Chapter 590

The men heaved Sophia and Henry to the ground. "Damn, she's got curves," one muttered. "Bet she'd be a lot of fun."

"Yeah, she's amazing," another agreed.

As they spoke, a hand brushed across Sophia's body. She flinched, a soft sound escaping her lips.

"Ah," the sound spurred the drunken men on. They laughed, their gazes leering. Some reached for her clothes.

Elias watched with a faint smirk. "Get them inside first," he instructed.

The men exchanged glances, then lifted Sophia and dragged her into the house. Two hauled Henry in by his legs, with Elias following close behind.

Caspian froze. "Mr. Whitlock, you haven't paid yet!" he blurted, his voice rising in alarm. His focus on the payment code fueled his panic as he watched them dragged away.

As Caspian accessed the payment code, Elias turned and entered the villa.

Something felt wrong. Caspian hurried after him. Elias glanced back, smirking before bursting into laughter. "You want the money before I've checked the goods!" he scoffed.

Elias frowned. "What if they run off? That's thirty million dollars!"

He stepped closer, his eyes narrowing. "How about you come inside for a drink? Once I've confirmed everything's fine, I'll settle up."

Caspian hesitated, but Elias's hand clamped on his arm before he could refuse. The grip was like a vise, and Elias pulled Caspian inside.

Left alone outside, Atlas stared after them, his heart pounding. "What's going on? Should I call the police?" he mumbled, panic rising.

The situation was far from straightforward. He'd expected a simple exchange: drop them off, get the money, and leave. But Caspian was inside, and Elias hadn't paid a cent.

Desperate, Atlas scrambled into his car and locked the doors. He fumbled with his phone, trying to call home, but received no answer. The line rang endlessly before cutting off.

"Why isn't anyone picking up?" Atlas whispered, biting his lip. "Caspian said Hannah would be back soon, and the police didn't have enough evidence to hold her. So where is everyone?"

His chest tightened. He had few people to call for help.

Atlas stared at his phone, his thoughts racing. Besides Hannah, who could he contact? He muttered, "Windsor." He dialed Windsor's number, only to hear the dull tone of a switched-off phone.

As panic set in, a sharp rapping against his car window jolted him. He looked up to see Elias, an unsettling grin on his face.

"What are you doing?" Atlas demanded, fumbling with his phone. He tried calling Odalys, but she'd blocked him. Each attempt ended with a single beep.

Elias gestured towards the villa. Moments later, the car started moving. Atlas glanced in the rearview mirror; men were pushing the car towards the villa.

"What are you doing?" Atlas shouted, his voice laced with fear. No one answered.

Frantic, Atlas dialed the police. As the call connected, the car rolled through the villa gates.

"Hello, I need to report a kidnapping. A local gang has taken my brother, and they might kill us. Send help quickly—I'm at—"

A sharp crash interrupted him. Glass shards flew inward, slicing his hand. Wincing, Atlas saw Elias holding a phone, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Calling the police here? Every call you make goes straight to me," Elias said coolly. "No point wasting your breath."

He waved his phone casually. "Call whoever you like; they'll end up ringing my number anyway."

Atlas stared, his eyes wide with disbelief. The horrifying reality hit him like a stone, leaving him paralyzed with fear. His phone slipped from his hand, and his body felt weak.

"Who are you! Why are you doing this? What's the point?" Atlas shouted, his voice trembling.

Elias didn't respond immediately. He gestured, and his men rushed forward, tearing open the car door and dragging Atlas into the living room.

"Ugh!" Atlas cried as he hit the floor.

Across the room, he saw Sophia, pale, with a streak of blood near her mouth. She fixed a stern gaze on the group, demanding, "Who are you? What do you want!"

"Sophia, help me," Atlas blurted, his voice cracking with desperation and relief. His fear of her momentarily vanished; facing danger together, she was his only hope.

Sophia glanced at the motionless Henry, then at the bruised and swollen Caspian. A cold resolve hardened her expression.

Bang! The door slammed shut as Elias entered, followed by his men.

"She's a real beauty, Mr. Whitlock. How about letting us have some fun with her first?" one man suggested.

Elias shrugged. "Just don't kill her."

"Don't worry, Mr. Whitlock, I'll be gentle," the man replied, approaching Sophia with a leering grin.

Sophia was shoved to the ground. As the man lunged at her, she vomited into his mouth. He recoiled, furious, and dragged her away by the hair.

Caspian collapsed, the horrifying truth dawning on him. They were human traffickers; the posthumous marriage was a lie. They never intended to let anyone go, or pay him. Elias was a criminal, and the entire marriage story was a ploy.

"You said this was just a posthumous marriage! No harm, no killing! Why are you keeping us here?" Caspian demanded, his voice rising in anger.

"Who said anything about no harm!" Elias retorted.

Several men leered at Caspian, then lunged.

"What the hell—get off me!" Caspian shouted, fighting back as they tore at his shirt. He realized their true intentions.

"You bastards! Try that again, and you'll regret it!" His warning only spurred them on.

"Alright, we'll try it," one sneered. "This isn't our first time, after all." Caspian fought, but they wrestled him to the floor, their laughter echoing in his ears.