The blond man bristled with rage. “You’re asking for it, you witch!”
But one of his men tugged on his sleeve. “The big boss said no violence unless necessary.”
The blond man scoffed and waved him off. “I don’t care what others say! Boys, get her! Bag her, collect the medicine, and let’s hit the road!”
He made a beeline for Allison’s car, his eyes gleaming when he spotted her bag on the passenger seat.
Though they had been warned against using force, a pretty girl like her… “Ah-” Before he could finish his thought, a blood-curdling scream shattered the air.
It wasn’t a woman’s cry-it was one of his own men, clutching his abdomen, blood seeping from his lips as he writhed on the ground.
In the blink of an eye, Allison seized the blond man’s hand. “Some lines are not meant to be crossed, and you will pay for this mistake.”
Before he could process her words, a sharp crack echoed from his bones. His shoulder was effortlessly dislocated by the woman before him.
Allison tightened her grip on his neck with one hand and kneed his leg. The blond man had no chance to retaliate, collapsing to the ground, twitching helplessly.
“Damn it… Why are you just standing there? Get her!” he screamed in agony, crawling backward as his men hesitated, fear etched on their faces.
“Boss… This woman… She’s trained…” one of them whispered, their voices trembling.
In the narrow alley, Allison moved toward them with the cold precision of a grim reaper, each step forcing the trembling thugs to retreat.
The blond man shouted in frustration, “Are you all useless? She’s just a woman! What are you scared of? We have sticks!”
His words snapped the men out of their stupor, and they grabbed their clubs, swinging them at Allison’s head. But in an instant, she vanished from their sights.
A powerful force hit one thug from behind, sending him crashing to the ground. The others were swiftly taken down as well.
“Ah, my back!” The blond man groaned, his body wracked with pain, as if his spine might snap.
Allison squatted beside him, a calm smile on her lips, though her eyes were as cold as ice. She patted his face gently.
“Did Colton send you? With skills like these, you dare to show your face?” she asked, her tone icy.
The blond man gritted his teeth, his mind racing. “No!” He hesitated, unwilling to betray his boss, but the sudden flash of a blade piercing the ground between his fingers made him flinch. It narrowly missed.
“I’ll ask you one last time,” Allison’s voice remained steady, “who sent you? Was it-“
“Yes! Yes, it was Mr. Stevens!” he finally confessed.
Allison’s expression remained steely. Identifying the mastermind, she felt no need to settle scores today.
“Scram and tell Colton to keep his guard up!” she ordered.
“Yes, yes, we’ll leave right away!” The thugs fled as if they’d seen a ghost, eager to escape the clutches of such a terrifying woman.
With the urgency of the moment still pressing on her, Allison ignored the panicked thugs and turned back to her car, speeding toward the Lloyd Mansion.
Allison swiftly administered the medication to Kellan, her movements precise and steady. Moments later, he stirred, blinking against the hazy remnants of unconsciousness. She pressed a cool glass of water into his hand, her voice soft yet steady. “Mr. Lloyd, are you feeling any better now?”
Kellan blinked, his brow furrowing slightly as if he hadn’t expected to find her there. “Yes,” he murmured, his previously pained features softening a little.
His gaze, however, soon shifted to the label on the capsule bottle. Upon seeing the familiar logo of the research institute, a flicker of something unreadable passed through his eyes.
“Thank you, Ms. Clarke,” he said hoarsely. “This is the second time you’ve saved me.”
“No biggie,” Allison replied, waving it off with a casual shrug. She reasoned that it would have been a waste not to use the medicine. After all, there was no way she’d let something so valuable fall into the greedy clutches of the Stevens family.
Just then, Kellan’s expression sharpened, his curiosity piqued. “This medication… It’s from the MDH Pharmaceutical Research Institute, isn’t it? I’ve heard it’s reserved for an elite few in Vrining. Most people don’t even know it exists.”
His voice held an edge of intrigue, his interest in Allison growing as if he was peering through a crack into a much larger mystery. Just how many secrets was this woman hiding? And why had she chosen to stay in Ontdale?
In response, Allison curled her lips into a playful smile. “You’re well-informed, Mr. Lloyd. But I only came across this medicine by pure luck.”
They circled each other carefully, their words like pieces on a chessboard – both testing the waters, both enjoying the subtle sparring.
Just as Allison was preparing to steer the conversation in a different direction, her phone buzzed.
Seeing the unfamiliar number on the screen, she rejected the call without hesitation and quickly blocked the number. But before she could fully relax, another call came, followed by another, and then another…
Frustrated, Allison was about to turn off her phone when Kellan’s voice stopped her. “Why aren’t you answering your phone, Ms. Clarke? Are you being harassed? Do you need any help?”
“It’s Colton,” she said, her tone suddenly flat. “His mother needs the exact same medicine, but I only had one dose.”
Kellan didn’t need any more than that to piece the puzzle together.
His gaze lingered on her, watching as the wind tousled a few strands of her hair. She had given him the last pill without hesitation, even though she knew someone else was in desperate need of it.
For reasons he couldn’t quite explain, his heart skipped a beat. Just then, the phone rang again, interrupting the tender moment. Allison’s expression hardened as she finally answered, Colton’s furious voice booming through the receiver.
“Allison! How dare you attack people in broad daylight?! I sent them to get the medicine, not to pick a fight! How could you leave them in such a sorry state?”
Allison had long since grown immune to Colton’s thick-skinned antics. His entitlement was hardly worth addressing. “Not my problem,” she replied icily, her tone dripping with dry sarcasm. “If it’s that big of a deal, call the police.”
Colton, knowing full well that making a scene over his men following her wouldn’t end well, had no choice but to swallow his pride. His voice softened, shifting to a more pleading tone. “Allison, I wouldn’t have called if it wasn’t urgent. My mother’s in terrible pain. I’ll pay whatever it takes – just, please, give me that pill.”
“Sure!” A faint smile played on Allison’s lips, her voice turning light, almost careless. “After all, we were married for three years. I’ll send you an address. Meet me there in ten minutes.”
“Fine,” Colton growled before hanging up, his face twisting in anger. He glanced down at the thugs sprawled on the ground, groaning in pain. “Useless idiots! Couldn’t even handle one woman? And now I have to foot their stupid medical bills! Fuck!”
“Don’t be mad, Colton,” Melany purred beside him, stroking his chest flirtatiously. “At least we’ll get the medicine. I just didn’t expect Allison to be so desperate for cash in the end. If she had just named her price earlier, we could’ve avoided all this. She’s all alone now – she must need the money.”
Colton sneered, venom lacing his words. “That vain bitch. The only thing that motivates her is money.”
Luckily, the address wasn’t far, and they made their way quickly. When they arrived, they found themselves standing before a large comedy theater, the grinning face of a clown plastered across the poster outside.
Colton dialed Allison again, struggling to keep his voice steady. “I’m here. Where are you?”
Allison’s laughter crackled from the other end of the line. “Oh, you’re at the right place! Just go inside, stand on stage, and make sure every spotlight is on you. Then, repeat all those ridiculous things you just said to me. I’m sure it’ll be the best act of the night!”
“Allison, you tricked me?!” Colton’s heart sank as the harsh realization hit him. He’d been played like a fiddle.
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.