CHAPTER 445: IMMEDIATE PAYBACK

The next moment, the door was kicked open!

The two men leered.

A defenseless woman, drugged and locked in a room—how could they not be tempted?

Especially since Miss Nelson had told them they could do whatever they wanted, and the Hanks family would clean up afterward.

Such a golden opportunity dropped in their laps—they hadn’t hesitated to come. And now, just as Nelson had promised, Selina was sitting on the floor, seemingly unable to move.

"Miss Clark, there you are," one of the men sneered. "Pitch dark in here. We called for you—why didn’t you answer?"

One of them rubbed his hands together, eager to advance.

Selina didn’t move an inch.

Just as he lunged forward, she suddenly let out a soft laugh. "Who sent you?"

The man froze for a second, then remembered Riley’s instructions. "Hanks. Of course it was Mr. Hanks."

Selina arched an eyebrow. Did he think she was an idiot? Scott might have abducted her, but even he wouldn’t be stupid enough to hire men to assault her.

But if they were willing to admit it was Scott’s idea—perfect.

She nodded lightly. "Okay. Got it."

The man didn’t get what she meant, and he couldn’t understand why she was so calm. But whatever—there were two of them, and Selina couldn’t possibly resist—

Selina stood up and cracked her knuckles.

...

Upstairs, Logan heard a man scream. He immediately followed the sound to the doorway.

"Logan?" Selina blinked at him, as if she couldn’t believe her eyes.

He strode forward and grabbed her shoulders, inspecting her quickly. "Are you hurt?"

Selina glanced guiltily at the men bound and groaning on the floor. Then she looked back at Logan, deciding on a polite little lie. In her most fragile voice, she said, "Good thing you came just in time... or something bad might have happened. I was so scared."

Ethan, halfway up the stairs, nearly tripped. Scott hadn’t even reached the landing yet, but he heard Selina’s words and was... speechless.

Anyone listening could tell Selina was fine. But Logan’s face turned dark in an instant.

"They touched you?" he demanded coldly.

Selina sniffed dramatically. "Yeah. I mean, what could I do? I’m just a weak little woman."

The two men tied up on the floor turned beet red with rage.

Weak little woman?!

Miss Nelson had been right—Selina really was shameless. How could she say that with a straight face?

Who had been bullied here, exactly?!

Selina fluttered her lashes, voice sugary sweet. "These two said Mr. Hanks sent them to rough me up. Logan, what did I ever do to Mr. Hanks for him to treat me like this?"

Logan and Ethan immediately turned, eyes sharp and icy, pinning Scott with their glare.

Scott blinked a few times, then sputtered, "Selina, don’t lie! I invited you here as a guest—"

"Then maybe Mr. Hanks can explain," Selina cut in lazily. "Who are these two men? This is your family’s old estate. If they didn’t know you, how’d they get inside? How’d they cut the power?"

Scott froze. For a second, he looked genuinely stumped.

Logan’s voice was like a blade. "Scott."

Scott finally began to panic. Abducting Selina was one thing—but hiring thugs to assault her was something else entirely.

He’d originally planned to keep her here in relative comfort so that even if Logan got angry tomorrow, he’d see she was unharmed and let it go for the sake of family ties.

But now...

"Logan, I really don’t know who these guys are," Scott protested weakly. "I swear—I don’t know them."

Selina let out a low, chilly laugh. "Then how do you explain them naming you as the mastermind? Saying you ordered them to do it?"

Scott snapped, "How the hell should I know!"

Selina’s voice turned icy. "If you don’t know, then think about who would know. Or better yet, answer the real question: Why exactly did you insist on ’inviting’ me here today?"

Scott’s throat tightened. The answer was obvious to everyone now—it was because of Riley.

The only two people who knew Selina was locked in here were Scott and Riley.

Logan’s voice was calm, cutting. "So it wasn’t you. Was it Riley?"

"Impossible!" Scott denied instantly, without even thinking. "Riley’s kind. She didn’t even know I brought Miss Clark here. How could she possibly—"

But before he could finish, Selina let out a cold, scornful laugh.

Then—without warning—she stepped forward and slammed her fist hard into Scott’s gut.

Scott let out a strangled grunt of pain. Before he could recover, she smashed her foot into his knee. With a loud thud, he collapsed to the ground on his knees.

"Trying to talk to you nicely clearly doesn’t work, huh, Mr. Hanks?" Selina’s voice was ice. "I told you when you locked me up that you’d be sorry once I got out!"

Ethan stood there stunned at Selina’s sudden outburst. When she landed another two solid punches on Scott, he instinctively glanced at Logan. "Logan, maybe we should—" ...stop her?

But he didn’t finish. One look at Logan’s dark, frigid expression told him everything.

—They’d been lucky they got here in time. And lucky Selina knew how to fight. But what if they hadn’t?

Honestly, those hits she was giving Scott were nothing.

Selina was furious. Scott was so thick-headed he couldn’t see Riley’s crocodile tears for what they were. Calling her "pure"?

He’d locked Selina up while the entire SL partnership would have been thrown into chaos. She wasn’t going to let that slide.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. She took another step toward Scott—

But then a pair of big hands wrapped gently around her, pulling her back. A deep voice spoke beside her ear. "That’s enough."

Selina was still shaking with fury, her cheeks flushed red. She bit down on her lip hard.

Logan soothed her, brushing her hair back from her forehead. "It’s okay. Don’t hurt yourself just because you’re angry."

Ethan frowned, then gave Scott a little shove. "What are you standing there for? Apologize."

Scott, bloodied and bruised, with blood dripping from his nose, swayed for a moment before ducking his head. "Sorry."

Selina let out a cold, derisive snort.

She didn’t say whether she forgave him or not. She didn’t even bother looking at him again. "How’s the press conference?"

Logan, hearing the edge of worry in her voice, answered gently. "Mr. Brooks has it under control. He’s waiting on you. Don’t worry. We have time. Do you want to change or calm down first?"

Selina shook her head firmly. "No. Let’s just go back. Don’t keep the reporters and everyone else waiting."

Scott couldn’t quite follow their conversation. Selina... was going back to the press conference? Why?

SL’s partnership with Reid Group—what did that have to do with her?

Selina walked a few steps toward the door, then paused. She turned back toward Scott with a mocking little smile.

"Mr. Hanks, are you wondering why SL’s Mr. Brooks, Logan, and every guest and journalist are all waiting for me—this supposedly ’unimportant’ person?"