When she heard the car approaching them at full speed, Alicia made her decision. She had no choice but to run with Matthew. She shouted, “Aren’t you the Carousel Group’s president? Aren’t you a child prodigy? Why can’t you come up with a better solution?”
“I don’t have time to think right now.”
“What? You could beat him all by yourself if we were on a TV show now.”
“Did you notice anything else while watching the TV shows?”
“What?”
“The first to die are usually the people who talk a lot.”
Alicia realized Matthew was not the omnipotent figure Tammy had described. She found Matthew very mean, and the best thing he could do was irritate people. She had no idea why Tammy worshiped him so much.
They ran down the hill. They weren’t very fast because Matthew was still affected by the sleeping pills, and Alicia was terrible at sports.
“I can’t run anymore! I knew I would die here!” Alicia panted as she clutched the stone.
After hearing her words, Matthew took a step back. “You really can’t run anymore?” he asked.
“No!” Alicia looked at him with anticipation.
“You can stay here, then. Bye.”
“Huh?” Alicia couldn’t believe her ears.
“God will bless you,” Matthew said as he shoved her into a haystack.
“What?!” Alicia tried to call out to him, but she could hear the men approaching them. So, all she could do was lie down in the grass and do nothing. She thought, Oh, no! Matthew, aren’t you supposed to say you’ll carry me on your back? I can’t believe you’re abandoning me!
Matthew stood still for a while. He didn’t keep running until the men were closer.
Then they shouted, “I see you! Stop! Stop running!”
Alicia shivered as she hid in the grass. All she could hear were the wind and those people’s footsteps. And she began to break out in a cold sweat.
After a few minutes, she heard the sound of gunshots. Looking at the frightened crows that flew up into the sky from the valley, Alicia was shocked, and her face immediately turned pale. Matthew, are you still alive? she thought to herself. For fear that the bad people would find her, she didn’t dare to move, and her heart was racing. Then various thoughts flooded her mind.
I’ve been on an adventure since I arrived in Birmingham. I’ve seen some exciting things, but most of them are dangerous. Damn! If I had known I would die in the middle of nowhere, I would have chosen to stay in my hometown!
“Are you going to stay here forever?” As he stood next to her, Matthew asked. His voice was as fresh as a mint, bringing Alicia’s wandering mind back to the present.
Through the grass, Alicia noticed there was a boy standing next to her. She thought she was dreaming at that moment. “Matthew? You’re still alive?” She asked in a shaky voice.
“You just told me I’m the luckiest person on the planet. So, how could I possibly die?” With a bitter smile, Matthew replied.
Alicia rose from the ground immediately. She grabbed Matthew’s jacket and jumped into his arms. Then she burst into tears.
As it was the first time that Matthew had faced such a situation, he was terrified and had no idea where to place his hands. All he could do at the moment was to comfort Alicia by saying, “Don’t cry, please. At least we’re both still alive.”
Alicia cried for a while before she noticed a group of people in the distance smiling at her. In embarrassment, she pushed Matthew away right away. Then she greeted the person in lead, “Hello, Ms. Tyler.”
Emily smiled, “You can just call me Aunt Emily like Matthew did, Alicia. Are you alright?”
Alicia wiped her eyes with her handkerchief. “I heard gunshots just now, so I thought…”
Matthew frowned as he dusted off his jacket. “Thank goodness Aunt Emily arrived on time. They took care of everything.”
“Oh! Natalie and Tammy are still in town!” Alicia said as she suddenly remembered this. And she appeared to be about to cry again.
Noticing that, Emily immediately said, “Come on, I know Tammy asked you to do this. When I find her, I’ll definitely teach her a lesson!”
Alicia remained frozen. Then Matthew nudged her gently and asked, “Let’s go. We’ll run into wolves if we stay here longer.”
“What?! Say that again?!” Alicia nearly screamed
“There are wolves in this mountain.”
Alicia shivered in fear. She then caught up with the group.
While driving back downtown, Emily received a phone call from Ryan. She asked, “So, have you picked up Tammy and Natalie? How did this happen?”
Seeing that Emily was unusually quiet, Matthew asked, “Aunt Emily, what’s wrong?”
“I’m curious as well.”
***
Later, Emily took Matthew and Alicia to Karl’s house. Natalie was sitting on the couch as they walked in. At that moment, she was covered in mud, looking quite a mess. With tears on her face, Natalie said sobbingly, “Tam… Tammy sprained her ankle, so she asked me to go first and left her behind.”
“What was going on, Natalie? Calm down,” Emily asked.
Before Emily could get close to Natalie and ask her what was going on in detail, Ryan told Emily to go to the kitchen. He said, “Don’t push her, honey. Natalie was terrified. Peace just asked her about it, so I know what happened.”
“Where’s Tammy?” Frowning, Emily asked.
“Tammy was kidnapped before I arrived.”
“Are those kidnappers the same people who kidnapped Matthew?”
“I’m not sure, but I’m pretty sure they’re all mercenaries. They are very efficient and brutal. The CID is currently investigating the deaths of two people in town, which are said to be linked to Night Eagle.”
“When I saw Matthew today, the people who wanted to kill him were also wearing black masks,” Emily frowned.
“Is any of them still alive?”
“Yes.”
Emily brought in a team of elite special forces, but they weren’t as quick as the mercenaries. Six of the seven mercenaries ingested poison and committed suicide at that time. Emily dislocated the jaw of one of the men to stop him from killing himself. That way, the police could interrogate him.
At that precise moment, Ryan’s phone rang.
“Hello? Mom, what’s wrong?” Ryan became worried after hearing Jennie’s sobs. “Take it easy, Mom. Take your time. What is going on?… What? Gary is missing again?!”
Everyone in the room was stunned. A strange series of events had occurred recently. They had just found Matthew when Tammy and Gary disappeared at the same time.
“How come they only went after the kids?” Peace was the first to notice this.
Emily and Ryan didn’t have time to think about it. One of them was going to question the mercenary, while another was going to find Gary. And Emily said, “Ryan and I must leave now. Peace, Karl, can you guys look after the kids? I already have the police patrolling the area.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.