Unexpected Second Chance at Love

Chapter 983: Cliffhanger

The bunker under the garage was stark—concrete walls, a single overhead light casting a harsh circle in the center. Shadows clung to the corners like silent observers. The only sound was the heavy and raspy breathing of the man captured.

The man sat slouched in a metal chair, his wrists tied to the chair, oozing with more blood. Sweat beaded at his brow despite the chill in the air. He was bleeding profusely, and even he was surprised death hadn’t taken him yet.

Across from him, Yue Ling stood without batting an eye. Calm. Poised. Her arms were at her side, her expression unreadable.

However, at a closer look, one could see blood staining her hands.

She stepped forward, and the man trembled with fear with each step she took.

He has been part of the underworld for years and has never encountered someone so ruthless. He thought Yue Ling was an average rich person, but he was wrong.

The moment he didn’t give her the answer she wanted, she tortured him. And the torture was enough to make a grown man like himself cry in sheer pain.

She had grabbed the rope tying his wrists to the chair and tightened it. She tightened the rope each time he didn’t give her an answer, causing the rope to cut through his skin until it reached his bones. He was sure that if she continued, he would lose his hands.

Due to their positions, Yue Ling stared down at the man. Her bluish-green eyes were darker than usual, and she was without emotion.

"Let’s try again," she said, voice low and even. "Who gave the order?"

The man shut his eyes, jaw tight.

"I already told you—I don’t know what you’re talking about."

She didn’t blink.

"Funny. That’s not what you said earlier. You said your boss wanted me. So, who is your boss?"

The man swallowed hard, his throat bobbing. He regretted ever saying anything. He wouldn’t have tried to scare her by mentioning his boss if he had known that Yue Ling wasn’t an ordinary person.

She leaned forward slightly, her tone softening—not with sympathy, but with control.

"You’re not the mastermind. That much is obvious. But the one who is? They won’t protect you. Not when they know that you have been captured like this."

Still, the man said nothing. His silence thickened the room.

She stops in front of the man and reaches for the blood-stained ropes wrapped about his wrists. Her eyes never left his or blinked.

The man froze. His entire body went still.

"No. My hands... I need my hands."

His breath quickened, panic surfacing beneath the sweat when he felt the rope tightening.

"I’ll talk! I’ll talk!"

"Then talk."

He looked at her, truly looked this time. The cold steadiness in her eyes told him she wasn’t bluffing. She will cut his hands. He opened his mouth, then closed it again.

And finally, in a broken whisper, he answered.

"...My phone. Everything is in my phone."

Yue Ling stares at the man, slow and deliberate. She loosens her hold on the rope and takes a step back.

"See? That wasn’t so hard."

She turns her head to her assistant, and without saying anything, Liu Shan nods his head. He turns away and walks out of the room.

"Get as much information as you can out of him."

She gives Lin Hui and Qi Li an order before leaving the room. She didn’t know why, but didn’t trust the man’s words. He was holding back in his vague answer.

"Boss."

Yue Ling enters the house as Liu Shan calls out to her. He walks over to her and hands her the phone.

*Ring ring

Just as she took the phone, it started ringing. The entire room stilled as the ringing continued to echo inside the house.

She looks at it and sees that it was an anonymous video call. She casts a glance at Liu Shan, and he nods his head, making his way to his laptop. He types something in and then gives her a nod that he is ready.

Yue Ling answered the call, but instead of looking at the phone screen, she looked at the laptop to which her assistant had connected the phone. Lu Tian and Grandfather Ji joined her at the side while the others stood in wait.

"Hello, this is Han Yue Ling."

On the other side of the screen was a black screen before a man wearing a mask appeared in view. The mask hid only the top half of his face as she grins sinisterly at her.

"Ah, Miss Han. Truly a beauty as your photo claims."

Yue Ling stares at the screen. Her thoughts were unreadable, leaving no room for anyone to search inside.

"Where is my brother?"

The masked man chuckles at her question before giving a nonchalant shrug.

"Oh, not one to beat around the bush, I see. Well, let’s just say, he’s somewhere fun."

His smile widens as he raises his right hand, bringing up a gun. He uses it to scratch the side of his head and stares into the screen.

"Since you’re straight to the point, I’ll do so too. If you want him alive, you’ll have to deliver 900 million yuan to the location I give you."

