Chapter 151 - The Mastermind

When the three persons entered the room, the fate of the two men was already decided.

The moment the door was closed, their fate was already sealed on the hands of the demoness beside them. 

The damsel-in-distress unleashed her true self as she started to attack those two men in a very swift move.

It only took five seconds...yes...only five seconds to knock those two men.

One second, she pushed and shook it off the thin man's hand which was holding her, successfully escaping from his grasp.

In the next second, she picked up the torch with an electric shock effect on her pocket.

For the three seconds count, she used and swung that torch aiming the neck of the chubby man.

And at the same time, she gave the thin man a hard kick which landed on the most precious sensitive part of his body.

The chubby man immediately dropped on the floor and lost consciousness after receiving an electric shock from that torch.

On the other hand, after receiving the hard kick from Elle, the thin man fell backward slamming his body on the closed door at his back, creating a loud thud sound accompanied by his loud groan and whimper.

He was cursing under his breath as he writhed in excruciating pain. That blow was extremely painful as it hit his already hardened sensitive part.

For the four seconds count, Elle used again the torch with an electric shock to knock him down.

And in five seconds, the man fell unconscious on the floor, leaving Elle the only standing person inside that room.

After she was satisfied with the result, a sly smile crept on her beautiful face.

"Okay... I need to deal with the remaining one. Is he coming here or should I go down there?" she mumbled to herself.

"Maybe I should just wait here. James was there, I can't move freely in front of him." 

So Elle leaned on the wall with her arms crossed while waiting for her next prey.

Meanwhile, after hearing the loud thud and the voice of man groaning which was followed immediately of deafening silence, the two men downstairs were puzzled about what was happening upstairs.

Out of curiosity, the man who was watching over James stood up and decided to go upstairs and check on them.

Hearing the footsteps of the man coming towards the room, Elle let out a soft chuckle.

"Well... that's too fast. He is already coming here."

The moment he opened the door, he was shocked to see the two unconscious men lying on the floor.

Before he could further react and make a move, Elle hit him quickly using the safety torch.

Just like that, the three culprits were defeated by Elle all by herself in just a short period.

"Okay, now... it's the time to expose the mastermind behind this." Elle said as she bent down and searched something at the thin man's pocket.

Elle smiled as she found the thing she was looking for... a cellphone. Fortunately, that cellphone uses a fingerprint scanner to unlock it.

She just grabbed the hand of the unconscious man as she used his fingerprint to unlock his phone.

She scanned the phone, his phone call history, and the messages... and 'viola', she found the number of the mastermind.

Her number was saved with the name "the Actress."

Elle's frowned after seeing that title. Someone popped up in her mind... Chlarice.

"Pfft... this dumb foolish woman did not learn her lesson last time. She has the guts to attack me. Whoah, I am in awe of her dumbness, foolishness, and insecurities."

"She is not worthy of my time. Dealing with this insignificant fly, I won't do that. Should I let Charles handle this or the police?" Elle was contemplating what will be her next move.

In the meantime, Elle decided to go downstairs and help James who was still tied up on a chair.

James was astonished when he saw Elle came down alone. He gave her a questioning look since he could not talk.

'Why only Elle came down? Where are those three f*cking guys? Did they release her after assaulting her? But that was too fast.'

Seeing James's expression, she knew there were lots of things running in his mind right now and he was dying to ask her about what happened.

So the first thing she did upon reaching James, was to remove the tape on his mouth.

"Elle, are you okay? Are you hurt? What did they do to you?  I am sorry I was not able to do something."

James bombarded her with questions. His face was painted with worries and concerns.

"Before I answer your question, let me untie you first," Elle said to him softly. She was fighting the urge to laugh.

Elle noticed the red marks on James's skin caused by his struggling a while ago. Elle started to warm up towards James.

Her impression of him started to change after this incident.

'Well, James Arison... looks like he is not that bad.' She thought to herself as she continued to untie him.

The moment James was released, he immediately stood up and pulled Elle into a hug.

Elle was dumbfounded with his action. James tightened his hug around Elle's body.

She wanted to push him away but she stopped when she heard him say something.

"I am sorry Elle. I am really sorry. I was useless. I was not able to protect you. I am sorry."

James Arison apologized to her so many times. She could sense his fear, concern, and regrets from his voice.

Elle did not expect this kind of reaction from him. From this closeness, she could also feel the beating of his heart, it was beating so fast.

"Ahem... James... you are squeezing me too much. I can't breathe." Elle complained to him as she felt that James's hug tightened more.

After hearing her complaints, James released her but he was still holding her shoulders. He scanned her body from top to bottom and vice versa.

He was checking her if she was fine and she did not have any wound in her body.

This time, Elle held James's hands as she stared at him in his eyes.

"Hey, I am okay. they did not hurt me. I was able to protect myself." Elle said to assure him.

"But how?" James asked her inquisitively.

Elle picked up something from her pocket and she showed him the torch.

"Using this one. It is a safety torch with an electric shock effect. I always carry this for protection." Elle explained to him.

"When they were busy thinking their evil plan towards me a while ago, I used the opportunity to shock them and they fell unconscious right away after hitting them with this," Elle said to him proudly.

"You were able to do that?" James was in doubt.

'It looks like he is not buying my words. D*mn, I should convince him before he suspects me of anything.'

"Well, you know, I use their weakness against them. I know you are also aware of their weakness because you are also a man"

Elle leaned towards him as she whispered in his ear. "A beautiful woman like me is their weakness... I just used my charm and grabbed that opportunity to strike."

After saying that she winked at James. He was at a loss for words. Now, it really made sense to him.

He also admitted to himself that if he was in their shoes, probably he would surely fall in her charm.

'D*mn, Elle is a very smart woman, worthy of my affection. She can even protect herself.' He thought to himself as he admired the girl in front of him. 

"Okay... so what's next?" Elle asked him. Elle heaved a sigh of relief as she convinced James and it looked like he believed her.

"Okay, this time let me handle this. Let's tie those bastards upstairs and I will call for the police."

Elle just nodded in agreement. When Elle was not looking, a chilly glint flashed through James's eyes.

'Now, it is my turn. I will give those bastards the punishments they deserve.' James clenched his fists.

He could not wait to vent his furry to those bastards who tried to hurt Elle. He concealed his murderous intent from Elle as they went upstairs.

They were in the middle of restraining those men using the same ropes they used to tie Elle and James when suddenly the cellphone of the thin man started ringing.

Elle smiled as soon as she saw the caller I.D. James frowned after hearing the tone. He turned to look at Elle.

"Who's cellphone is that?" He asked her. Elle pointed the unconscious thin man. As if James realized something, he immediately snatched the phone from Elle.

He was also thinking that the one who was calling right now might be the mastermind.

James answered the phone and put it in the speaker mode. After the phone was answered, a woman's voice spoke from the other line.

"Hello... have you finished the task already? Send me the picture of her disfigured face so that I will deposit to your account now the remaining amount," she said with her excited and demanding tone.

Elle pretended to be shocked upon hearing that voice.

On the other hand, James's expression shifted from one after another as soon as he heard the familiar voice of that woman, first in disbelief, then in shock, and finally, in anger.

He was a hundred percent sure. He knew that voice. He knew that caller.

"Chlarice..." James mumbled through his gritted teeth.