Chapter 28; Hope.....

Her voice broke, raw and hoarse from silent screams. "Help… me… please…"

She stumbled forward, tears blurring her vision until all she saw were golden shadows and his silhouette.

Her knees hit the cold marble with a sharp crack, sending lightning bolts of pain shooting up her thighs.

She tried to crawl towards them, her arms trembling violently as blood dripped from her split knuckles onto the pristine floor.

"Please… please… save me…"

But no one turned. Her whisper was swallowed by the classical piano notes floating through the air.

Shen Xiao didn't even lift his gaze from his wine glass as he listened to Bai Zhi's soft laughter. Shen Xuan giggled again, clinging to Bai Zhi's arm as he called her "Mommy Zhi" in his childish voice.

Suddenly, a harsh hand gripped Yueyao's tangled hair, yanking her head back so hard her neck burned with pain. Her raw scream tore through the silence like a wounded animal's cry.

Meng Shurong's furious face loomed over her, twisted with disgust and rage.

"You filthy bitch!" she spat, her spit spraying onto Yueyao's cheek. She slapped her so hard that her head snapped sideways, white-hot pain exploding through her skull. "You dare run?! Do you want to die tonight?!"

Yueyao's vision blurred as darkness threatened to swallow her whole.

But through the haze, her eyes found Shen Xiao again. His gaze remained fixed on Bai Zhi's face, completely unmoved. Not even curiosity flickered in his cold obsidian eyes.

"Please…" she whispered, her voice trembling with pain and betrayal. "Just… look at me…"

Meng Shurong yanked her back, dragging her across the marble like a broken rag doll. Tears streamed down Yueyao's cheeks, mixing with the blood dripping from her split lips.

But just as they reached the corridor, a silent shadow moved behind them.

Before Meng Shurong could scream, a gloved hand clamped over her mouth and yanked her backwards.

Her eyes widened in horror, but before she could fight back, a thin silver needle slid smoothly into the side of her neck. Her body convulsed once, then slumped limp to the floor.

Yueyao blinked through her tears as a tall figure knelt before her, his black combat boots creaking softly against the marble.

Obsidian eyes, sharp with cold fury, met hers beneath the shadows of a black hood.

"Stay quiet," he murmured in a low, gravelly voice as strong arms lifted her trembling body off the cold floor, cradling her against a broad, warm chest that smelled faintly of gun oil and cedarwood.

She clung to the rough fabric of his tactical jacket weakly, her tears soaking into the black material as silent sobs wracked her broken body.

For the first time in what felt like eternity, Yueyao felt something flicker in the suffocating darkness drowning her soul.

Hope.

She felt his arms tighten around her as he carried her swiftly down the darkened corridor.

His steps were silent, each movement fluid and precise, like a predator gliding through the shadows.

The faint moonlight filtering through the high windows cast fleeting silver streaks across his figure.

He was tall, his broad shoulders filling her fading vision, his chest solid and warm against her trembling cheek.

The black tactical jacket he wore smelled faintly of cedarwood, steel, and something darker, a scent that felt cold yet strangely comforting.

She tried to lift her head, to see his face more clearly, but her eyelids fluttered weakly, heavy with exhaustion and pain.

All she could glimpse was the strong line of his jaw, half-hidden beneath a black tactical mask that covered the lower half of his face.