I heard her footsteps as she waltzed up to me. “His injuries look rather serious, so I’m surprised that he recovered this quickly. It’s just as well, so my courtesy call doesn’t come to waste.”
With that, she received the fruit basket from her agent and pushed it in front of us. “Oh, the traffic accident was a prank taken too far on my part. I hope we can see an amicable resolution to this. Let’s take it that it never happened.”
Her flighty tone told me that she was not at all apologetic.
This was not an olive branch. It was obvious that all she wanted was for us to turn a blind eye to it.
My face dimmed as I spoke coldly, “Who let you out?”
“Of course, it was the protector of the people, the lovable boys in blue.” Rebecca shrugged wantonly before she loosened her grip and outright chucked the fruit basket aside. She then leaned in with brazenness. “So long as I draw breath, you can expect no peace!”
“Enough!” My fists tightened until they trembled. “I’ll say this once again. I’m not Scarlett Stovall. Even if I was, you’ve no right to treat anyone this way!”
“Hmph,” Rebecca sneered, then stood herself upright with arms akimbo. “You’re afraid, Scarlett, as you should be.”
She paused before she laughed even more gleefully at this point. “The last time was just the appetizer. Look forward to the full course!”
With that, the woman turned and strutted off in the most pompous manner possible. “We’ll meet again, Scarlett. Very soon!”
The insouciance of her tone sounded like she was doing a lap of honor.
I attuned myself to my own breathing with my eyes closed, hoping to calm my emotions. I would have confronted her had Marcus not held me by the wrist. “Calm down. She meant to provoke you. It’s better to not act impulsively because we don’t know who’s backing her.”
…..
Marcus’ car had to be scrapped. It was inconvenient for him to drive, seeing as to how he had just recovered from a serious ailment, so we could only hail a ride back.
We were barely past the first intersection when our cab was swiftly surrounded on all sides by several black sedans.
Out stepped men in formal dressing. It was obvious that they had no good intentions. However, our driver was so unnerved as he articulated himself properly, “Who… Don’t be stupid… This is a law-abiding society… I’ll call the police!”
The suited men outright disregarded the driver’s threats. It took them no effort to drag him out of the driver’s seat and have him subdued. Never mind calling the police, the man was so cowed that he did not even dare to breathe too loudly.
The one in charge walked to the backseat and located my position with pinpoint accuracy. “Make it easier on yourself, Ms. Stovall.”
Marcus and I exchanged looks. We were sure that neither of us had any clue as to what was going on. “I’ll cooperate, but first things first. Where are you taking me?”
Marcus almost lost his life the last time and had not fully recovered. Now that trouble had come knocking again, I was determined not to implicate him this time.
Upon hearing that, Marcus seemed to want to speak up, but I quietly pinched him in on the wrist, imploring him to act with restraint.
I was quite certain that these people were not in cahoots with Rebecca. She would not be so banal as to get someone on my case immediately after showing off in front of me.
It could not be Ashton either. He may be offish as heck, but I knew he was someone who always acted honorably. He would always either get someone to check in first whenever he needed to call on me or send Joseph to pick me up. He was not one to employ such a manner of invitation.
That being said, apart from them, I could not think of anyone else who would do such a thing.
I must regain my memories. I won’t be able to respond decisively if I were to keep getting caught on the back-foot like this.
“You’ll find out when you get there,” the man replied. He dispensed with any more formalities and reached out to grab me with his large mitts.
There was no way Marcus could sit idly by. Despite his weakened state, he struggled against the suited man to protect me.
At this critical juncture, the shrill screaming of brakes tore into the fray and echoed all around us, trapping our previously menacing aggressors within.
In the corner of my eye, I spotted Joseph’s familiar face.
“Mr. Campbell!” I cried.
Joseph spearheaded the charge of his men and neutralized the strapping of the suited men in mere minutes.
He then approached, a little short of breath. “Come with me, Ms. Stovall.”
