Chapter 193

After hearing what the man said, Serena swallowed hard, a heavy feeling sinking in her chest. So it really was some remote mountain area—no wonder he never bothered gagging her. Screaming for help here was totally useless. She spent another night on edge, too scared to shut her eyes. Her mind was spinning with escape plans. No way she was just gonna sit tight. Ten billion was on the line—she had to give it a shot. Early the next morning, the man went out to buy food. Serena wriggled and scraped the ropes on her wrists against a jagged rock until they finally tore. She quickly untied her legs, crouched low, and stumbled out of the cave. Just as he'd said, a thin fog covered the forest outside, making it hard to see anything. She originally thought maybe she could start a small fire like people did in TV dramas—send up some smoke to get noticed. But clearly, that wasn’t going to work here. Beyond basic directions, she had no sense of where she was going. Still, she kept telling herself,