Chapter 294 A Steady Anchor in the Storm
The driver’s hands were clenched tightly on the steering wheel. From Jean’s angle in the back seat, all she could see was the dark back of his head–his face was completely hidden from view.
A tension suddenly snapped taut in Jean’s mind.
The driver said nothing, but his hands kept moving–gripping the wheel, he spun it sharply, and the car jerked, veering off course and turning right instead of continuing straight.
Mindy and Sofia, slow as they might have been, instantly realized something was wrong.
“Hey–you stop this car right now!” Sofia shouted, eyes wide as she lunged forward in her seat.
But there was a partition between the back and the driver’s seat. No matter how close she got, there was no way to actually reach him,
Mindy drew in a sharp breath. Her eyes lit up with anger as she slammed her palm against the back of the driver’s seat. “Where are you taking us? If you don’t stop this car right now, I’m calling the cops!”
Truthfully, she was scared too.
She didn’t really care what happened to her—if the worst came to worst, she’d just accept it.
But the two girls sitting next to her were so young.
No matter what happened, Mindy was determined to keep them safe.
The driver acted like he couldn’t hear a thing from the back.
The taxi turned into a narrow, silent path flanked by trees. There wasn’t a single person in sight. Dense woods blurred past the windows, whipping by faster and faster.
Sofia and Mindy grew more and more frantic.
They pulled out their phones to call the police–only to find their signals had been cut. No matter how many times they tried, they couldn’t get through.
They’d been completely disconnected from the outside world.
Jean, meanwhile, hadn’t moved.
She looked calm–unnaturally calm–as she silently observed their surroundings.
She knew that, at least for now, the driver didn’t intend to hurt them.
If he’d wanted to do something, he would have acted the moment they entered this secluded road.
But he hadn’t.
This wasn’t a man with a plan of his own–this was someone taking them somewhere.
Which meant he was just a tool.
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A Steady Anchor in the Storm
Finished
Jean lifted her eyes and looked at Sofia and Mindy. They were visibly shaking, terrified. Jean reached out and gently placed a hand on theirs.
“Don’t be scared. We’ll find a way out of this,” she whispered.
There was nothing they could do inside the car right now.
But once they got out–maybe, just maybe–they’d get a chance.
And maybe, just maybe, the universe heard her
Thirty seconds later, the taxi rolled to a stop.
They were completely surrounded by trees. Branches thick with wild leaves stretched toward the sky, casting a cold, eerie shadow over the clearing. The breeze had a bite to it, and the air felt heavy with something unspoken and ominous.
The driver opened his door and stepped out quickly and efficiently.
Sofia and Mindy immediately grabbed at their own doors, trying to get out.
But-
The doors wouldn’t budge.
Locked.
No matter how hard they yanked, the doors didn’t move an inch.
“Jean…” Sofia turned to her, her voice trembling. Her eyes were wide with panic and helplessness. “What do we do now?”
She didn’t even realize it herself–but in that moment of fear and uncertainty, she had instinctively looked to Jean.
As if Jean were her anchor.
Her calm in the storm.
Even if Jean was just another girl, just as young as her–Sofia believed, deep down, that Jean would know what to do,
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