Was this woman not planning to let him off the hook?

He darted into the woods, quickly disappearing into the night.

Freya pursued him closely.

She squinted around, but Steve's figure was nowhere to be seen.

At that moment, her phone rang.

She retrieved it to see Ella's name on the screen.

"Freya, Matthew is awake and insisting on seeing you!"

"Give him the phone. I want to talk to him," said Freya.

Ella agreed and handed the phone to Matthew.

A soft voice came from the other side, dispelling the fatigue from chasing Steve.

She spoke gently, "Matthew, be good. Mommy has important things to do, but will be back to accompany you soon."

"Matthew, why don't you take a nap? When you wake up, Mommy will be right beside you."

"Aunt Ella said Mommy's out there fighting monsters, but they're really scary. So be careful, Mommy!"

"I'll be a good. Hurry back and play with me, Mommy," Matthew replied obediently.

"Okay, as soon as I defeat the monsters, I'll come straight back to you."

Freya soothingly reassured him. They exchanged goodnight wishes before ending the call.

She stood in the forest and cruised, no longer seeing Steve's figure.

Tonight's assassination attempt failed.

She was so close to taking Steve's life.

She turned to leave just as a commotion erupted from ahead.

She stopped, gripped her gun hard, and slowly advanced.

From ahead, a faint light appeared in the darkness.

She could see a figure stepping into that light.

She dashed after it.

But the light went out when she arrived and the figure vanished.

There was no escape, with just trees and rocks at the foot of the mountain.

People couldn't just vanish into thin air here.

Could it be ... a secret passage?

Freya surveyed her surroundings, becoming increasingly convinced of her theory.

A person couldn't disappear here if it weren't a secret passage.

She meticulously examined the wall, searching for any unusual marks.

She tapped almost every inch of it yet found nothing unusual.

She shot the wall as she refused to give up. A loud bang echoed through the air and a door suddenly appeared before her, illuminating a light beam.

Freya was stunned.

She hadn't expected there to be hidden secrets in this forest.

She cautiously stepped into the doorway.

It was a winding path, snaking through the landscape with no end.

Freya had lost track of how far she had walked. Her feet were sore and numb before she heard the sound of wind.

She stood at the exit and stared around, too stunned to go.

She never imagined that on the other side of this mountain path, there would be a villa.

At this moment, Steve was lying inside the villa.

Just then, someone barged in and reported, "Your Highness, the woman has caught up again!"

"Damn! She's like a relentless ghost!"

Steve cursed.

The secret passage was incredibly well-concealed.

He had it specially dug when he was undercover in the Solterra, solely for escape.

He never expected this woman to be formidable, capable of discovering the passage's mechanism.

"Retreat!"

Steve roared angrily, snatching the gun from the side and embarking on another escape route.

A woman had ruined all his plans.

Steve was reluctant, but he knew he would die if he stayed.

Even though Kevin Logan was willing to work with him, the man had ulterior motives and only used him for his gain.

After Kevin had secured his gains, he would betray and eliminate everyone.

He couldn't take the risk!

Armed with all his hidden weapons, Steve left behind a trail of "gifts" and left in the dead of night.

By the time Freya arrived, the entire villa was deserted.

Once again, she was one step too late!

Freya carefully inspected the villa. Despite its modest size, the interior was lavishly decorated.

If she was correct, this should be the hiding place of the York Kingdom's people.

She walked around the villa and discovered quite a few treasures inside.

The villa's duplex layout led her to a room upstairs, where she stumbled upon a vast collection of antiques.

Little did she know that the effeminate Steve had a penchant for collecting these antiques.

Now that everyone had left, she didn't hesitate to take all these things.

Since it belongs to Steve, it wouldn't hurt to take it.

She reached out and touched a vase.

Just then, she heard a faint hissing sound coming from downstairs.

Narrowing her eyes, she turned and headed towards the stairs.

Her pupils constricted in shock.

The once-empty hall was now teeming with snakes.

All kinds of them covered the ground, even wrapping around the staircase railing.

What's more, some of them were hanging from the ceiling.

Despite her frequent interactions with animals, Freya couldn't help but feel a chill run down her spine as she watched the snakes writhe and hiss.

She still felt her scalp prickling and goosebumps rising all over her skin.

She instinctively stepped back, only to discover that the room she had just entered was now teeming with snakes.

What the hell was going on here?

Freya had no way to retreat.

Perhaps sensing the presence of a stranger, all the snakes started slithering towards her.

Freya tensed up, clutching her gun and dagger tightly.

A mysterious scent filled the air, quickly causing the snakes to slither up the stairs.

Damn it.

It must be Steve's doing!

Meanwhile, back at the villa...

Ella kept calling Freya, but the phone kept saying she was unavailable.

The memory of the previous incident sent a wave of unease through her heart.

At this point, Freya hadn't returned, so Ella was afraid that something bad had happened to her.

She also tried calling Bradley, but he didn't answer either.

Ella couldn't sleep a wink, pacing nonstop in the living room.

She waited until dawn broke, but Freya still hadn't returned.

However, Bradley did come back.

He stepped into the villa, exuding an aura of icy coldness and a faint scent of blood.

Trailing behind him were Patrick and Xavier.

It was the first time Ella had seen him since coming to Solterra.

As their eyes locked, their unspoken longing and affection were clear.

However, that wasn't the time for love talk.

Ella quickly informed Bradley about Freya's absence throughout the night.

That news made Bradley's stern face turn ominous like a thundercloud.

"She's injured. How could she move alone!"

His fists clenched tightly. He couldn't even catch his breath. He hurriedly instructed Patrick to mobilize a search party.

The entire villa panicked due to the lack of news about Freya.

Bradley personally led the search party.

Upon his return to the courtyard, he discovered a layer of dust that hinted at its long abandonment.

News of his earnest search for the missing person reached Ian Logan's ears.