The blonde woman looked dazed, muttering to herself.
"Why did you only come now?" she murmured. "If it weren't for Homelander..."
She lost herself in the past. Half a month earlier, she had tricked a gang lackey and, full of hope, composed a plea for help and sent it to the police.
But her hopes had come to nothing as she waited day after day.
The lead officer frowned deeply. "What did you say? Who are you?"
The young officer beside him tugged his arm. "Chief, I think she's Ellie, the kidnapping victim who sent us a message asking for help."
The lead officer's eyes widened in disbelief. "You're still alive?"
Back when they received her plea, they had launched a rescue operation immediately, but the Gray River Gang was too cunning. By the time they arrived, the building was deserted.
Many of their colleagues had also died in Raymond's ambush. From then on, Ellie's rescue had reached a stalemate, and for a time, they had thought she was probably dead.
On top of that, their fear of supervillains had kept them from making any more reckless moves.
Ellie gave a few bitter chuckles and walked out on her own. The officers along her path stepped aside, not daring to stop her.
Wracked with guilt, the lead officer called out to Ellie. "Sorry, miss, but you can't leave yet. We need you to cooperate with our investigation."
Ellie stopped.
"Where is Mr. Homelander now?" the officer asked.
"Go in and see for yourselves." Ellie pointed to the open trapdoor in the floor.
A dark staircase stretched downward, seemingly without an end.
The lead officer hesitated for a moment, then waved for his men to follow and stepped onto the stairs first.
The pungent smell of blood hit him, mixed with