Save Myself From Desperation novel Chapter 285

Miranda was startled. In the middle of the night, several tough-looking strange men with tattoos and gold chains lingered outside the apartment building. Each one looked fierce and formidable, clearly not someone to be trifled with.

Fearful of attracting unnecessary trouble, Miranda didn't linger. She just wanted to hurry upstairs and get home.

Strangely, the security personnel on duty at the apartment building were nowhere to be found today.

The entire first-floor lobby was eerily quiet.

As Miranda took a few steps inside, she heard footsteps behind her. Unsure if those unfamiliar men were following her, her scalp tingled with fear. Her heart raced, and without looking back, she sprinted toward the direction of the elevator.

However, before reaching the elevator, a robust arm grabbed her shoulder from behind, and immediately, her mouth and nose were covered with a damp cloth.

Miranda couldn't struggle in time and lost consciousness.

*****

"Another headache?" Ashley reached out to massage Valentin's temples at Kingsley Villa. Feeling uneasy, she wondered when his lingering headaches would finally subside.

Medication didn't seem to be very effective.

"Don't worry, it's much better now," Valentin reassured her, unwilling to let her feel anxious.

"Don't lie to me. Let me take a look." Ashley carefully examined his complexion, sensing that he was still uncomfortable. She wished she could endure those headaches on his behalf.

Gently massaging his temples for a while and seeing a slight improvement in his expression, Ashley guessed the headache had eased a bit. She was slightly relieved.

But an uneasy feeling lingered.

Soon after, Ashley's phone rang. Checking it, she saw an unfamiliar number calling.

Her brows furrowed instantly. Ashley had developed a conditioned response to unfamiliar numbers, associating them with annoyance.

She swore never to answer such calls again if it was another issue with the Ramos family.

With a sense of irritation, Ashley answered the phone.

A tense and nervous male voice came through. "Ashley, your friend Miranda is in trouble!"

Ashley was surprised. Frankie? It was his voice.

The long-missing Frankie was calling. What was going on?

"You're saying Miranda is in trouble?" Ashley's gaze instantly turned sharp, choosing to believe there was a problem rather than dismissing it.

"Ashley, please don't hang up on me!" Frankie, who hadn't spoken to Ashley in a long time, afraid of being rejected, nervously said, "Ashley, I'm not lying to you. My disappearance before was intentional. I didn't go missing. I've been hiding in the shadows, observing my family's situation, trying to figure out some things.

"In the past few days, I've noticed something about my father..." Frankie hesitated at this point, quickly changing his wording. "These days, I've observed that Evan is acting strangely. He's been secretly contacting several wanted fugitives, seemingly up to something. I didn't understand at first, but today, I found out that Evan had those fugitives sneak into your friend Miranda's residence, and they took her away. Ashley, believe me, I'm not lying to you!"

In these past few days, Frankie had been lurking in the shadows, secretly keeping an eye on the Ramos family and racking his brains on how to beg for Ashley's forgiveness. Sometimes, unable to resist the urge, overwhelmed by his longing for Ashley, he would use an unfamiliar number to call her.

Even if the call went through, he didn't dare to speak. It was as if he were a rat hiding in the shadows, afraid of being exposed, only daring to listen to Ashley's voice secretly, and that was enough.

Initially, the fact that Miranda was taken away had nothing to do with him, and he didn't care about her.

But upon second thought, Miranda was Ashley's friend. If something happened to her, Ashley would be upset. So, when the call was connected this time, Frankie didn't remain silent. Instead, he took the initiative to speak and explained the situation.