“Uncle Bowen, something’s off with Muhree,” Alvin said.

Bowen closed his eyes briefly. “Keep Aubree safe,” he ordered.

Aubree was completely numb to her surroundings now, her vacant eyes fixed on the pool of blood on the ground. Aber es lifetime: "Healed someone," she thought, stunned.

The thought haunted her. Just as she was on the verge of breaking down, someone draped a suit jacket over her head. The metallic tang of blood in her nose faded, replaced by a scent she knew all too well.

“Bowen, killed someone?” Aubree sobbed uncontrollably, her voice breaking with panic.

“No, he’s not dead,” Bowen replied, his unwavering certainty instantly bringing her a sense of relief.

Bowen added, “Don’t think about a thing now. I’ll handle everything.”

Aubree’s taut nerves suddenly relaxed, her body going limp as she collapsed into unconsciousness.

They had a few minutes of relief before their scalps prickled with dread.

Bowen had Aubree and Isla sent to the hospital for examination. As for the three thugs, they barely breathed.

Bowen fixed his murderous gaze on them. They didn’t doubt for a second that he truly wanted them dead. A shiver ran down their spines. Who are the real desperadoes here? they wondered in terror. Us, or this usually so refined and respectable Mr. Turner?

Alvin knew what his uncle was planning. “I’ll post some men at the entrance. Make it quick. The cops are almost here.”

Bowen grunted in response. With deliberate, unhurried movements, he pulled at his tie and undid his cufflinks. Under the stark garage lights, he had an incredibly menacing aura.

The three men, forced to crouch on the ground with their calves trembling uncontrollably, were already starting to regret taking this job.

“What exactly did you guys do?” Bowen rolled his wrists as he asked, his unnervingly casual tone sending a chill through the room.

“W-we didn’t do anything, I swear," one of the thugs stammered.

Ethan was about to say, “Maybe we should check the surveillance footage,” but the words died in his throat because Bowen had already sprung into action.

Bowen moved lightning fast, grabbing the nearest thug by the throat and lifting him clean off the ground. His crushing grip cut off the man’s air supply like a death sentence, and within moments, the thug’s face turned purple from lack of oxygen. “Not talking, huh?” Bowen asked coldly.

“P-please, spare us! W–we’re just hired hands. We only meant to kidnap her,” the man replied, voice trembling with fear.

“Is that so?” Bowen cocked his head. “I don’t buy it. If all you wanted was to kidnap her, why was she so terrified she fought you tooth and nail?”

Bowen thought coldly. “If these bastards hadn’t revealed their sick intention to assault her, Aubree wouldn’t have fought back so desperately, for her safety and to protect Isla. She’d already called the police and alerted others anyway. She could’ve just waited calmly for backup.”

The man’s face went white. Being the closest to Bowen, he felt the full, chilling intensity of Bowen’s rage.

The other thugs, pressed down by Ethan and his men, trembled uncontrollably, their teeth chattering in terror, too frightened to speak.

Bowen’s lips twisted into a sinister smile. “Still not talking?”

His other hand loosened for a split second, then clenched tight as he drove his fist straight into the man’s face.

The man choked on a cry of animal pain.

"His neck just seized on-"

"I tell you! We were just overcome with lust the moment we saw her."

Bowen didn’t need to hear the rest. It lined up with his thoughts.

This brutal kick sent the man sprawling across the floor there, gasping for breath, knee.

Bowen fired them with a cold stare. “Are you going to tell me yourselves, or do I have to make you?”

With the brutal lesson of their comrade’s fate still fresh in their minds and surrounded by Breen’s men, one of them blurted out, “It was the Timberlake family! They sent us. Gareth asked us to kidnap Aubree."

Bowen let out a cold, mocking laugh. “Well, isn’t that just perfect? If the Timberlake family - "

“Drag them aside and teach them a lesson. Then, hand them over when the cops arrive," Bowen ordered.

Before they had a chance to plead for mercy, Ethan and his men, quick as a flash, clapped hands.