She would not die on the spot, but her time was running out.

“It's a race against the clock now," the hooded guy sneered and, without waiting for Mitchel's response, ended the video call.

Silence enveloped the car.

Mitchel turned to Raegan with a serious expression.

“Raegan, I need to..."

Maybe it was because Mitchel had been so kind to Raegan recently that he thought she could understand him if he left now. However, Raegan cut him off flatly.

"Don't go."

It was not that Raegan was heartless. It was that she thought it would be better to send a professional to handle this dire situation.

Moreover, her intuition told her there was more than meets the eye.

"We can call the police and have them sort this out," Raegan reasoned.

Mitchel frowned and shot down the idea immediately.

"We can't involve the police. Lauren's safety is at stake."

Those outlaws had no conscience. Mitchel assumed he could not gamble with Lauren's life. Besides, he would pay off his debt, as long as Lauren arrived in Swynborough safely.

Seeing Mitchel still siding with Lauren, a bitter taste filled Raegan's mouth.

"Mitchel, have you considered that this whole thing might be staged?"

Raegan voiced her suspicions.

Mitchel's expression turned even grimmer, and he asked, "What are you getting at?"

Raegan laid out her observations.

"In the video, Lauren's shoes were spotless. If she was beaten up and held in some rundown warehouse, how could her shoes be so clean?"

Unlike Mitchel, she had paid close attention to the details and noticed something was amiss.