Their Queen's Back - Chapter 41: Chapter 41

Emily sat quietly in the car. When she saw Jessica burst out laughing, she turned and asked curiously, "Sis, what's got you in such a good mood?"
Jessica grinned at her, her eyebrows arched with pride. "Oh, nothing—just ran into something interesting. We'll be home soon. Excited?"
Emily hung her head, her voice tinged with sulkiness. "Not really excited. There's still Sophia—didn't Dad kick her out? She said she'd never come back, so what's she doing here? That annoying pest."
Jessica ruffled Emily's hair, arching an eyebrow with a playful smile. "Don't worry," she said, "she'll probably be gone soon."
Emily's eyes lit up as she turned to Jessica, excitement in her voice. "Really? Is she leaving for good?"
Jessica's eyes held a hint of sharpness. "Barring any surprises, yes."
She had meticulously prepared a lavish "gift" for her—her only worry was that she might not be home to receive it during this time.
Emily only half understood what her sister meant, her brows furrowing in confusion.
Skye led Lauren and Rowan into a small shop on Market Street.
As soon as they stepped inside, the stench of filth assaulted their senses. The air was thick with smoke and grime, the floor pitch-black and sticky, and flies swarmed everywhere. In the center stood a battered table, surrounded by four or five people playing cards, while three others lounged nearby, chain-smoking.
Skye was clad entirely in black, her hair slicked back tightly. Her razor-sharp gaze, devoid of any warmth, swept across the scene inside like a blade.
The three chain-smoking men spotted Skye first. Their jaws nearly dropped—never in their lives had they seen a woman this stunning. For a moment, they just stared, completely mesmerized.
"Boss! Boss!" they called out urgently.
The man they called Boss—Buzz—spat in irritation, his cigarette-stained fingers still toying with the playing cards.
Buzz snapped, "What the hell are you yelling for? You scared off all my damn luck!"
Lauren spoke up, "Who's Buzz?"
At the sound of a woman's voice, the five card players froze mid-game and turned their heads in unison.
The men gaped at the three stunning women, their eyes bulging as they stared unblinkingly.
Rowan stepped forward. "Ms. Sky, we'll take it from here. You should rest."
Skye remained silent. Lauren and Rowan exchanged a quick glance, then strode purposefully toward the men.
One of the thugs barked, "Who the hell are you? What's your business here?"
Buzz was still leering with a lascivious grin, unable to get his fill, when Rowan's nunchucks came whirling through the air and smashed into his skull.
"Shit! They're here to wreck the place!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Lauren twisted his arm back with a swift, brutal motion, snapping it. Instantly, a chorus of screams filled the room.
Skye lowered her gaze, her eyes fixed on her black-gloved hand as she drew out a cigarette—unlit, for now.
"Ms. Sky, it's done," Rowan reported as he hurried over.
Skye strode in on her stiletto heels, each step landing with a muted thud against the grimy floor.
All eight men lay sprawled on the ground, helpless. Buzz had one eye gouged out, blood streaming down his face.
Skye demanded, "What exactly did you say to Sophia on the phone?"
Hearing this, Buzz instantly got it—she was here for Sophia. "Shit! Who the hell are these women? How can a bunch of chicks be this damn deadly?" he thought, a chill running down his spine.
"I—I don't know what you're talking about," Buzz stammered, his eyes darting away.
Skye's dark red lips parted. "Break his leg," she commanded coldly.
Buzz didn't even have time to protest before a sharp, agonized scream tore from his lips as his leg was snapped.
His screams died down as his leg was shattered.
The underlings who had just witnessed Buzz's leg being snapped gaped in horror, eyes bulging and bodies drenched in cold sweat.
Buzz screamed in desperation, "Okay, okay! I'll talk! I know everything!"
The thug closest to Buzz gritted his teeth and shouted desperately.
Earlier this afternoon, Buzz called Sophia and told her about how we almost messed with her back then.
He finished speaking and glanced at their faces, only to find them cold and expressionless.
His heart pounding with anxiety, Lauren felt a surge of unease. Lauren kicked him hard and snapped, "Keep talking!"
Buzz's sharp eyes caught his underling about to spill everything. With a vicious resolve, he jerked his head up and slammed it into the man's face. "Shut the fuck up, you idiot! You really think they'll let you go just because you talked?"
Buzz thought in terror, "If these women ever find out what we did to Sophia back then, we're dead men!"
The air around Skye turned icy cold, making even Rowan shudder involuntarily.
"Lauren," Skye said coolly.
Lauren pulled out a sinister-looking vial of red potion and advanced toward them, her piercing azure-blue eyes flashing with a dangerous, razor-sharp glint under the light, a chilling smirk curling at her lips.
"Don't worry," Lauren said with a chilling smile. "There's enough for everyone. Drink this, and you'll all end up in the psych ward."
Buzz's pupils dilated violently. He instinctively recoiled, but the excruciating pain kept him rooted.
Buzz screamed in terror, "No, no! Please, don't! I'll talk, I'll tell you everything!"
Buzz's back was drenched in cold sweat, his face as white as a sheet. When he saw the red potion being withdrawn, he collapsed to the ground like a pile of mud.
