Chapter 22
Joanna had skipped her usual afternoon nap. Hence, she dozed off on the car journey back without realizing it.
She wasn’t sure how long she’d been asleep when a sudden jolt startled her awake.
Fortunately, she was wearing her seatbelt. The impact from the emergency brake flung her body forward, but it was quickly restrained. She was unharmed.
Dominic, equally shaken, turned back anxiously. “Ms. Thompson, are you okay?”
Joanna took a deep breath and nodded. “What’s going on?”
“A woman suddenly ran out into the street! She scared me half to death,” he said, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
Just as he finished speaking, a woman with long, messy hair appeared in front of the car. She clutched the hood, trying to stand with much difficulty.
She looked to be injured.
Joanna furrowed her brow. At the speed of light, she unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door to get out.
Seeing the woman up ahead, Dominic hurriedly got out as well.
“Hello, are you okay? Where are you hurt?”
Joanna walked briskly toward the woman, who was hunched over in pain. She reached out to support her.
The woman lifted her head to glance at Joanna. Just as she was about to shake her head, a noise behind them caught her attention.
Frightened, she flinched violently and turned to look back. Her expression was full of fear.
Whatever she saw must have terrified her. She instantly spun back around and grabbed Joanna’s arm in desperation. “Help me, please, Can you please help me?” she pleaded.
Joanna assumed she was injured and frantically nodded. “Alright. Get in the car. We’ll take you to the hospital right away.”
“Okay.” The woman returned a firm nod. The panic in her eyes hadn’t diminished at all.
Joanna helped the woman toward the car, but she clumsily climbed in herself, urging as she did so, “Hurry, please hurry!”
Once Joanna returned to her seat, the woman turned to Dominic, pleading, “Please, just drive.”
Ill at ease, she kept glancing out the window, unging him on. Dominic, thinking he might have injured her, panicked and quickly drove off.
Joanna traced the woman’s gaze out the car window and spotted a man and a woman chasing after them on foot. Looking back at the agitated woman beside her, she realized something was amiss.
“Are they after you?” Joanna asked her.
The woman froze at the question and snapped her head toward Joanna. Her terrified eyes studied her face.
At the same time, Joanna took a closer look at the woman.
She seemed young, likely in her early 20s. She was dressed plainly, but it was clear that she had been subjected to abuse.
Her face was pale, and the exposed parts of her skin bore visible marks of mistreatment.
eyes were slightly sunken, the whites of her eyes bloodshot. The dark circles under her eyes were starkly prominent.
Here
The woman hesitated for a moment before cautiously speaking. “You’re a good person, aren’t you? Can you help me?”
Joanna was gorgeous. Her delicate oval–shaped face was framed by sharp eyebrows, large expressive eyes, and a perfectly defined nose. She had the kind of striking beauty that could be intimidating, but her eyes were limpid and sincere. They glittered like countless shards of diamonds–bright and captivating.
Gazing into Joanna’s eyes, the woman recalled how she had voluntarily offered help. She felt certain that she was trustworthy.
“I’m willing to help,” Joanna began with a friendly smile. “But you must first tell me what’s going on.”
Hearing this, the woman grew emotional and grasped Joanna’s hands. Fighting back tears, she choked, “My mother and brother are forcing me to donate my uterus. I refused, so they beat me. They’re planning to drug me and take me to the hospital.”
Chapter 25
