That kiss by the sea was like a gentle switch, restarting all the beauty and hope in my life. The relationship between Liam and me was quietly established in an unspoken understanding. He didn't move into my apartment, nor did I move into his villa. Like all mature urban couples, we enjoyed just the right balance of independence and companionship.

But just when I thought life could finally turn to a new page, the maggots in the gutter emitted their final, dying stench.


Jack and Chloe, after being abandoned by the entire upper class, had completely become street rats. Jack couldn't find any decent work and had to survive on odd jobs; the wealthy young man Chloe had latched onto also dumped her like the plague after the dinner party scandal. They rented a place in Brooklyn's most chaotic neighborhood, living each day under enormous survival pressure and endless resentment.

This resentment, eventually like a malignant tumor, devoured what remained of their humanity. They decided to make one final, desperate gamble.

Through a bribed company janitor, they obtained my schedule for nearly a week. They discovered that every Wednesday night, I would drive alone to a private fitness club. And the underground parking garage of that club had several blind spots in its surveillance system.


A crazy plan took root and sprouted in their desperate minds—to kidnap me and extort a huge sum from my family, enough for them to flee far away.

They thought their plan was flawless, not knowing that their opponent was Liam.


Liam's vigilance always exceeds ordinary imagination. He had been having a private detective discreetly "monitor" Jack and Chloe's activities. When the detective reported that Jack had recently purchased two untraceable knives on the black market and was frequently in contact with a janitor who had a criminal record, Liam had already anticipated everything.

"They're going to be driven to desperate measures." That evening, Liam was in my apartment and calmly said this to me.

My heart tightened.

"Don't be afraid," he held my hand, his gaze cool and sharp, "This is actually an opportunity, an opportunity to legally and completely eliminate all our troubles at once."

He didn't choose to enhance my security and have me hide, but instead, decided to turn the tables on them.

He secretly hired New York's top security company—a team composed of retired Navy SEALs, and beforehand, he had informed the New York Police Department's Special Operations Unit. A carefully designed net to catch Jack and Chloe was silently cast, without them knowing anything about it.

"Emily," the night before the operation, Liam looked at me and asked seriously, "Are you afraid? If you're unwilling, we can cancel the plan immediately."

I looked at the concern in his eyes, shook my head, and smiled: "With you here, what do I have to fear? Besides, in this play, I am the protagonist. I must take the stage myself to take the final bow, don't you think?"

Wednesday night, as usual, I drove my Porsche alone into the underground parking garage of that fitness club.

The parking garage was empty, dimly lit, with the air permeated by a damp smell mixed with gasoline and dust. I parked my car in a secluded corner, right in the blind spot of the surveillance cameras.

I turned off the engine, but didn't get out immediately, just sitting quietly in the car, waiting.

My heart was beating steadily in my chest, one beat after another. I wasn't afraid; rather, I felt a strange calmness, like I was about to witness the final judgment.

A few minutes later, two dark figures stealthily emerged from behind the supporting pillars of the parking garage.

It was Jack and Chloe. Both were wearing black hoodies with masks covering their faces, revealing only their bloodshot eyes filled with nervousness and greed.

They yanked my car door open violently.

A cold knife was instantly pressed against my neck. The chill of the blade penetrated my skin, stimulating my nerves.

"Don't move! Don't scream!" Jack's voice was hoarse and distorted from excessive tension, and the knife in his hand trembled slightly.

Chloe quickly grabbed my handbag, took out my phone, and then roughly bound my hands with a zip tie she had prepared in advance.

"Emily Winston, you never thought this day would come, did you?" Chloe removed her mask, revealing a face twisted with jealousy and resentment. She leaned in close to my ear and said with a voice full of satisfaction, "All your money, your status—they can't save you now! Soon, they'll all belong to us!"

I didn't struggle, nor did my eyes show any panic. I just calmly looked at them, as if watching two inept actors.

"Jack," I spoke, my gaze falling on the face of the man who once shared my bed, "holding a knife to a woman, is this the greatest achievement of your life?"

My calmness seemed to irritate his fragile nerves. He roared, "Shut up! You bitch! If it weren't for you, how would I have ended up like this? This is all your fault!"

"My fault?" I laughed, the sound particularly clear in the empty parking lot, "Did I force you to have an affair with my best friend in my bed? Or did I force you to write a business plan that reads like a joke? Jack, admit it, the only person who ruined you has always been yourself."

"How dare you!" Chloe shrieked, raising her hand, intending to slap me across the face.

Just then—

"Woo—woo—woo—"

The piercing sound of sirens suddenly erupted from all directions without any warning!

The several exits of the parking lot were instantly blocked by more than a dozen police cars with flashing red and blue lights. Immediately after, dozens of fully armed special police officers holding assault rifles emerged from every corner as if descending from heaven. The tactical lights on their helmets emitted powerful beams, illuminating our little corner as bright as day.

"NYPD! Drop your weapons! Don't move!" The deafening warning came through loudspeakers, carrying an undeniable authority.

Jack and Chloe were completely stunned. The greed and madness on their faces froze instantly, then were replaced by enormous, incomprehensible fear.

Jack's hand holding the knife trembled even more violently. He instinctively pushed me forward, trying to use me as a hostage. "Stay back! All of you stay back! Or I'll kill her!" he screamed hoarsely.

"Mr. Jackson," a calm and familiar voice also came through the loudspeaker - it was Liam. He was standing next to the police command vehicle, holding a walkie-talkie, "I advise you not to do anything foolish. Your only charge right now is attempted kidnapping, maximum twenty years. If you dare harm a single hair on Miss Emily's head, then you will face charges of first-degree murder and life imprisonment."

Liam's words were like a heavy hammer, shattering Jack's last psychological defense.

In that second when he was stunned, several dark figures descended silently from the ceiling pipes like cheetahs! It was the security team hired by Liam!

One of them delivered a precise chop to Jack's wrist that was holding the knife.

"Ah!" Jack screamed in pain as the knife in his hand clattered to the ground.

Another person, with lightning speed, kicked the terrified Chloe to the ground and firmly pressed his knee against her back.

The entire process happened in a flash.

By the time I came to my senses, someone had already protected me and taken me to safety. Meanwhile, Jack and Chloe, like two dead dogs, were pinned firmly to the cold cement ground by several strong special police officers, and fitted with those cold handcuffs they should have been wearing long ago.

When the handcuffs locked, there was a crisp, unmistakable "click."

Looking at them, at those two faces filled with despair, unwillingness, and complete defeat, I felt no pleasure in victory, nor did I feel even the slightest bit of pity.

I just felt that this absurd drama, which had dragged on for far too long, had finally come to an end.