"Mmph!"
"Cough! Cough!"
Ignoring Stella's struggles, Steve—who clearly didn't know the meaning of chivalry—finished his dinner and then forcibly pried her mouth open, pouring a glass of water down her throat.
Steve didn't care if she lived or died. Her beauty meant nothing to him.
What he cared about were the two safes that had been stolen. They contained the bulk of his wealth.
Without them, Steve would be destitute.
Forget maintaining his current lifestyle; he wouldn't even be able to afford the taxes on this villa.
That was why he hated "Charlie" and his team so much. In his mind, they were the ones who dared to rob him.
The only reason he had refrained from torturing Stella for the past two days—aside from starving her—was fear. He worried that if he killed her, he would lose his leverage. Without Stella as a bargaining chip, a desperate Charlie might just cut his losses, take the gold, and disappear forever, just like Steve had done a year ago.
If that happened, Steve would lose everything.
After all, American property taxes were truly terrifying.
Stella glared at Steve. Her last two days had been a nightmare.
For most of the time, she had been tied hand and foot and locked in a bedroom.
Clearly, Steve was wary of her lockpicking skills. Even after searching her thoroughly to ensure she had no metal objects or tools, he refused to use handcuffs. He stuck to ropes.
Steve not only starved her but also denied her requests to use the bathroom.
One can imagine how humiliating her current state was and how intense her rage had become.
Steve, perhaps fearing he might lose control and kill her if she started cursing him again, didn't give her the chance.
After forcing the water down her throat, he stuffed the napkin back into her mouth before she could utter a word.
"Quiet down. Your suffering will end soon."
Steve wiped his hands and walked back to his seat, distancing himself from her.
Even though Stella was beautiful, the smell of urine clinging to her was a powerful mood killer.
Watching her eyes practically shoot fire at him, Steve casually picked up a banana for dessert.
Peeling it, he took a bite and chewed slowly. "Knowing Charlie... even though I gave him twenty-four hours..."
"He's probably going to try his luck tonight."
Stella's heart sank. She knew Charlie hadn't even started the heist.
Steve's guess was technically wrong, but practically correct. Since Charlie couldn't produce the gold Steve demanded, he would have no choice but to attempt a rescue tonight under the cover of darkness.
Earlier that afternoon, perhaps to show off or intimidate her, Steve had dragged Stella on a "tour" of the villa.
Consequently, Stella knew exactly what kind of fortress she was trapped in.
Because of the "theft," Steve had pressured the security firm. To avoid a scandal that could lose them the contract for the entire district, the firm had agreed to cooperate fully.
They were sharing their surveillance feeds with Steve and had deployed an eight-man tactical team to patrol the perimeter. These weren't rent-a-cops; they were ex-military, the firm's elite unit.
Inside the villa, it was even worse.
Steve had called in over a dozen of his own mercenaries and parked four modified, bulletproof SUVs in the driveway.
The high-voltage electric fence surrounding the property had been upgraded to lethal settings.
Add in the dense network of new surveillance cameras covering every blind spot... Stella couldn't imagine how Charlie could possibly break in to save her.
Panic began to set in.
"Heh."
Steve watched her expression shift from anger to fear, feeling a twisted sense of satisfaction.
The tour had served its purpose. He wanted her to know the odds. He wanted her to despair.
"Now, Charlie!"
"Don't disappoint me."
"Come on. Let me see how you navigate my little maze and save your beloved woman."
It was past 8:00 PM. Steve was getting impatient. He wanted Charlie to show up and step into the trap he had meticulously laid.
More than a hundred meters away, perched high in a large tree overlooking the villa.
Hunter, dressed in black tactical gear, pulled the Tactical Crossbow from his Personal Inventory.
He loaded a bolt onto the rail and peered through a gap he had carefully trimmed in the foliage.
His gaze locked onto a specific, unassuming target on the villa grounds.
The main distribution panel.
It controlled the power for the villa, the perimeter lights, and the high-voltage fence.
If he took it out, the villa would be plunged into darkness.
But not for long.
Hunter had leveled his [Electrician] skill to Lv 2. During his previous infiltration, he had spotted what looked like a backup generator in the garage.
He had been in a rush to steal the gold then, so he hadn't examined it closely. But he always planned for the worst.
If Steve had a backup generator, it would kick in within minutes. The power would be restored quickly.
That meant Hunter only had a window of a few minutes to breach the villa, find Stella, and extract her.
Time was tight. He might only get one shot.
As for hitting a distribution box from over a hundred meters away?
Hunter wasn't worried.
[Marksmanship Lv 4]. Confidence came with the skill level.
"Charlie... what are you waiting for?"
Hunter glanced inadvertently toward a spot down the mountain.
It was a surveillance blind spot he had used before.
Now, Charlie's vehicles were lurking there.
Hunter murmured to himself, his finger resting gently on the trigger.
He was just waiting for the perfect moment to loose the bolt.
Near Steve's villa, hidden in the darkness.
Two cars sat silently, lights off.
With the help of their top-tier hacker, Lyle, Charlie and his team had managed to approach the main gate without alerting the security firm or Steve.
Charlie drove the first car. Handsome Rob and Left Ear were in the second.
Lyle hadn't joined the assault team. He was stationed at the foot of the mountain in the modified Dodge Ram 3500 van Hunter had worked on, providing remote technical support.
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