Chapter 8

Noelle was led to a bungee platform at the mountaintop. The tower rose over 300 feet, and the cliff yawned beneath her feet. The second she stepped onto it, her face went chalk-white, and her legs started to shake.

Chester's and Simon's expressions remained icy. They took the safety locks from the staff and personally buckled them on her, forcing her to the edge of the jump platform.

Noelle stared into the abyss below, her whole body going rigid. All she could hear was the thundering of her own heartbeat. Her voice trembled. "Chester, you know I'm terrified of heights…"

"I know." He looked at her without a flicker of emotion. "Since you tried to push Winona out the window, I'll give you a taste of what it's like to fall. This is the punishment you deserve, Elle. The lady of the Gray household can't be a vicious woman. Learn your lesson today. If you're sincere about correcting your errors, we'll get married as planned."

Simon pressed his lips into a hard line, his gaze clouded over. "Don't be scared. You won't die."

With that, they reached out and shoved her over the edge.

The brutal drop seized her. Noelle's heartbeat stopped for a few seconds, and her chest ached. Terror beyond words sealed her throat; she couldn't even scream. All that came out were strangled whimpers and tears that scattered in the wind.

Her eyes held nothing but desolation and despair.

She was left hanging upside down over the cliff for half an hour. Only when her breathing faltered and her consciousness began to fray did they haul her back up.

Noelle collapsed on the platform, gasping for air, trying to ease the tingling in her limbs from lack of oxygen. The next second, a staff member stepped forward. "Ms. Rutherford, before Mr. Chester and Mr. Simon left, they ordered that you had to jump ten times before you could leave."

Noelle hadn't even processed the words when she was pushed off again. Once, twice, thrice…

Each time, she was left dangling over the cliff for half an hour. The brief breaks in between didn't ease the oxygen deprivation. As Noelle's mind grew fuzzier, the ten jumps were finally over.

The sky was already pitch-black. The platform's harsh white floodlights were all that held Noelle's last scraps of awareness.

Only one staff member remained on-site. He unfastened her safety rope. As he turned to leave, his pant leg was grabbed.

"Take me… to the hospital…" Noelle's voice was barely more than a whisper. It spent the last drop of her strength.

The staff member shook his head. "I'm sorry, Ms. Rutherford. Mr. Chester and Mr. Simon made it clear that no one is to help you. The Gray family owns this area, and I don't want to lose my job."

He left.

The glare of the floodlights stung Noelle's eyes, making tears slip down her face. She rested there for a while before forcing herself to stand and make her way down the mountain.

She was halfway down it when she came across a kind tourist who was also on the way back. They brought her back to the city.

Noelle didn't go back to the villa. Instead, she went straight to the hospital and, with a flashlight, started searching the lawn beneath the inpatient department for the necklace.

The branches in the hedges scraped her skin, and mosquitoes bit her until she was covered in welts. However, she didn't seem to notice. She combed the grass inch by inch.

As time dragged on, she grew more frantic. Tears shimmered in her bloodshot eyes.

Suddenly, a shout came from behind her. "Who are you? What do you think you're doing?"

It was a hospital security guard. With his help, she found the cleaner in charge of the lawn. "Yeah, I did notice a necklace. I figured nobody wanted it and tossed it into the trash."

Noelle pressed, "Which trash can?"

The cleaner shook his head. "It's already been cleared and sent to the dump. I'm afraid you won't be able to find it, even if you want it now."

Noelle's tears fell at once. "Which dump? That necklace is very important to me. I have to get it back!"