Chapter 158 Just Heed My Advice
The air crackled with tension as Freya and Ashley faced off, their gazes sharp and unyielding
With a nonchnt grace, Freya whipped out her cellphone, dialed a number with deliberate slowness, and then casually flipped it onto the table. The phonended with a soft ck, its speaker buzzing to life, filling the room with the tinny sound of an iing call.
The privacy screen on her phone cast a murky shadow over the disy, leaving Ashley craning her neck in a futile attempt to glimpse the caller''s identity. Before she could voice her curiosity, a familiar voice spilled out from the speaker.
"Hello?" Kristian''s voice echoed slightly,ced with confusion.
At the sight of Freya''s name shing on his screen, a bewildered frown creased
his brow, his mind momentarily grappling with the surreal moment.
Shaking off the initial shock, he steadied his voice and answered the call.
Freya leaned in, her voice a calm cascade, betraying no hint of urgency. "Your ex wants to kill you. Are you willing to cooperate?"
Kristian stiffened, a flicker of shock shing across his face.
Ashley, too, froze mid-motion, her eyes wide with disbelief.
The stunned expressions they wore were nearly mirror images of each other.
"Why would you want to kill me?" Kristian asked, his brows knitting together in confusion.
Gerard, who had been calmly going over some reports nearby, suddenly froze-his face drained of color, panic creeping into his eyes. What the hell was happening? Freya wanted to kill Kristian?
"It''s not me." Freya corrected smoothly, the cool timbre of her voice cutting through the mounting chaos. "It''s your ex-girlfriend. She''s plotting to stab you, hoping it''llnd her in prison."
That revtion struck a chord in Kristian, a name shing through his mind like a neon sign. "Ashley?"
"Mm-hmm," Freya affirmed.
"Not cooperating," Kristian''s voice cut through the air, sharp and resolute.
He ended the call abruptly.
Freya turned to Ashley, her expression unreadable, almost detached. "You heard him," she stated tly.
Ashley''s eyes flickered with a mix of desperation and determination. "Then help me get close to him," she
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implored.
Freya arched an eyebrow, her tone skeptical. "And why exactly would I do that?"
"If I don''t seed, you''ll be his next target," Ashley replied, her voice tinged with urgency. She understood the
stakes all too well "Living under his thumb is like being trapped in hell-every waking moment is a relentless
torment. Believe me, even you wouldn''tst."
Ashley''s past was a shadow that lingered in her nightmares. She was haunted by visions of serpents and chilling scenes that yed over in her mind, a constant reminder of the man whose very memory could make her skin crawl and her body shudder with uncontroble dread.
Previously, this man had shown an unsettling interest in Freya. Ashley knew that if she failed this time, he would certainly turn his malevolent attention towards Freya.
With a scrutinizing gaze, Freya observed Ashley, searching for any hint of a lie, but found none.
Resigned, she retrieved her phone and pulled up her chat with Trent. She scrolled through their messages until she found a particr photo that Trent had sent-a snapshot of Ashley standing next to a man.
Freya extended the phone towards Ashley. She questioned sharply. "Is this the man you''re talking about?"
Ashley stiffened the moment her eyesnded on the photo, her mind instantly rewinding to the moment Kristian had confronted her with it. Her first instinct was to me Freya, suspicion ring in her chest-until she paused, thinking it through. Freya couldn''t have been the one.
"Yes, but also no," Ashley said slowly, her voice uncertain as her gaze flickered back to the photo. "That''s not his real face. It''s a disguise-he lookspletely different in person."
Freya narrowed her eyes, curiosity piqued. "Then what does he actually look like?"
Upon hearing the question, Ashley quickly turned to the café counter and asked for a pen and some paper. Once they handed it over, she sat back down and started sketching in front of Freya.
Even after all the time she''d spent with him, not once had she taken a photo-she never had the courage to. The thought alone had felt too risky.
But his face was carved into her memory like a mark she could never erase.
After ten tense minutes, a rough but recognizable sketch took shape beneath Ashley''s pencil.
Freya''s eyes narrowed, a shadow passing over her expression as she stared at the all-too-familiar face on the paper. Her expression turned icy. Lifting a finger, she tapped the sketch right between the man''s brows. "Does he have a scar here? About three centimeters long?"
Ashley''s hand stalled in midair, the pencil hovering just above the paper.
Her eyes widened in shock, pupils shrinking. "How-How could you possibly know that?"
