciousness. 

When she woke up again, she found herself locked inside this wooden shack. 

Erin looked up at the deer’s eyes and said, “Since you want me to descend from the tower, you should first remove the iron chain from my 

feet.” 

“The key is on the rope ladder I dropped. Find it yourself, Tessa instructed expressionlessly. 

As her words fell, Erin gingerly took a few steps forward and bent down to search the rope ladder on the ground for the key. It didn’t take long before she found a piece of wood with an old iron key attached to it with adhesive tape. She quickly took it off and removed the tape. Then, she started using the key to unlock the iron chain. 

With a soft “click” the heavy iron chain finally came off her ankle. Erin’s ankle was already slightly swollen, but she didn’t pay much 

attention to it. She then picked up the rope ladder from the ground and walked in the direction of the window. 

There was a sturdy iron hook deeply drilled into the wooden frame of the window. That was why Erin tried so hard to form a makeshift rope 

out of the curtain. 

Erin found the top of the rope ladder and hung it on the iron hook. She gave it a strong tug and found that it held up firmly without any issues. Next, she threw the rope ladder down the dome. Although it didn’t reach the ground, it was enough for her to descend the 

structure. 1 

Looking down the dome, she felt a slight fear. She had never climbed at such a height without any safety measures before. 

Unfortunately, she didn’t have a choice this time. 

Erin gathered some courage and started to carefully climb down from the window. Although the child in her belly hadn’t developed into al fetus with a recognizable shape yet, she didn’t dare take it lightly. She cautiously avoided her belly from hitting any sharp objects as she slowly descended. Other than that, she didn’t look down, fearing that she might panic. 

Erin kept her gaze upward, making sure to step on each wooden plank securely before taking the next step. After more than ten minutes. she suddenly felt that there was only air underneath her right foot. Erin instinctively looked down and realized that she was already close 

to the ground. 

However, the ladder was still six feet above the ground, putting her in a dilemma. Should she jump down from where she was? What if she 

accidentally fell and harmed the child in her belly? 

Right then, Erin caught sight of Jack. He looked up and reassured her, “Miss Lane, you can jump down with peace of mind. I’ll catch you, and I’ll be careful not to let anything happen to your child.” 

When she saw Jack again, a chilling feeling mixed with anger surged in her heart instantaneously. She got into this situation because she 

trusted him! 

She regretted not letting the two bodyguards accompany her from the beginning. However, she wouldn’t know that even if the bodyguards 

had been with her, it wouldn’t have made a difference. 

“Come on now, Miss Lane. You should jump down.” Jack’s face was devoid of expression, and the fleeting trace of guilt in his eyes 

vanished so quickly that Erin didn’t even catch a glimpse of it. 

After much hesitation, Erin reluctantly complied in consideration of the life form in her belly. She said aloud, “I’ll count to three, and when I 

reach three, I’ll jump. Ok?” 

“Sure!” Jack replied. He spread his legs further apart and lowered his body, positioning his hands at the right angle to catch Erin. 

Before jumping, Erin glanced at Jack. Although she was furious and wanted to curse at him with the foulest words known to man, it wasn’t 

the time for her to act so rashly. 

“One! Two! Three!” Erin leaped, and Jack caught her perfectly without error. 

Apart from some faint pain in her foot and hand joints, her belly was completely fine. When Jack caught her, he deliberately avoided 

touching her belly. 

Once Erin steadied herself on the ground, out of habit, she blurted. “Thank you.” 

Jack’s face stiffened for a moment. Then, he awkwardly said, “Let’s go.” 

To steel his emotions and prevent himself from going soft on Erin, Jack swiftly drew a gun from his waist and aimed it at her. Erin’s 

expression momentarily showed confusion, then it turned several shades paler. She didn’t say anything and walked forward with a stiff 

face. 

Throughout their journey, neither Jack nor Erin spoke. 

In fact, she was burning to ask him why he kidnapped her. But she could sense that he seemed to be acting on someone else’s orders. If she wanted to know what in the blazes was going on, she had to ask that woman. 

After walking for about an hour, Erin finally saw a semicircular cement stone gate ahead. The stone gate was covered in green moss. making it somewhat concealed. 

As she and Jack approached slowly, the stone gate opened automatically. Shortly after, Erin and Jack entered a bomb shelter. The stone gate closed slowly once again right after they entered. 

Five minutes later, Erin finally saw Tessa. 

She was wearing a camouflage suit with a camouflage cap on her head. The moment she saw Erin, she took off her earpiece and tossed it onto the table. Jack stood not far from Erin, aiming his weapon at her back. 

Tessa’s smile had a hint of eeriness as she curiously strolled up to Erin, scrutinizing her closely. 

After circling Erin twice. Tessa suddenly stared into her eyes and questioned, “I just don’t understand. What makes you so special? Why would Chandler be willing to have a child with you?”