The pair trailed Allison at a safe distance, close enough to observe her every move, but far enough to avoid detection. Just as they rounded a corner, a staggering drunk lurched towards Allison, his eyes lighting up as if he’d stumbled upon a rare treasure. “Hey there, gorgeous! Feeling lonely? How about you and me share a drink?” he slurred, nearly tripping over his own feet as he tugged at his sagging pants. His lecherous gaze roamed over Allison, and he extended a filthy hand toward her face. Colton’s brow furrowed at the sight, his instinct to protect flaring up.
After all, Allison was still his ex-wife.
But before he could take a step forward, Melany lightly touched his arm, stopping him with a casual gesture.
“Hold up, Colton. Don’t you remember how Allison can handle herself? She’s been hiding her claws from you for years. For all we know, this could be a setup. What if she’s trying to drag you into a mess with that drunk? You might end up looking like a fool.”
To their surprise, Allison flashed a smile so bright it could’ve disarmed anyone. “You want my company? Careful what you wish for,” she said, her voice as sweet as sugar.
The drunk blinked in bewilderment, momentarily spellbound by her sudden charm. But before he could say another word, Allison’s knee connected sharply with his groin.
“Ahhhhhh!” The man screamed, raw and animalistic, as he doubled over, clutching his pain.
Colton flinched, feeling a phantom ache as he watched the brutal blow.
“She’s nothing like she used to be,” he whispered, his eyes fixed on the woman standing tall before him. It was as if he was seeing a ghost of his past-one that had shed its gentle skin.
There had been a time when Allison had been all softness, trailing behind him like a loyal shadow. Even when he lashed out at her in his darkest moods, she would soothe him with words as calm as a still lake.
But now, in the aftermath of their divorce, he saw her clearly. Allison had never bowed to anyone – except, perhaps, to him during the three years they’d shared.
That version of her was gone, and he couldn’t help but wonder if he had let her slip through his fingers for good.
Allison grabbed the drunk by his collar and effortlessly tossed him into a trash bin, as if discarding a crumpled piece of paper. She slammed the lid shut and, almost as if to ensure there was no chance of escape, placed a heavy stone on top. Dusting off her hands, she glanced at the bin one last time, her expression dripping with contempt. Her movements had been so fluid, so instinctive, that they almost seemed rehearsed.
“Some people should really think twice before biting off more than they can chew,” she said, her voice smooth yet sharp, like broken glass. The remark was clearly directed at Colton and Melany, who were lurking in the shadows nearby. Sadly, neither of them caught the warning.
Colton stood frozen, the realization settling in that the problem wasn’t his men’s incompetence – it was Allison’s sheer, unrelenting strength. But at this point, he was in too deep. Turning back now would be like abandoning a ship in the middle of a storm. So, with Melany beside him, he continued following Allison, only to watch her slip through the entrance of an old, decrepit warehouse, disappearing as if swallowed by the darkness.
Melany hesitated, her voice laced with growing unease. “Colton, I don’t like this. The place looks like a death trap, and now Allison’s just vanished into thin air.”
Colton furrowed his brow as he scanned the dilapidated surroundings. “Calm down. She’s got to be close by. Keep your head.” He couldn’t fathom how someone like Allison had evaded them so effortlessly.
Just as he began retracing their steps, the sudden snap of a lock echoed behind them. Click.
Colton whipped around, only to find the door to the shadowy warehouse had been bolted shut from the outside.
He threw his weight against the door, but the iron frame held firm.
Panic flared in Melany’s eyes as she pounded on the door, her voice trembling. “Is anyone out there? Help! Someone, please!” From the other side, Allison’s voice drifted through, carrying a lazy indifference. “Oops, my hand must’ve slipped. But don’t stress, it’s just a storage room. Shouldn’t be anything inside, right?”
Colton slammed his fist against the door, his face twisted with rage. “Allison, you are utterly vile!”
In his frustration, Colton struck his fractured finger, and agony surged through him, leaving cold sweat on his brow. He gritted his teeth, knowing he had once again walked straight into Allison’s trap.
Allison scoffed. Vile? All she had done was defend herself. When had fighting back become a sin? Amateurs like them had no business tailing someone out of their league.
“If it’s just an empty room, then I’ll be on my way,” she called over her shoulder, disappearing into the maze of alleyways without sparing them another glance. “I’ve got no time for following trash.”