Freya''s expression changed in a heartbeat-cool and serious, like a switch had flipped.
Without a word, she unlocked her phone, tapped through a few screens, and brought up a hidden photo. She turned the screen toward Ashley. "Is this him?"
Ashley''s breath caught in her throat. Her eyes locked onto the image-that face, so familiar it could haunt her in dreams. Her lips parted slightly. "Yes."
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A storm of questions Tuse meble her why did Freya have this photo How did the even know who he wel
Before Ashley could speak again, Freya cut in with a qusation that rams nut of mirthers, tu par went w
Ashley linked, still simmaging to process everything "What she muttered,pletely thorum
“Betum to him tell him you can''t get chess in Kristian and suppeal that I should take your ce F* wordsnded like a cold step, jaling Ashley from her daze The
air around her esemed to stall, charged unth new, unestling eORLEY
"Do you do you grasp the weight of your fender Ashley atammered, her des trendding with a me of fear
and disbelief
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"He may be captivating, but he''s nothing like Eristian," Ashley pressed on, a desperate edge to her voice as the yed on Freys''s known weakness for charming men "You"
"Don''t you yearn to live in peace with your grandmother and younger brother?" Freya''s eyes were piercing, hey gazeser-focused, culling deep into Ashley''s soul.
Of course Ashley did. How could she not long for that kind of life? she clung to that thought, repeating # like a silent prayer in her head
Yer, desiring peace and thrusting Freya into danger were worlds apart. Ashley knew the sting of past errorest time, her actions had nearly caused irreparable damage. She couldn''t allow history to sche with the same grave mistakes:
"If that''s really what you want," Freya said, her tone steady but firm "Then listen to
me. Do exactly as i say You only get one shot at this."
Ashley was caught in a fierce battle within herself
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She felt torn between the lure of a tranquil life and the gnawing weight of her own
consciencs.
A wry smile twisted her lips suddenly. The hony was not lost on her. How
Freya''s words from theirst unsettling encounter echoed hauntingly in Ashley''s
ears.
"No matter who you''re up against, don''t let them control your conscience. I can protect your family, but I can''t save you from losing your moralpass"
Despite Ashley''s past misdeeds aimed at undermining Freya, thetter had steadfastly protected Ashley''s grandmother and younger brother Reflecting on those times, Ashley''s resolve hardened. Her voice was low but resolute as she spoke. "I want that, yet I cannot bear the thought of dragging you into this mess with me."
Freya stood frozen, unable to find the right words. Ashley had rendered herpletely speechless.
"You can go now," Ashley said, her tone clipped and resolute she had already made up her ming this was something she had to face on her own "If you ever cross paths with that man again, stay away from hind
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That ce had already swallowed her care, dragging her into a nightman dhe vaky escget Freps d'' deserve that kind of pain, and the world make our she never had to face te
Boost sn Ashley turned and tock s stap toward the door, Freyi''s voice broke the silence behind her.
Ashley haired, her moment nuddenly cut short
Freys stood up and crossed the room with quiet determination. The storget just leches from Ady and mee Yer eyes. "If you really want to make things right between us, then listen to me. Don''t just sit wound waiting for him to strike again- take control. Step into the game before he drags you in on his terms." Ashley blinked, her expression a mank of confusion. "What are you suggesting?
Freya''s tone dropped, her voice steady butced with tension. When you falled him, he has already shifted his focus to me," she exined with a chilling calmness. "Do you think he''ll simply ignore me if you both this tank
The weight of Freya''s words crashed down on Ashley like andslide.
It was a harsh, undeniable truth
If Ashley were to fail and end up behind bars, that man would certainly set his malevolent sights on Freya next The threat loomed over Freya, an omnipresent shadow,
f you genuinely care about my safety, then heed my advice," Freya continued, her eyes alight with aplex blend of fear and resolve. "Follow my lead, and not only will I stay safe, but so will you and your family"
(Before Ashley could press for more answers, Freya had already turned on her heel and departed.
She strode to her car, flung the door open, and slid into the driver''s seat, her mind churning with everything she''d just uncovered. Pulling out her phone with a quick flick of her thumb, she opened the group chat with her friends. Her fingers
hovered briefly before she typed a short, loaded message. "That man showed up."
The moment she hit send, she exhaled sharply and sank into the seat, eyes
unfocused as memories wed their way to the surface. That man..... he had nearly obliterated their entire team once.
She didn''t need anyone to warn her-she had already learned the hard way how
terrifying he could be.
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