Pampered by my three brothers: the return of the neglected heiress

Chapter 1485: Kidnapped in the middle of the night

At the after-party of the competition, eliminated players, finalists, organizers, and a few guests gathered to celebrate everyone's efforts. Although only one team had taken home the grand prize, many attended just for the fun of it.

"Hey man, congrats on your win. It was well-deserved," someone from Team D said, offering a hive five to a member of Team A on the back. "That was one hell of a round."

"Haha!" The leader of Team A bumped fists with him. "You guys gave us a tough game. I almost broke my fingers in that last round."

Truth be told, the first game was probably the only match that really mattered. After all, breaking through the Fortress's first layer of defense was nearly impossible. Perhaps, given weeks or even months of analysis, they might've left a dent in the system.

Still, luck played a huge role too. No one could tell if the other team could succeed in breaking through the Fortress's first line of defense. And so, they gave it their all.

"Gotta admit, though — that damn X is really good for pulling off that stunt and managed to infiltrate Fortress," one of them chimed in. "We gave everything we had and still didn't even scratch the surface."

"Same here. X is really on a whole different level."

"Just goes to show T. Mouse's skills. Damn, that match was insane! It's better than watching an e-sport game."

"Haha! That's true."

Now that the competition had ended and a victor had been crowned, everyone was more relaxed. Any previous tension or rivalry had evaporated. After a grueling week of games, tonight was their chance to finally unwind. Hence, the players casually mingled and exchanged kind words.

"Honestly, even though we won, it kind of feels like that final battle between T. Mouse and X stole the whole show," another admitted. "Not complaining, though. It was exciting as hell."

"Hey, by the way, have any of Prime Group's reps approached you yet?"

"I don't think this is the right place to talk about that."

fair. Just trying my luck-might

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many had considered getting scouted by Prime Group as a backup plan. Most believed the company would reach out when the time came. But after witnessing the

sigh. A few people had approached to congratulate him or acknowledge his efforts, but with his social awkwardness and lack of interest, they didn't linger long. Now,

he thought, relieved. 'But still... Penny hasn't

they needed to

he'd only been holding

his hands into the pockets of his hoodie and quietly slipped away from the

he collapsed face-down onto the bed. His stomach pressed into the

of her... and she's just made a billion-dollar

he'd been tense, on edge. He'd know what would happen tonight - but warning Penny had been impossible. Every method of contact was too risky, and he hadn't dared try. Thus, now that the problem was solved, he allowed himself

in mind, sleep gradually

deep into the night, just as the world had gone still, a few pairs of hands jolted Nathaniel awake, gripping his arms and yanking

from left to right. The room was dark, but he could make out figures holding him

"What the ?!"

yell, a cloth was pressed to his nose and mouth. His

his mind screamed, but it was

struggling, his consciousness began to fade. And in mere seconds, darkness embraced

Shit.

groaned, his face contorting in pain as he slowly regained consciousness. The first thing he felt was a sharp ache in his shoulders and

reached up to rub his shoulder, the memory of being abducted in

back into him. He

alarm – only