In truth, the gun in the boy’s hand was no toy gun but a real gun.
I couldn’t believe all that had happened for real. The lively and kind girl had just obtained true love for a few years, but she was lying in a pool of blood at that very moment.
Meanwhile, the boy who looked to be merely six or seven years old laughed maniacally with her blood on his face. Aiming his gun at Rose, who had gone entirely still, he pulled the trigger once more.
My legs felt as though they were weighed down with a heavy boulder, giving me no way out of that horrific and bloody scene.
Is this God’s punishment upon me, wanting me to see every gunshot hitting Rose so clearly? No, I must be dreaming!
A child with an angelic smile had turned into the devil right then, taking such a youthful and pure life away.
Rose seemed to have finally felt the pain. Her chest heaved, and blood gushed out of her mouth. I could seemingly hear her moaning in a sob-filled voice, “It hurts, Sienna. Will you please help Nick?”
Even at the end of her life, she was still sacrificing herself for the man she loved the most.
In the end, she no longer moved.
Like a bloody rose blooming, blood spread around her ceaselessly.
“Rose! Ahh!”
The crowd descended into a panic, all rushing to hide. Conversely, I stood frozen at the spot, shrieking until I lost my voice.
The boy was seemingly encouraged to hear my scream, for his laughter grew all the more joyous. He grinned widely and stared at me for three seconds before pointing the gun at himself with both hands. In the next instant, he pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Blood spurted, and the boy collapsed onto the ground.
In less than a minute, two lives were gone, one after another. Even the air was saturated with the cloying stench of blood.
I thought a suicide attack would only happen in television series. That realistic feeling felt as though someone had a hand around my throat, strangling me to the point that I was going to suffocate.
Before I could even snap out of that nightmarish incident, several hands suddenly grabbed me from behind. They covered my nose and mouth. Restraining me, they carried me right down the steps at the mall entrance and tossed me into a van.
As soon as the door slammed shut, the driver floored the gas pedal and sped away.
Not only did they bind my hands and feet, but they also taped my mouth in addition to blindfolding me. Throughout the drive, they made no attempt to communicate with me.
After an indeterminate time, the van came to a stop at long last.
One of the men then carried me out of the car like carrying a chicken. Subsequently, he flung me onto the ground.
Shortly after, my blindfold was yanked off roughly. Being exposed to sunlight once more after a long time in the darkness had me unable to open my eyes right away.
While I was gradually adapting, the culprit who kidnapped me spoke.
“We meet again, Ms. Stanhope.”
It was none other than Freja.
I lowered my eyes without saying anything.
When I was in the van, I surmised that the incident at the mall was definitely Garrett’s doing because the gun was of the same model.
Besides, they were the only ones who were totally brutal and had not even a hint of compassion.
But from the look of things then, everyone in the drug trade was ruthless.
I was the one who got Rose killed and it was Nathaniel who killed her!
“As expected of Nathaniel’s woman, you’re calm and unruffled even when the world is splintering apart. I admire you,” Freja drawled before saying to her subordinate, “Get a chair for Ms. Stanhope. She has helped me a lot, so don’t treat her shabbily!”
“Understood!” I was then tossed onto the chair while all bound up.
When I had composed myself and looked at Freja again, the hatred in my eyes blazed hotly.
Freja was sitting in a car. Catching a glimpse of my reaction out of the corner of her eye, she nonchalantly swept her gaze over me before retracting it. She remained seated relaxingly. “Don’t stare at me with such a look in your eyes. You can only blame Nathaniel for going against the rules.”
“Why don’t you just kill me?” I demanded through gritted teeth as I forcefully stifled my towering rage.
Freja scoffed, “Hah! How am I going to threaten Nathaniel if I were to kill you? Even if you want to die, Ms. Stanhope, you’ve got to be patient. Don’t worry. Just regard it as me owing you a favor. When you’re dead, I promise to bury you with him.”
I wasn’t in the mood to listen to all her high-sounding excuses. Only one thing snagged my attention— she didn’t plan on finishing me off at the mall.
With that, the culprit was plain as day.
Mr. Jensen’s methods are really cold-blooded just to have Nathaniel stop being influenced by me.
No sooner had she finished speaking, a bodyguard came forward and reported, “He’s here, Ms. Schmidt.”
As his words fell, a jeep sped over and screeched to a stop a distance away from Freja. Then, Nathaniel got out alone.
In an effort to conceal his gunshot wounds, he even wore a loose trench coat that made him appear much bulkier.
Even then, he still walked very slow, taking one small step at a time in fear that he would reveal some flaw.
When he drew near, a few subordinates of Freja with guns in their hands surrounded him.
Nathaniel glanced at me from afar before he started negotiating terms with Freja. “I’m here, so let her go.”
Freja climbed out of the car. Like in the abandoned building that day, she flashed him a polite smile and replied unhurriedly, “Don’t be in such a rush. Let’s talk slowly.”
Just when she had finished speaking, her subordinate at the side tactfully snagged a chair and placed it behind her.
Freja sat down slowly and crossed her legs. She contemplated for a moment before asking, “Do you still remember when we first met? That was the first time someone ever held a gun to my head in my whole life. Even now, I can still remember every single movement clearly.”
Nathaniel showed no hint of fear. He calmly queried, “What do you want?”
“You’ll know soon enough.” The smile instantly disappeared from Freja’s face, and she threw a look at her subordinates.
Her subordinates immediately understood her meaning. Three burly men grabbed Nathaniel right away and pinned him down with his face plastered against the ground.
Subsequently, the car door of another vehicle swung open. A man wearing sunglasses climbed out. The man’s vision was seemingly impaired. When he was steady on his feet, one of Freja’s men went over to support him. Only then did he start walking before stopping a mere inch away from Nathaniel’s face.
Then, the man who supported the visually-impaired man placed his gun into the latter’s hand and instructed him to grip it tightly. Guiding his hand, he pointed the barrel right at Nathaniel’s head.
“Open your eyes and look clearly, Nathaniel! The man holding the gun went blind because he battled it out for the Schmidt family’s territory. That day, you pointed a gun at me and stole the territory he got at the risk of his life. Today, I’ll have him retrieve it in the same manner. As for whether you survive, we shall leave that decision to God!”
Pausing slightly, Freja narrowed her eyes a fraction before she raised her voice and ordered, “Fire!”
Bang!
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.
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