Dear Sweetheart

Chapter 666

“Don't be afraid. I bear you no ill will." The man's magnetic voice filled the room. Before Rayna could regain her senses, a cold touch on her wrist spread all over her body.

She tried to retract her hand in horror, but he tightened his grip. Then, the cold and menacing voice sounded once more. “It will sink deeper into your skin if you press down on it like you were doing. If you press any harder, it can get into your blood or organs through your skin and cost you your life."

“Really?" Rayna felt her skin crawl at liis words, as though she had been encased in ice for millennia.

The man smirked at Rayna's pale pallor before drawling. “I was just kidding!"

Rooted at the spot. Rayna did not respond until the man's voice sounded again in the room. “It was originally on the surface of your skin, your forcefill pressing has caused it to sink one layer deeper. Though it's not to the extent of the way I described, it will cause you agony and a terrible itch until your skin feels as if it’s on fire. Put this on. It will cause it to rise to the surface of your wrist. With tliis on. it will not run amok."

Rayna reached out to touch the cool bracelet on her wrist and asked softly. “What is it made of?"

“Emerald, and no ordinary emerald at that. This one cannot be bought." Jensen answered quietly, his gaze fixed upon Rayna's face as he memorized her every gesture. "Rest assured. Tliis artifact is harmless. It just feels cold to the touch. It won't harm you."

Rayna nodded at those words and hummed in response.

“Don't worry, we won't hurt you." Jensen added as if worried that Rayna did not believe him. “The traditional medicine practitioner, learned in his voodoo arts, might be able to extract the item within you. We want what’s within you. not your life. As long as you cooperate. I promise to send you back in a month."

“Mmm.” Rayna nodded meekly, without so much as a defiant glare.

Though she did not wish to stay deep down, her vision was still proving troublesome, hindering her escape. She decided taking things one step at a time would be wiser.

“I'm thirsty." Rayna whined.

Jensen swept his gaze across the room and realized there was no water. “I'll bring you some water. Wait here."

“Mmm.” Rayna nodded. His footsteps grew fainter, and then the door clicked shut. She collapsed onto the carpet, touched the emerald bangle on her wrist, and gasped.

The traditional medicine practitioner was in the process of producing a bundle of dried herbs from his medicine bag when Jensen arrived down the stairs. Knowledgeable in herbs himself, he recognized at a glance that the herb in the practitioner's hand was calhina. an endangered plant in Chanaea. Before it was granted the status of protected species, it was once an expensive herb.

He watched as the traditional medicine practitioner placed the herb into a vessel, drew out the excess air. added two drops of some unknown liquid, then set the vessel bearing the herb in a dark spot.

“What is this for?" Jensen asked.

“The herbs are alive. What you saw earlier is the color it assumes when defending itself. I'll turn it back to how it was. grind it up, and use it to lure the blood parasites." As the traditional medicine practitioner

spoke, he turned to produce two vials of strangely- colored liquid. He opened them, poured them into two vessels, then added a pinch of maggots from a white bottle. Jensen clearly saw how the larvae dissolved and mixed with liquid in the vessel.

Swallowing in disgust, he frowned at the sight before him and entered the kitchen to procure three bottles of mineral water before returning upstairs.

Upon arriving at the second floor. Jensen pushed open the door to the bedroom and found Rayna sitting obediently on the edge of the bed. As she could not see anything, she looked confused. Exclusive © material by Nô(/v)elDrama.Org.

“Here." Jensen twisted open the cap and placed it in Rayna's hand. “There's no kettle here, so I must trouble you to drink it cold for now."

“Oh. No problem." Rayna brought the bottle carefully to her lips and drank.

Jensen stood by and watched her. After she had drank over half the bottle in a single gulp, he pulled her up from the bed. “I'm bringing you to the restroom. Familiarize yourself with the route. I'm leaving in a bit. You will remain in tliis room while I'm away. The traditional medicine practitioner is downstairs. You can summon him if you're in urgent need of anything.”

“Mmm,” Rayna answered softly before she felt herself pulled next to him to hear his gentle instructions. "There is a coffee table to your left in eight steps. Go around it. walk six more forward, and you're at the door to the bedroom. Take three steps to your left, and you'll reach the bathroom. Got it?”

“Yes. I've got it." Rayna nodded. When she made it to the restroom, she added sheepishly, “I... need to use the washroom.”

Jensen frowned at those words and. as if regaining his composure, assented. "All right. The toilet is to your right upon entering.”

Though Rayna knew it was out of liis good intentions that he had informed her in great detail, she flushed while feeling her way into the bathroom. After locking the door, she searched for the toilet according to his instructions.

The man was nowhere to be found when Rayna returned to the bedroom soon after. After calling his name softly from the door and receiving no reply, she made her way back to the bed based on the memory of the route he had taken her through earlier.

I do not know how long it has been since I left the hotel, nor do I know if Curtis would be able to find me as he did in Yartran. The only thing I can do is protect myself as well as I can and wait patiently.

Curtis stood before the suiveillance cameras in the hotel's central security room and watched the feed, did not even blink lest he missed something important.

Robin, too. stared at the screen, but he never caught the moment Rayna was brought out of the hotel.

"How could this be?” Curtis had gone through all the suiveillance footage of that day. All the clips were stacked together chronologically for that entire day. but there was no trace of Rayna or even a snippet of her being brought out of the hotel.

“We've seen it. Mi*. Faymon. The suiveillance footage indicated that after you departed from the suite you shared with Mrs. Faymon. the door has only been opened once by your bodyguard. It has not been opened after that, and nobody was seen coming out of there.” the hotel manager explained to Curtis.

When Curtis sent word to the hotel manager that he wished to obtain the suiveillance footage, the latter had watched the clips and was confident that nobody had entered Curtis and Rayna's suite, much less evidence of her kidnapping.

Though the hotel manager. Channing Lee. was aware of the prestige of Curtis' status, the hotel was not the property of Faymon Group, nor was his employer Curtis. That was why his first reaction was to

assume that Curtis had made up a story for he was convinced that Rayna had not left the room nor had any outsiders entered.

However. Channing could not yet explain why Curtis would come up with such a lie. As he was certain that the hotel had fulfilled its obligations, he appeared exceedingly taciturn in his responses.