Chapter 30

Staring at the pitch-black, stinky cage, Ella screamed her lungs out, banging on the iron door. "Help! I can't stay in here, let me out!"

Harry just looked at her, cold as ice. "Mr. Scott said you need to feel this too, so you'll understand what it means to be restrained." And with that, he walked away without a second glance.

Ella shook the iron door, but it was useless. She was scared out of her mind, curling up on the damp, cold ground, shaking like a leaf.

Ella felt something crawling up her leg and freaked out, screaming and pounding on the door with both hands. "Help! Somebody save me!"

Meanwhile, Victoria had been out cold in the hospital bed for a whole day and night before she finally woke up. When she opened her eyes, all she saw was white, and her left hand was hooked up to an IV.

The last thing she remembered was falling from the ventilation window. Did someone save her?

"Awake?" A familiar male voice broke the silence.

Victoria looked up and saw William sitting in a chair by the bed, his brows furrowed as he stared at her with a complicated look. He looked tired, like he hadn't slept in ages.

"William?" Victoria called softly. "Did you save me?" she asked.

William's expression softened a bit. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I'm okay." Victoria forced a small smile. "Thank you."

William frowned but didn't say anything. He hadn't seen Victoria talk to him so calmly in a long time, but it made him feel weirdly irritated.

After a long silence, he finally spoke in a low voice, "If you want to thank someone, thank Diana and your friend Wendy. They were the ones who noticed you were missing. They've come to see you several times in the past two days, but you were out cold."

"Okay, I'll thank them." Victoria looked down and responded quietly. Then she asked, "Did the doctor say when I can leave?"

"You need to stay for at least a week, or you'll have lasting issues with your back," William replied.

Victoria just nodded and didn't say anything else. An awkward silence filled the room. After a while, Victoria looked up and said to William, "Mr. Scott, you know who locked me in the basement, right?"

William pressed his lips together, his eyes darkening.

Victoria didn't expect him to answer and continued, "It was Ella. Even though I've signed a settlement agreement with her, she still won't let me go. You know why."

Hearing this, William nodded slightly.

"Ella is spoiled and has a bad temper. She's irritable, narrow-minded, and willful, but one thing is certain: she likes you a lot..." Victoria paused slightly.

"To be more precise, she admires you a lot. Love brings worry, love brings fear. She hates the women around you, especially someone like me, with whom you have an improper relationship." Victoria spoke calmly, like she was talking about the weather, but her tone made William's muscles tense up.

"As a woman, I can understand her feelings. But I've been hurt by her repeatedly, and I feel very wronged and angry. However, all of this, in the end, is thanks to you." Victoria looked at William, a sarcastic smile on her lips.

"Mr. Scott, please, for the sake of me almost losing my life several times, let me go, okay?" she said in the calmest tone.

William's pupils trembled violently for a moment, then he suddenly grabbed Victoria's shoulder with such force it seemed he wanted to crush her bones.

He stared into Victoria's eyes, as if trying to see through her. "Do you hate me that much?" he asked.

"No," Victoria denied softly, her face still cold and emotionless. "If it weren't for you, Nora wouldn't get hospital treatment, and Bobby wouldn't continue his studies. I have no right to hate you. I'm just scared, do you understand? I can sell myself for money, but it's not worth risking my life for it."

William was stunned, his eyes locked on her, sharp and intense. He wanted to see through her pale, tired face to understand her true thoughts.

Victoria looked back calmly and coldly. As their eyes met, the atmosphere grew strange and tense.

William could clearly see his reflection in her eyes that showed no emotion, no hatred, no anger-just a plain look, as if he were an ordinary acquaintance.

What she said just now was her true feelings; she really didn't want to be involved with him anymore. Realizing this, William felt a surge of nameless anger, but he quickly regained control over his emotions.

In the end, William released Victoria, his deep eyes shadowed with a somber look. His thin lips parted slightly as he said, "You should rest." With that, he strode out and closed the door behind him without looking back.

As soon as William left, Victoria's heart pounded wildly. William's gaze just now was terrifying, like a beast ready to pounce and devour her. It took a lot of effort for her to appear somewhat calm.

She had made herself very clear just now. She thought, 'William, being the proud man he is and always surrounded by beautiful women, surely wouldn't trouble her again, right?'

When Victoria fell from the windowsill, she really felt like she was going to die. She used to think it didn't matter if she lived or died; living was just painful.

But now, seeing a big chance to stay at Starry Studio Gallery, even as an auditor, she could re-enter the university campus to continue studying painting.

She hadn't felt this sense of purpose and drive in a long time.

It was like going back to the years when she worked hard to get into her dream university, so full of energy and hope, unlike before when she was barely alive and filled with a faint sense of death.

She was tired of the constant cycle of getting injured and ending up in the hospital. Now, she just wanted to do her best to stay at Starry Studio Gallery and, hopefully, go back to university to continue her studies.

If she could pay off Alvin's debt early and bring him out, that would be even better.

While she was lost in thought, her phone rang.

She took out her phone and saw it was a call from Samuel.

She quickly pressed the answer button and asked, "Professor Brown, is there something you need?"

Samuel's deep laughter came through the phone. "Can't I call you just because?"

Hearing this, Victoria was slightly stunned. Then she shook her head and said, "Of course you can. I was just worried you had something urgent."

"I don't have anything urgent, just wanted to tell you that the public class on Sunday has been moved to Saturday afternoon. Can you attend?" Samuel's tone was gentle, with a hint of inquiry.

Victoria was stunned, looking at her hand still connected to the IV, and replied helplessly, "I can't make it this time."

Although she really wanted to attend, she knew which was more important-a single class or a lifetime of consequences.

There was a brief pause on the other end of the line before the voice slowly resumed, "May I ask the reason why?"

"I have something to do that day." Victoria didn't want him to know she was in the hospital and tried to brush it off.

However, at that moment, the door opened.

A nurse walked in with medication and a syringe. "Victoria, right? It's time to change your medication!"

Even though Victoria covered the phone immediately, Samuel still heard the nurse's voice, and his tone became serious. "Are you in the hospital?"