Chapter 23

Sena was left stunned. Throughout her life, she had been doted on and hardly ever heard a harsh word, let alone get slapped. “Evelyn, how dare you slap me!”
Furious, Sena raised her hand to slap back. But her hand had barely lifted when Evelyn caught it.
Evelyn stared at Sena, her gaze fierce, as if she was about to kill. “Sena, if I hear any more insults about Charlie from your mouth, I’ll tear it apart!”
Sena was intimidated by the chilling aura emanating from Evelyn. Frightened, she instinctively took a step back.
Evelyn didn’t want to stay a second longer. Sena’s insults towards Charlie and Charles’ indifference chilled her heart.
“Charles…” As soon as Evelyn left, Sena immediately turned to Charles, crying.
“Slap!”
Charles raised his hand and slapped Sena. It was a fierce slap. Sena staggered a few steps, but still couldn’t stand firmly, and fell to the ground.
She stared at Charles in disbelief. “Charles, did you just hit me?”
She had been with her mother at the Jenkins family since she was four. The Jenkins family had no daughters, and her uncle had always treated her as his own. In the entire Jenkins family, Sena was treated as the princess. Although Charles didn’t spoil her like the others, he had never laid a finger on her.
“Charles.” Dahlia exclaimed. She hurriedly got up from the couch, walked swiftly to Sena, helped her up, and stood in front of her.
Charles watched Sena coldly. “Charlie is my daughter. If this happens next time…”
He didn’t finish his sentence, but it made Sena shiver.
Charles left.
Sena stood there, tears hanging in her eyes, completely dumbfounded. Didn’t Charles hate Evelyn and her daughter? Why was he so angry?
“Sena, Charlie is Charles’ daughter, after all. When you insult Charlie, aren’t you insulting Charles?” Dahlia helped Sena to sit down, but her tone was helpless.
Sena knew her brother, who despised Evelyn so much, never cared about her and her child!
…
Evelyn left the hospital, noticing several missed calls from Adam on her phone and messages of concern.
She returned Adam’s call, and spoke to him briefly before hanging up.
It was about an hour from the hospital to Maple Garden. When she got to the station, it was almost ten o’clock.
Evelyn exited the subway station, sent a message to Adam to let him know she was safe, then put her phone in her bag and walked home.
As she was passing an alley, suddenly, a large hand stretched out, covered her mouth, and dragged her deeper into the alley.
Evelyn’s complexion changed instantly. “Mmm…”
She struggled fiercely, but the man was too strong, and she couldn’t break free.
Evelyn quickly calmed herself down, remembering the pepper spray she had bought specifically for Charles a few days ago. She managed to grab it and, seizing a moment when the man behind her was off guard, sprayed it into his eyes. “Ah!” The man cried out in pain, releasing his grip on Evelyn.
Evelyn took the opportunity to break free and started running.
“Help!”
While running, she screamed at the top of her lungs.
However, this was an old residential area. It was sparsely populated, and no one heard Evelyn’s cries for help.
She ran as fast as she could. The entrance of the alley was getting closer, but in her panic, she twisted her ankle, stumbling and falling to the ground.
Pain surged through her. Her leg was cut by something. Ignoring the pain, she tried to get up and continue to escape.
“Trying to run?”
Suddenly, her hair was yanked back, and a sinister voice sounded above her head.