The Billionaire’s Unexpected Proposal (Evelyn and Derek)

Chapter

172

Sandra paced back and forth in her room and glanced at her phone every few seconds. The silence was thick, and it was heavy on her nerves.

She had been waiting for over an hour now since Derek dropped her off. All she wanted was to hear that Evelyn had been captured. Her heart burned with hatred like never before for Evelyn, and she wanted the worst possible humiliation and death for her.

She clenched her fists, impatient, as she finally gave in to her frustration and dialed the number.

The line rang twice before the hitman answered, "Yes?"

Sandra's voice was tense, barely concealing her irritation. "Do you have any news?"

There was a pause on the other end before the man responded, his voice calm but cautious. "If I had, I would have called already.

As I told you the last time, she is still at the reunion. We're still waiting for her to leave. We will get her at the right moment."

Sandra's jaw tightened, and she fought the urge to snap. "I hope you do. I want to see Michael," she demanded. "Send me a video, or better yet, let's do a video call," she said, needing to focus on at least the part of her plan that was going well.

The hitman grunted, acknowledging her order. "Give me a minute." The line went quiet for a moment, and Sandra could hear faint shuffling sounds as he moved. She paced to her window, drumming her fingers against the sill, her eyes narrowing as she watched the night sky.

Finally, the call switched to video, and the image flickered to life on her screen. The video showed a dimly lit, musty-looking storage room in a warehouse. The camera tilted down, revealing Michael slumped in a chair. His wrists were tied to the armrests with thick rope, and his head hung low, chin to his chest. A piece of duct tape was plastered across his mouth, and for a moment, he looked unconscious, his body limp.

Sandra leaned closer to her phone, her eyes gleaming with a cold, cruel satisfaction. "Did you knock him out?" she asked, her voice low and almost amused.

The hitman nodded, shifting the camera slightly to give her a better view. "I did. Just enough to keep him quiet."

Sandra's lips twisted into a small, evil smile. "Good. But don't lose focus. Make sure you get Evelyn tonight. I will be staying up, waiting for your call." She tilted her head, her voice dropping to a menacing whisper. "And make sure she is in worse shape than the fool is. Do whatever you want with her... just don't kill her until I arrive. I want her last sight to be my face. I want to be there for the final moment."

The hitman gave a curt nod. "Understood."

Satisfied, Sandra disconnected the call, the wicked sparkle in her eyes slowly fading as she let out a cold, triumphant sigh. She tossed her phone onto the bed, feeling a twisted sense of anticipation, imagining the fear that would fill Evelyn's eyes when they finally met face-to-face before her death.

Unable to stay still, she changed her clothes into something less conspicuous and picked up her car key. She was going to go back there and wait to see them abduct Evelyn with her own eyes.

Away from there, Evelyn stepped out of the bakery, the cool night air brushing against her face as the lively chatter from inside gradually faded behind her. She wrapped her arms around herself, glancing back at the warmly lit bakery. It had been a night of laughter and nostalgia, but there was a quietness settling over her now.

"Hey, wait up!" Rayna called, hurrying over to her with a bag of leftover desserts. She slipped her arm through Evelyn's as they walked toward the parking lot together. "I packed you some sweet treats."

Evelyn smiled, "Thanks. If I'm not careful around you, I'm going to become obese soon," she said as she took the bag from her, and Rayna laughed softly.

"I'm sure that won't happen. So, you're going to tell Derek tonight, right?"

Evelyn offered a soft smile. "Yes, Ray. I'll tell him," she said, her voice reassuring, though her stomach fluttered at the thought.

Rayna squeezed her arm, pulling her into a warm embrace. "It's going to be fine, Evie. You know that, right? Derek loves you more than anything; he will be thrilled."

Evelyn hugged her back, drawing strength from her friend's confidence. "Yeah. I know that. Thank you, Ray."

"There's nothing to thank me for," Rayna said as she stepped back,

her eyes scanning the nearby cars as she escorted Evelyn to her

car.

Her brows pulled together when she spotted a car that looked sort of familiar at the other side of the parking lot.

"By the way, Ethan called earlier to tell Derek that he was going back to the sea," Evelyn said, and Rayna looked away from the car to focus on the conversation.

"Good for him. I wish him good luck,, Rayna said as they got Evelyn's car, and then she leaned over, rapping her knuckles on the driver's window.

The window slid down, revealing the familiar face of Evelyn's bodyguard. "Just wanted to be sure you are the one in there," Rayna said with a small smile before turning to Evelyn.

"You've got a safe ride"" Rayna said, relieved. She looked at Evelyn, giving her one last smile. "Call me as soon as you are settled, okay?"

"I will," Evelyn promised, offering a gentle wave as Rayna stepped back onto the sidewalk, watching her until she was safely in the

car.

As the car pulled away, Rayna stood

there and waited until it disappeared before turning to return inside the bakery so she could lock up the place and go home. But as she turned, she didn't see the car she'd

noticed earlier slowly roll forward, its

headlights dim as it began to pick up

speed.

By the time she caught sight of it, the car had already accelerated, bearing down in her direction with alarming speed, and she froze on the spot, petrified.

A figure suddenly darted from the shadows, moving with swift, determined purpose as he pushed his body to its limit and sprinted toward Rayna with everything he had na split second, he lunged forward, his arms reaching out and making contact just in time to shove Rayna out of the way.

The force of the push sent her

sprawling to the ground, her gasp of surprise mingling with the crunch of gravel as she landed on her side, narrowly avoiding the vehicle. But he had no time to dodge; the car swerved but still clipped him with a brutal, sickening thud.

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The impact threw him backward, his body crumpling onto the pavement.

The vehicle sped off before he even hit the ground, and Rayna, having recovered from her shock, scrambled to her feet, rushing to his side to see the person who had just saved her.

She could feel her heartbeat pounding in her ears, her hands shaking as she reached for him, horror twisting her insides at the sight of his unmoving form.

"Ethan!" Rayna's voice broke the silence, raw and panicked, when she saw his face.