Buzz stammered, "A few years ago, we kidnapped Sophia. We knew she was the young miss of Hughes Corporation, but we... we didn't really do anything to her—" A sudden stab of pain cut him short.
Rowan couldn't stand Buzz's blabbering any longer. In one swift motion, he drove a knife straight through the back of Buzz's hand.
I don't think he wants to talk, Ms. Sky. Want me to finish him off?
Seeing they weren't just bluffing, the rest of the gang panicked.
Panicked, the thugs all began shouting over each other to spill the truth.
Buzz stammered, his voice shaking with fear, "We... we did things to her. We stripped her naked and tied her to a chair."
"Stun guns... sex toys... whips..." he stammered, his voice trembling.
One of the gangsters stammered, "We... we even filmed videos of her."
Linda let out a piercing cry of pain.
Skye's eyes blazed crimson as she lunged forward, mercilessly crushing Buzz's groin under her stiletto heel and grinding it in with brutal force.
Skye's voice was icy. "Hand over the video."
Buzz was writhing in excruciating pain, his only thought now was survival—everything else be damned.
"The camcorder in the cabinet! Everything's inside—all of it!"
Rowan walked over and opened the cabinet. Inside, he found it stuffed with camcorders and storage cards. Beneath them lay a thick stack of photographs—every single one a nude shot of a young girl.
No one could stay calm after witnessing this.
Rowan roared, "You filthy scumbags!"
Skye snatched the camcorder labeled with Sophia's name. Her hand trembled violently as she fumbled to turn it on. Lauren reached out, placing her hand over Skye's on the camera. Even through the glove, she could feel the shocking coldness of Ms. Sky's fingers.
"Ms. Sky, let's watch this when we get back."
Lauren thought, "If Ms. Sky watches this here, she might not be able to hold back and end up dirtying her own hands. These scumbags aren't worth her effort."
Skye's crimson eyes gradually cooled, her voice icy. "Who ordered you to kidnap Sophia?"
Buzz stammered, his voice trembling, "I-I don't know who it was. The person wore a mask and found me on a rainy night. Gave me $15,000, told me to teach Sophia a lesson. I couldn't even tell if it was a man or a woman. Then this morning, when I got home, there was $7,500 on my table, along with a note telling me to cause trouble for Sophia."
Skye turned away, her voice icy. "Lauren, make their lives a living hell."
"Understood, Ms. Sky." Lauren gave a brief nod.
As Ms. Sky's car passed a police cruiser, Rowan, at the wheel, asked, "Ms. Sky, are we heading to the hospital?"
Right.
Skye finally played the footage and saw what was inside.
Hours later
She lit a cigarette and stood outside the hospital, swallowed by the night. Her slender silhouette by the car looked especially cold and alone, the scarlet tip of her cigarette flickering intermittently in the darkness. Rowan waited silently a few steps behind her.
Rowan waited until Skye stubbed out her second cigarette before stepping forward.
"Ms. Sky, Anna says Miss Sophia is awake and wants to see you."
Skye stubbed out her cigarette. "Got it," she said, then turned and walked inside.
Each step she took into the hospital room felt like wading deeper into the rawest pain of her soul. Guilt twisted around her heart like countless black vines, choking the life out of her, then slithered down her limbs, dragging her into a seething ocean of hatred and regret.
"How dare they!" Skye clenched her fists, trembling with rage.
"How dare they! How fucking dare they!"
Skye said coldly, "Rowan, go handle this."
Rowan: "Understood, Ms. Sky."
For rough work like this, Rowan was ideal—she might not be as versatile as Lauren, but handling Richard would be a piece of cake for her.
Sophia sat quietly on the hospital bed, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees. Her porcelain face looked even paler against her dark hair, as fragile as a china doll.
At this moment, she appeared innocent and gentle, like a delicate porcelain doll that could shatter at the slightest touch.
Anna rose when she saw Skye return, politely greeted her as "Ms. Sky," then discreetly closed the door behind her as she left.
Sophia's eyes widened sharply at the sight of Skye—a commanding figure clad in black, radiating the dark majesty of a night queen.
Sophia nearly sprang out of bed in her eagerness.
Skye was at the hospital bed in a flash, and Sophia threw herself into her arms.
Sophia said, "Sis, I've missed you so much."
Sophia's silent tears streamed down her face. Lost in her thoughts, she suddenly looked up at her sister with vulnerable eyes and whispered, "Sis... I think I messed up again."
Skye lowered her gaze to meet Sophia's, pulled out a chair, and sat beside her. "Don't worry, your big sister's here—I'll make it right for you."
Sophia's face lit up with a touched smile, her almond-shaped eyes glistening with unshed tears that clung to her lashes.
Skye pulled out a tissue and gently wiped away her tears.
Sophia clung to her sister, her voice trembling. "Sis... I bit my boss, Anna. I don't know what came over me. Sis, am I... am I losing my mind?"
The last two words left her lips in a voice barely above a whisper, so soft they almost vanished into the air.
Skye heard her and, without hesitation, firmly replied, "Absolutely not. You just bit someone—just apologize, it's no big deal."