The ones waiting in ambush for Wendy were none other than Chester and Parker.

After failing to capture her the previous night, they had kept constant watch on her movements, monitoring the apartment building she lived in almost around the clock.

They originally assumed she would stay hidden for a while after what happened. Unexpectedly, by the very next day, she was already heading out again.

They had to admit it––this woman’s psychological resilience was terrifyingly strong. She had killed two men just yesterday, yet today she behaved as though nothing had happened.

The moment they saw Wendy board her assault boat, Parker immediately ordered his men to position themselves near the exit of Starlight Towers.

This time, he intended to participate personally. No matter what, they had to capture Wendy.

Old grudges and new debts would all be settled together. They wanted revenge for the two dead brothers, and they also intended to help Vanessa teach Wendy a lesson.

As for what they would do with her afterward...that could be decided later.

"She’s heading this way now."

Standing on the balcony, Chester lowered his binoculars and called toward the room behind him. "We should move too."

Parker nodded and strode toward the door without hesitation.

Vanessa quickly stood up. "I’ll come with you."

"No need. Stay home and wait for me." Parker waved her off before shooting Chester a sharp look. "Hurry up."

Chester set the binoculars aside and followed him out.

Vanessa watched the two men, clearly wanting to say something, but under Parker’s stern gaze, she could only force herself to nod reluctantly.

"Alright...I’ll wait for you here. Be careful. You have to come back safely. Watch out for that woman."

Her worried tone softened Parker’s expression instantly. "Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing."

Before leaving, he pulled her into a brief embrace. "I’ll be back."

The door shut behind them. Their footsteps gradually faded down the corridor.

The warmth vanished from Parker’s face almost immediately, replaced by a cold, twisted smile.

Her fingers tightened around the edge of the sofa as excitement flickered in her eyes. She firmly believed their failure last time had been nothing more than bad luck. Perhaps Chester and the others had underestimated Wendy.

But this time was different. This time, even Parker was personally involved. There was no way Wendy could escape again.

Vanessa had seen Parker’s methods before. She trusted his abilities completely. The man was ruthless, capable, and backed by plenty of loyal men. There was no way Wendy could break through all of them with a single lousy assault boat.

***

Downstairs, near the residential entrance, Parker’s group had already finished preparing the trap.

They had even set up a blockade across the exit route, stretching heavy ropes across the water to intercept Wendy’s assault boat.

The plan was simple: once her boat hit the barrier, they would immediately seize her.

The exit was fairly close to Parker’s apartment building, so by the time he and Chester arrived downstairs, Wendy had not yet appeared.

"Parker. Chester." The men stationed there greeted them immediately.

Parker scanned the setup. "How are preparations?"

One of the younger men quickly replied, "Everything’s ready. We’re just waiting for her to arrive."

Parker nodded. "When’s she supposed to get here?"

Wendy was taking much longer than they had expected.

"She should be here any minute now," one of the younger men muttered as he lifted his binoculars and scanned the waterway in Wendy’s direction.

A few seconds later, he spotted a black assault boat cutting across the water.

"Look, she’s coming!"

The atmosphere instantly tightened.

"Everyone, get into position," Parker ordered sharply.

The group immediately scattered to their designated spots, every single one of them brimming with confidence. This time, they were certain they would succeed.

Hidden in the shadows, they watched Wendy’s boat approach.

Meanwhile, Wendy remained completely unaware that danger was waiting for her.

Below the dark surface of the water, a long rope swayed silently.

The moment her assault boat reached the trap zone, the men stationed on both sides pulled upward in perfect coordination, trying to lift the rope high enough to intercept the boat.

"Hah!"

But... Instead of being caught and stopped like they expected, Wendy’s assault boat glided straight through the area without the slightest obstruction and sped smoothly out of Starlight Towers.

Wendy herself did not even realize anything had happened.

Everyone watching froze in disbelief. The men holding the rope continued pulling frantically, their faces growing paler by the second.

Parker’s expression darkened immediately. "This is what you call prepared?"

The man responsible for the rope looked mortified, not even daring to meet Parker’s eyes.

Lowering his head, he stammered weakly, "B-Bro...the rope snapped."

That only made Parker angrier.

"Are you kidding me? The rope broke? You tried to stop an assault boat with some cheap garbage rope?"

The man hurriedly tried to defend himself. "I used an extremely thick rope! I don’t know how it snapped!"

He quickly pulled up the severed rope to show him. To make sure the trap worked, he had twisted together five or six heavy ropes into a single reinforced line. Under normal circumstances, it should have been more than enough to stop a speeding assault boat. Yet somehow, it had still snapped apart.

It felt downright supernatural.

The moment Parker saw the rope, even his expression shifted.

The thing was absurdly thick. Logically speaking, there was no way it should have broken so easily.

"How did it snap?" he demanded.

The man looked close to tears.

"I-I don’t know! It was perfectly fine when we lowered it into the water..."

Standing nearby, Chester remained silent, though his expression had become increasingly dark.

That unsettling sense of wrongness rose inside him again.

Suddenly, he remembered what had happened the last time they tried to deal with Wendy. Back then, too, bizarre accidents and inexplicable bad luck had happened one after another. And now the same thing was happening again.

It was too much of a coincidence.

Chester kept his suspicions to himself, saying nothing.

The man glanced nervously toward Wendy’s rapidly disappearing boat.

"So...what do we do now?"

"What else can we do? Chase her!"