He tilts his head to the side, and his smile reveals his teeth.

"And I mean only you, Han Yue Ling."

Grandfather Ji trembled at the man’s outrageous threat. He slammed his fist onto the table and glared at the screen.

"You bastard! You’re asking for a death wish! Give me back my grandson!"

His usual composed demeanor was stripped to panic since he couldn’t find any lead on Ji Jingxu. He would do anything as long as he got his grandson back.

The masked man shifts his gaze from Yue Ling to Grandfather Ji, replacing his smile with a frown.

"Oh my, what a grumpy old man."

He shakes his head, and the black screen behind moves.

"If I were you, I would take the deal because if you don’t..."

He pauses in his words as the scene behind reveals the inside of the dimly lit building. He takes a step to the side, and hanging behind him is a badly beaten Ji Jingxu. His (Ji Jingxu) wrists were chained up, and he was hanging partially from the ground.

"Jingxu..."

Grandfather Ji’s eyes teared up at the sight of his grandson. Yue Ling maintained her composure, but her fists were clenched tightly to the point her nails dug into her palms.

"Touch my brother again and I swear you’ll pay for this."

She glares at the man. Her heart was beating rapidly at the sight of her brother. She could tell that he had been beaten badly.

The only reason she could stay calm was because of Lu Tian’s hand on her lower back. His presence told her that he had her back no matter what.

Hearing her words, the masked man raised his hands in surrender.

However, his smile had a mock expression of regret plastered across it, and his voice dripped with insincerity.

"My goodness, I did not expect you to have a temper. No worries, I prefer my women with a wild side."

The masked man looks back at Yue Ling, leisurely walks backward from the camera, and then continues.

"I do have to say, though, he put up a fight, and so, you know, I had to make sure he understood the situation he is in."

Each step he made, he never looked away. He held the gun behind his back and stopped next to Ji Jingxu.

"You see, I am not that patient. Bring me the money if you want me to let him go in one piece."

His hand moves, and he raises the gun and points the muzzle at Ji Jingxu’s temple, causing the boy’s head to tilt slightly.

"If you don’t, he dies."

Then he maliciously laughs. It wasn’t loud, but it echoed with unsettling confidence. He pressed the gun more into Ji Jingxu’s head, and his head tilted to the side.

"Or I can just shoot him now for a laugh."

Yue Ling and everyone’s eyes widen at the masked man’s words. Before she could even speak, a loud bang echoed from the laptop, and the screen went black.

Silence came over everyone, and no one dared to move.

It was as if her mind couldn’t catch up with what she had just heard. Every muscle in her body tensed, locked in place, and her gaze stared ahead, unfocused, unblinking.

No one moved, and no one made a sound. Their hearts pounded in their chests as they couldn’t believe what had just happened.

"Jingxu... no... no..."

Grandfather Ji’s muttering voice brought Yue Ling out of her daze, but her eyes did not leave the screen. She turned her head to look at her assistant, but before she could even do so, the screen connected again, showing the masked man.

His laughter echoed again into the camera. Each chuckle was deliberate, soaked in mockery and menace, curving at the edges like a blade drawn slowly.

Then his laughter dies, and he looks straight into the camera at Yue Ling.

"It’s called a cliffhanger."

He grins sinisterly at her. There was no warmth in the smile. Only satisfaction, as if they took pleasure in someone else’s pain. It was the kind of smile that warned of danger without needing a single word, a silent promise that whatever came next wouldn’t be kind.

"Bring the money or he really dies."

Then the call ended, and the masked man was no longer seen. The only thing left was the stillness in the room as everyone tried to process the situation.

Yue Ling’s eyes dimmed dangerously and takes a deep, trembling breath. She swore she would make whoever did this wish they were never alive. However, to do that, she needs to find them.

She looks at her assistant as his eyes meet hers.

"Did you get it?"

Liu Shan was just as shocked as everyone in the room, having to witness the video call. While the others stood at the side, he sat right next to Grandfather Ji, allowing him to see the whole thing. He was only broken out of his shock from his boss’s voice.

He nods and takes his laptop back, facing the screen towards him. His fingers quickly type over the keyboard, working his magic before he presses Enter.

"I got it."

The codes on the screen quickly change to a video. The masked man’s video call has been recorded and saved.

When the call was made, he set it up when Yue Ling told him to start the recording.

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