Chapter 52

The night was ink-black as Nolan Reed's fist connected with the thug's face, the impact dull and heavy.

"Looking to die?" His eyes burned with fury, his movements sharp and precise. Raised in a military compound, combat skills were second nature to him.

The thug crumpled to the ground. Seeing this, the others immediately closed in. Aria Bennett leaned against the car door, her fingers lightly tapping as tendrils of dark energy silently coiled around their ankles.

"Ah!" One of them suddenly screamed, as if seeing something terrifying, and swung at his own companion.

Nolan froze for a split second before snapping back to reality. He turned to Aria, only to find her calmly recording the chaos on her phone.

"Freeze!" The wail of police sirens grew louder. The lead officer frowned at the sight of the writhing thugs on the ground.

Aria handed over the recorded video and audio to the police. "They tried to kidnap me."

In the interrogation room, the thug trembled. "I-It was Logan Price who sent us..."

"Logan Price?" Nolan's expression darkened.

Back in the car, Nolan couldn't hold back his question. "Do you have history with Logan?"

"I don’t know him," Aria said, idly spinning her phone. "But I know Serena Blake."

"What do you mean?" His grip on the steering wheel tightened.

Aria smirked. "Did your 'savior' never tell you? She and Logan are quite close."

"Impossible!" Nolan reflexively denied. "Serena would never—"

"Would never what?" Aria cut him off. "Remember the sulfuric acid incident?"

Nolan stiffened.

"Did it never occur to you why she just happened to be there? Why she was wearing such thick clothing? Why the acid only splashed on her coat?" With each question, his face grew paler.

"Do some digging," Aria said, turning to the window. "See what kind of person your precious 'first love' really is."

The car sped through the night, but Nolan's mind drifted back to that rainy day—Serena throwing herself in front of him, her pale face, and that unusually heavy coat.

A terrible suspicion took root in his heart.

If this was all a calculated scheme...

What choice would he make?