Chapter 65

The driver sneered, his voice cutting through the darkness, "Stop struggling. We're deep in the wilderness now. No one's coming to save you."

His hands moved with practiced efficiency as he bound Arabella with rope, then hoisted her toward the riverbank. Rain hammered down around them, turning the rushing water into a roaring torrent that disappeared into the black void below.

"This ends here," the driver declared, preparing to hurl Arabella toward the churning river.

But she never left his arms.

A dagger had found its mark in his abdomen.

He doubled over, pain shooting through his body as rage blazed in his eyes. Arabella sliced through her bindings with swift, precise movements and broke free from his weakening grip.

The driver lunged forward, desperate to reclaim his prize, but his body refused to obey.

"Don't waste your energy. That's a specialized paralysis technique. You'll stay frozen until I decide otherwise." Arabella's voice carried the chill of winter frost.

The driver's eyes widened as understanding dawned. "You... you were pretending the whole time?"

"How else could I uncover your true motives?Someone wants me dead, right?" Arabella's lips curved into a cold smile. "Let me take a wild guess about your employer. The Hydes? No,too obvious. The Lamberts? They lack the spine. It has to be the Tuckers."

Terror flickered across the driver's face.

His employer had described a nineteen-year-old girl. Nobody had mentioned she was anything more than an ordinary target.

"Talk. How much did the Tuckers offer you?"Arabella pressed.

"Well..." the driver stammered. In the next heartbeat, he clenched his fists, channeling his

remaining strength, and shattered the paralysis.His hand shot toward Arabella like a striking snake. "Enough to make this worthwhile!"

His movements blurred through the air,almost too fast to follow.

Arabella's eyes sharpened as she twisted away,and the two combatants clashed in the driving rain.

"You're from the assassin rankings, aren't you?"Arabella observed, her voice steady despite the chaos around them.

"Clever girl!" The man's surprise was genuine."So you know about the rankings. At least this won't be a complete waste of my time."

The assassin moved with devastating speed,each strike generating gusts of wind. One solid hit would prove fatal.

Arabella possessed remarkable skill, but her endurance couldn't match the assassin's relentless assault, and she found herself gradually retreating. Without warning,the assassin produced a dagger, its blade gleaming wickedly in the darkness. "I planned to drown you,but since you insist on being difficult,I'll

end this now."

He thrust the weapon toward Arabella's left shoulder.She reacted instinctively, dodging the obvious attack, but the assassin's eyes gleamed with satisfaction as his true target-a second dagger already positioned-pierced her right shoulder.

Professional killers never carried just one weapon.

Blood flowed from Arabella's wounded shoulder. She bit back a cry of pain. The assassin's grin widened. "I warned you that you couldn't win. You might as well beg for your life."

"Is that what you think?" Arabella replied, her voice unnaturally calm.

Suddenly, the assassin felt ice flood his veins.He looked down to find a delicate needle protruding from his chest. Its tip gleamed black with poison.

The assassin crumpled to the muddy ground,agony consuming his body. He screamed into the storm, "What... what have you done to me?"

Arabella gazed down at his writhing form.

"That's a lethal toxin. Once it enters your bloodstream, it tears your heart apart from the inside-until the pain kills you."

"You... you deceived me!" the assassin gasped,blood trickling from his mouth.

"Your technique was impressive," Arabella said with detached indifference, "but you made one fatal mistake. You underestimated your opponent."

She knelt beside him, searched his pockets for his phone, and used his fingerprint to unlock the device before sending a message to someone in his contacts.

After wiping the phone clean, Arabella turned and disappeared into the rain.

At the Gracebourne estate, Asher returned to find Arabella still absent. He had barely settled onto the couch when his phone rang with a call from Colton."The tenth-rankedassassinisdead!"Colton said.

"Are you certain?" Something about the lightning splitting the sky outside filled Asher with inexplicable dread.

"Unbelievable! Number ten, eliminated just like that. Who could have taken him down? The underworld grows more dangerous every day,"Colton mused aloud.

Asher shared his astonishment. Then he spotted a figure approaching through the downpour-a tall, slender silhouette moving through the rain.

He immediately ended the call and rushed to the entrance.

"Arabella!" Asher's voice rang out as he saw her,soaked to the bone with blood staining her shoulder.His expression darkened as he swept her into his arms and carried her inside.