Stolen Freedom

Evening had fallen.Hua Li pushed open the gate of her house, stepping into a chilling stillness that immediately unsettled her. The warmth of the setting sun did nothing to calm the icy dread slowly building inside her. As her eyes scanned the scene before her, she froze in shock.

The entire house had been ransacked. Items from the shelves lay scattered across the floor, broken kitchen utensils littered the ground, and the sofas and chairs were overturned as if a storm had torn through her home.

Her breath caught in her throat. Someone had been here in her absence—there was no doubt.

"How did they find me?" she thought, panic rising in her chest. She had been careful, leaving no trace. Or so she had thought.

She rushed up the stairs, two at a time, her heartbeat echoing in her ears. The sight of chaos greeted her in every room—torn papers, broken frames, clothes tossed carelessly from closets.

As she entered her bedroom, dread tightened its grip on her. Her hand rested on the doorframe as she stared at the mess, knowing what was coming. She had always prepared for this moment but had hoped it would never come.

With trembling hands, she moved to the wardrobe, pulling out a small bag. She hastily stuffed it with clothes, cash, and a passport, her mind racing. Where can I go? Will I make it in time?

Her fingers lingered over a drawer she hadn't opened in years. For a moment, she hesitated. Her pulse pounded, and fear clouded her mind, but survival instincts took over. She opened it.

Inside lay a 9mm gun.

She stared at it, her reflection barely visible on its polished surface. For a brief second, memories of her past flooded back—memories she had fought hard to bury. But now, those memories were clawing their way to the surface, threatening to drown her.

No time for this, she scolded herself silently, placing the gun into the bag.

She took a deep breath. Her heart pounded painfully against her ribs, but she steeled herself for what she knew was coming. They were close. Too close.

Just as Hua Li opened the gate to leave, her worst fears materialized. There they were—two men standing ominously at the entrance, their dark figures blending into the fading light of dusk.

Panic surged through her veins, making her legs feel like lead. She took a step back, her mind screaming at her to run, but before she could react, they moved. One man lunged forward, grabbing her arm in a steel grip.

"Let me go!" she shouted, thrashing in his hold. Her voice cracked with fear, but she refused to give in. She swung her arm wildly, her nails scratching at the man's face.

"Stubborn as ever," the man hissed through gritted teeth.

Before she could process what was happening, the second man struck her hard across the head. Pain exploded in her skull, and she gasped, the world tilting on its axis. She felt the warm trickle of blood down her face as her vision blurred.

Her legs buckled beneath her, and she collapsed to the ground, her body growing heavy. Darkness crept in, and her consciousness began to fade. Her last thought before everything went black: Is this the end? Will I ever see Xin Yi again?

***

Yi Chen sat at his desk, the soft glow from the lamp barely illuminating the spacious office. Shadows stretched along the walls like silent spectators to his isolation. The file in his hands felt heavy, but his mind was elsewhere, tangled in the cobwebs of his thoughts. This company, this empire—his grandfather's legacy—had been passed down like a family heirloom, but to Yi Chen, it felt more like a cage. The name he carried, the weight of the expectations, the unspoken pressure, all felt suffocating.

His eyes skimmed over the papers, but the words meant nothing. His role here was little more than symbolic. His father and half-brother, Tai Jun, controlled everything. The boardroom meetings, the deals, the whispers—they all gravitated towards Tai Jun, leaving Yi Chen in the shadow. He wasn't blind to the dismissive glances, the carefully curated smiles that vanished the moment his back was turned. To them, he was a figurehead, a name with no power.

He let out a slow breath, trying to push down the bitterness swelling inside him. The bitterness that gnawed at him every day.

The soft knock at his office door was like a pin-drop in the quiet tension. His secretary stepped in, her face betraying none of the unease she probably felt walking into the storm of her boss's mood. "Boss, here's this month's marketing plan," she said, placing the folder neatly on the edge of his desk.

Yi Chen didn't look up. His voice was cool, emotionless, "Leave it there."

The silence that followed her swift exit only amplified the ticking of the clock on the wall. Yi Chen leaned back in his leather chair, running a hand through his perfectly styled hair. Frustration prickled at him, relentless. He couldn't remember the last time he felt in control—real control. Not this façade of authority they allowed him to wear, but actual power. That belonged to Tai Jun, and the board knew it. The silent stares, the whispered conversations behind closed doors—it was all a game to them, and Yi Chen was tired of playing.

He reached for the glass of water on his desk, Just then, his phone rang, the sudden sound sharp in the still room. He glanced at the screen, the name flashing there instantly pulling him back into the present. He picked up the phone and answered, his voice clipped. "What is it?"

"Boss, we've located the actress," the voice on the other end said, urgent, but professional.

Yi Chen's expression darkened immediately. His grip on the phone tightened, fingers turning white against the polished surface. *Finally.* The words hung unspoken on his lips. His entire body tensed as he leaned forward in his chair, elbows resting on the desk.

"Where?" he demanded, his voice low and dangerously controlled.

"She activated her phone today. We tracked it—she's in the capital, on the island."

For a moment, the only sound was his breathing, slow and deliberate. The tension crackled like a live wire through the air. Yi Chen's eyes narrowed as he stared out the window into the sprawling cityscape.

"Send me her location immediately," he commanded, his voice icy, before abruptly ending the call.

He slammed the phone down onto the desk with a force that rattled the nearby pens. The silence that followed was deafening. His reflection in the glass was a distorted version of himself—jaw clenched, brows furrowed, and an expression of cold fury carved onto his face.

For too long, this actress had been a thorn in his side, her presence an embarrassing blemish on his already fragile reputation. It was because of her that his standing in the company had further diminished. The boardroom jokes, the media's ridicule, the whispers of his incompetence—she was at the root of it all. The scandals, the gossip, it had all spiraled out of control.

Yi Chen rose from his chair, pacing across the room like a predator. His hand twitched as if longing to crush something in his grip. His mind raced with plans, contingencies. *I'll make her regret ever crossing me.* His heart pounded in sync with his footsteps, the anger seething beneath his cool exterior.

****

The seaside town was alive with energy as the students enjoyed their carefree day by the shore. The sun was setting, casting a golden glow over the ocean, and the sound of laughter filled the air. Some students played volleyball, while others took pictures, capturing moments they would later look back on fondly.

But Xin Yi's heart wasn't in it.

She stood by the water, her phone in hand, staring at the screen with increasing worry. "Mei," she called out to her friend, her voice shaky, "my mom still isn't answering her phone."

Mei, who had been laughing with a group of friends, turned to her, her smile fading when she saw the concern on Xin Yi's face. "Maybe she's just busy," Mei said, walking over. "She's a nurse, right? She's probably caught up with work at the clinic."

Xin Yi shook her head, her fingers hovering over the call button again. "No, Mei, you don't understand. My mom always answers. Even when she's busy. She never ignores my calls."

Mei placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Look, I'm sure it's nothing. Maybe her phone's dead, or she's in a meeting. Don't jump to conclusions, okay?"

Despite her friend's words, Xin Yi couldn't shake the gnawing sense of dread that had taken root in her chest. Something didn't feel right.

"Maybe," she whispered, biting her lip as she stared out at the horizon, the waves lapping gently at the shore. But her heart told her otherwise. Something's wrong, she thought, clutching the phone tightly in her hand.