Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed

Chapter 834
Kathleen froze, every muscle locking up as if she'd seen a ghost. Her lips
trembled. "You... you..."
Did she remember?
Did she remember the kidnapping?
No-
Kathleen couldn't let herself think about what came after that.
But Madge saw right through the fear and panic in her eyes, letting out a bitter laugh. “So it's true. You made that noise on
purpose. You wanted the kidnappers
to come after me. You- you wanted them to catch me instead!"
Years ago, the two of them had gone out shopping and ended up being kidnapped.
Their wrists and ankles had been bound, and they were taken to the outskirts of the city, dumped in an abandoned factory. It
must have been a spur-of-the- moment crime. The men wanted something more than money.
When they went after Kathleen first, Madge had stepped up, desperately revealing her family background to protect her.
She'd pulled out the platinum credit card and a wad of cash from her purse, along with her ID-anything to convince the
kidnappers that she was the one worth a fortune.
As for Kathleen...

"Don't let her clothes fool you-she's just the help. Everything she's wearing, everything she carries, it's all hand-me-downs from
me. She's only here today to carry my bags. What's the point in bothering with her? If you want ransom, call my family. Five
hundred thousand? A million? Name your price!"
Madge had lifted her chin as she spoke, her eyes cold, every inch the entitled heiress she'd been raised to be.
The kidnappers bought it.

Relief washed over Madge. She didn't notice the shame and fury flickering in Kathleen's eyes from her place in the corner,
clothes torn, pride shredded. The help?
To Madge, she was just a servant?
How laughable.
While the men argued over ransom demands, Madge had already started working
at the knots with a shard of glass she'd hidden in her hand.
When night fell and the kidnappers finally nodded off, she quietly freed herself,
then shook Kathleen awake and untied her as well.
The sisters slipped out into the darkness, escaping the warehouse and disappearing into the night.
But the kidnappers realized they were missing before long and gave chase.
Madge pulled Kathleen along, running for their lives, and asked her for a phone to call the police.
Her own phone was long gone, taken with her purse.
Kathleen's had been confiscated too, but Madge remembered she always carried
a backup. That's why she asked.

But Kathleen said she hadn't brought it that day.
Madge didn't waste time arguing. She just dragged Kathleen with her, heading for the woods.
It was late, the middle of
nowhere-no use running for the main road. Even if they found someone, would anyone have dared to help? The kidnappers
were armed, outnumbered them. You couldn't blame a stranger for thinking twice.
So Madge decided their best chance was to hide deep in the woods.

There weren't enough kidnappers to search the whole forest. If they hid well enough, a day or two would be all men would give
up
it
and believe they'd vanished.
Then, when it was safe, they could come out. They'd be free.
Everything went according to Madge's plan.
Just before dawn, she found a
hollow at the base of a thicket, probably an old animal burrow just
big enough for someone to curl
inside, head poking out.
Kathleen, panicked, whispered, "What about you, Madge? Where will you go?"
Madge pointed to a pair of boulders nearby. There was a crack between them, just wide enough for her slender frame.
From that distance, the sisters would be able to see each other, close enough to keep watch.
Soon, the kidnappers arrived, searching the area. Finding nothing, they cursed and prepared to leave.
Madge could almost taste victory, about to breathe a sigh of relief when a faint noise caught the kidnappers' attention.
They doubled back. Just like that, Madge was discovered.
Panic hit her like a tidal wave. She bolted, running blind through the brush, but one of the men caught her and slapped her twice
across the face.