Chapter 349

Hannah stilled her breathing, straining her ears as Vincent ordered his bodyguards to sweep the exterior. A faint exhale of relief slipped through her lips. It was just as she had anticipated-Vincent assumed she had bolted from the lingerie store.

Yet, earlier, at the very threshold, Hannah had altered her plan. Rather than escape, she had slipped into the staff lounge tucked inside. For the time being, this confined room seemed far more secure than anything beyond those walls.

Hannah borrowed a mobile phone from one of the sales associates, desperate to reach Claude without delay. She was eager to confirm her mother's safety.

Willing herself to stay composed, she swiftly tapped Claude's number. But the only reply was a relentless busy tone.

Again and again, she attempted, but not a single call went through. Was Claude tied up with something urgent? Or did he decline to pick up an unfamiliar line?

A piercing chill settled into Hannah's chest, dragging waves of suffocating fear over her.

And then, steps rang in the corridor, drawing nearer, echoing straight toward the lounge entrance.

Hannah's pulse shot upward in her throat. Who could it be? Had Vincent tracked her so quickly?"

The handle turned, and the door eased open.

Hannah jerked around, pressing her spine against the chilled edge of the desk, her expression fixed in forced steadiness.

But in the doorway stood a middle-aged woman clad in the crisp attire of a manager. She appeared freshly arrived and clearly had no idea who Hannah was.

A trace of relief loosened Hannah's chest.

The manager's brow furrowed, her stare sharp, voice clipped and irritated. "Break time is finished. Why aren't you out asssting shoppers? Calls during shifts are prohibited. You should know better."

Since Hannah still wore the sales associate's uniform, the manager mistook her for a junior worker.

Relief at avoiding capture, tangled with the sting of sudden tension, made Hannah's heart pound painfully.She forced herself to speak evenly. "I'll step out soon. It's a family crisis-I must make this call."

"Emergency or not, regulations are regulations!" the manager barked, her scowl deepening, her words stern. "Rules are rules! Look how busy it is out there! Everyone else is working flat out. If you keep loitering and phoning, you can consider yourself dismissed! End that call and get on the floor!"

"I'm going right now," Hannah replied, but her attention never left the phone. She pressed redial again.

When Hannah still refused to let go of the phone, the manager bristled with fury. She gave a sharp, angry snort. "I won't repeat myself! Out now!"

With that, the manager spun on her heel and stormed off, clearly intending to wait for Hannah outside.

Hannah persisted, redial after redial. On what felt like the tenth attempt, Claude finally picked up. But before she could speak, a figure burst into the room.

In a single stride, Vincent closed the gap and ripped the phone from Hannah's grasp.

Her blood froze. Her head turned stiffly. Vincent had found her after all.

Claude's voice echoed faintly from the device. "Hello? Who is speaking?"

Vincent's face was shadowed with grimness as he cut the line. "Return with me," he said, his tone deep and menacing.

"I won't go back!" Hannah snapped icily. She had clawed too hard for freedom; she would never surrender it.

In a sudden burst, she bolted from the lounge, shoving past the manager and sales associates, sprinting for the transparent front doors of the lingerie shop.

But waiting beyond the glass stood a line of Vincent's bodyguards, their presence forming a barricade.

"Step aside!" Hannah cried fiercely, but no one moved.

The bodyguards held their ground, statues carved in silence.

The air grew thick with pressure.

Then, Vincent emerged from the lounge, his footsteps slow, deliberate. He fixed his eyes on Hannah and repeated, his voice commanding, "You are coming back with me."

Hannah whirled back, her glare blazing with defiance. "I said no!"

Vincent's stare cut sharply, a cruel smirk tugging his mouth. "That choice isn't yours."

With that, he advanced, and in one swift motion, he bent down, arms locking around her back and knees.Her world flipped without warning.

Hannah felt herself slung like an object, hoisted over Vincent's shoulder without mercy.

Though she thrashed and kicked with everything she had, Vincent showed no sign of pain, his grip only tightening further.

Inside the stretch limousine, he hurled her onto the seats. Once he dismissed his bodyguards, the fury he had been restraining finally erupted. WVithout hesitation, he grabbed the collar of her sales associate uniform and tore it down.

An abrupt shredding sòund tore through the air.

"Get your hands off me!" Hannah fought back fiercely.

Vincent dismissed all of her resistance without notice. He wrestled her arms up and pinned them against the icy glass of the window. He then forced her legs apart with his knee in one stroke, rendering all her efforts futile. Without pause, he leaned and thrust into her violently.

She cried out as his full length drove into her with a force that sent a searing pain through her body,causing her to curl forward. In a fit of overwhelming pain, her hands dug viciously into the flesh of his arms, breaking

the surface and spilling blood.

He pressed nearer, his breath searing against her damp neck and ear. His teeth closed on her earlobe as he snarled, "Still think you can run?"