Mike reveled in her discomfort, taunting her with crude remarks.

"Eager for some fun, aren't we? You've taken nude photos before, right? You must love the attention."

He made sure his words echoed loudly, hoping to reach the ears of the woman in the room. When he received no response, he moved closer to Sarah.

As his smoky breath approached, Sarah's survival instincts ignited. Despite her gag, she yelled as loud as she could, struggling against her restraints.

Mike continued saying lewd threats to provoke her and Ariana. Slowly, Sarah realized that despite his threats, Mike was more focused on the closed door rather than acting upon his words.

"If we can't enjoy the company of both, one is better than none. Come on, let's have some fun,” Mike jeered, flashing a crude smirk. He signaled to Jack, indicating they should seize any opportunity to breach the door.

In this tense moment, Sarah realized the chilling truth - Ariana was just behind that door, and she was the primary target.

As the noises from outside reached her ears, Ariana felt a surge of anger grip her.

She trembled uncontrollably, her hands instinctively forming tight fists, with her fingernails digging into her palms.

The indignity of the situation was unbearable for anyone, let alone Sarah, who had already suffered public humiliation due to a previous scandal. The thought of reliving such an experience was simply unbearable to her.

Ariana's hand hovered over the doorknob several times, contemplating whether to intervene.

However, every time she pulled back, acknowledging that barging out would only play into the hands of the brutes outside. They were unlikely to spare Sarah, and in the end, neither of them would escape.

She needed to devise a foolproof plan. However, her strategizing was cut short by a sudden silence from outside.

Fear gripped her. Had Sarah taken drastic measures?

"I'll come out if you let her go!" Ariana blurted out, her words echoing her desperation. She pounded on the door in frustration.

Mike, reading the worry in Ariana's voice, responded with a laugh, "Oh, you'll just walk out here if we let her go? Doubt it. Open the door yourself if you don't want your friend to suffer more!”

He shared a look with Jack, who promptly tore the tape off Sarah's mouth.

"You better start convincing your friend if you don't want another scandal!”

With a fiery look in her eyes, Sarah locked her gaze with them and then shouted at the closed door, “Ignore them, Ariana! Don't—"

Her words were cut short as Jack silenced her with his hand.