With the ease of someone who knew every twist and turn, Allison made her way to a hidden, sprawling underground storage chamber. Tapping her foot on the worn cement floor, she triggered a mechanism, and a large machine slowly emerged from the wall, its iron door grinding open.
She pressed her fingerprint against the scanner, and the heavy door groaned to life. A wave of dust greeted her as she fumbled for the lights.
The room flickered to life, revealing row upon row of monitors, like silent sentinels, embedded in sleek, well-maintained servers. At the heart of the chamber sat a colossal computer, covered in a fine layer of neglect.
“I never understood why Master insisted on burying the mainframe and servers here in Ontdale,” Allison muttered to herself, shaking her head as she rolled up her sleeves and got to work. After several moments of tinkering, she managed to revive most of the machines.
But the mainframe wouldn’t boot up. Too much time had passed since its last use, and it was in desperate need of repairs. Without hesitation, she grabbed a toolbox from the corner and began meticulously disassembling the parts, her hands moving with the precision of a practiced surgeon.
Fully absorbed in her task, she lost track of time until a soft beep broke the silence. The machines hummed to life, and suddenly, the walls around her blazed with light as the monitors displayed the image of a pink-haired girl, smiling innocently. But the contrast against Allison’s expression made the scene feel anything but innocent.
The hologram’s voice chimed in, sweet but unsettling: “Welcome back online. Ready to reboot the hacker world?” A prompt appeared on the screen.
Without hesitation, Allison clicked Confirm, swiftly entering her ID and password. After navigating through a labyrinth of security protocols, she typed in her username. Just as the system began to reboot, the entire room was swallowed by darkness with a sudden crash.
Allison stared at the blank screen, disbelief washing over her. “You’ve got to be kidding. All that work, and it dies after one second?”
The reboot had triggered a complete power outage, plunging the room back into darkness. Frustration clawed at her, her eyes flicking to the thin sliver of moonlight filtering through the small basement window. Trying to tackle everything on her own felt maddening, like a chaotic storm she couldn’t control alone.
She needed more hands-skilled ones.
Meanwhile, far away in the Burned Islands of Leswington, in a dimly lit room, a scar-faced man in a tailored suit sat rigidly before his computer, his eyes fixed on the screen.
The holographic game, which he had thought was long gone, flickered to life for a brief moment. The sudden burst of light sent him leaping out of his chair.
“The hacker world… it’s rebooted?!”
His eyes narrowed dangerously as he glared at the screen. That brief flash confirmed his worst fear: the woman who had once dismantled their Mafia was still alive. Worse, her trail now led overseas.
His lips curled into a snarl as he barked at his men, “She’s still out there. Find her, wherever she is. Bring her to me. I swear, I’ll make her pay!”
After returning from Muisvedo, Allison headed back to the Green family’s villa to say her goodbyes to Rebecca. The moment Rebecca heard the news, her eyes widened in disbelief. “What? You’re leaving, Allison? I can’t accept this! My house is enormous – there’s more than enough room for you!” Tears welled up in Rebecca’s eyes as the thought of Allison moving out sank in.
“What am I supposed to do if you leave? I’ll worry myself sick! As long as you’re here – in the Green family’s territory – no one would dare lay a finger on you. Plus, I’m going to miss you like crazy if you’re not here with me!”
Allison hadn’t expected such a strong reaction and gave a small, helpless smile. “You know we’re both swamped lately. Your dad’s been dragging you to the company almost every day, and I need to get the servers fixed, which is much closer to Muisvedo. It’s just more practical for me to move.”
Seeing Rebecca on the verge of protesting again, Allison gently patted her on the head. “Relax. I’ll drop by whenever I’ve got some free time.”
Rebecca, knowing Allison better than most, understood that once she made a decision, there was no turning back. Sighing in defeat, she wrapped her arms around Allison in a tight hug. “Fine, but you have to promise me this: if anything dangerous comes up, you call me immediately.”
Allison smiled and nodded. “Of course.”
But the next morning, her phone rang, and Keanu’s name flashed across the screen.
Frowning, Allison wondered if Keanu was calling to ask for medicine on behalf of Lindy.
Suspicious, she answered, only to hear a woman’s voice on the other end. “Allison, I really didn’t want to trouble you, but Keanu’s condition has worsened. He’s coughing up blood now. The private doctor is with him, but he keeps asking for you. Every time he sees Colton, it only gets worse. I had no choice but to call.”
Allison froze as the words hit her.
Keanu had always treated her with such warmth, as if she were his granddaughter. With no family of her own, that bond meant everything to her.
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.