Chapter 306 Fire!
“No,” she said with a somewhat weary look, lowering her head. “I don’t know why, but today I feel unusually tired, so I decided to come back early to get some rest.”
Damien inquired, “What about your place of stay?”
He settled into a more comfortable position on the balcony, watching her petite form near the wall. “Is staying in the grand villa more comfortable than at home?”
Cherise responded, telling a little white lie to spare him any worry, “It’s about the same. It’s quite spacious here, and everyone has been kind to me.”
Changing the subject, she asked, “Are you done with your work?”
“Yeah, I just saw Lenn off.”
“Lenn?” Cherise furrowed her brow. “He came to our place?”
“Yes, but he had left because he got distracted by a woman.”
The man chuckled softly, remembering the anger that washed over Lennon’s face when he saw Rodney attempting to tamper with Lucy’s drink while Lennon was keeping a close watch with binoculars. It had been twelve years since Damien had seen Lennon that. incensed.
“Hmph! A real playboy!” Cherise pursed her lips. “Thank goodness Lulu didn’t end up with him!”
Cherise’s anger flared each time she thought about it. “I used to think he was a good guy!”
“Look at him now! If it weren’t for his rejection, Lulu wouldn’t have to date that hideous Rodney!”
Thinking about Rodney’s unfair comment in the afternoon, her anger surged even more.
Damien sighed but was about to say something when he detected a suspicious figure lurking in the dark.
He was on the third floor, while Cherise stayed in a single-story house. From his elevated. position, he could clearly observe a woman in sportswear and a cap holding something resembling a water bucket, discreetly sprinkling it around the rundown house.
Damien furrowed, and his voice turned inexplicably profound. “Are you the only one there right now?”
Cherise bit her lip. “There’s also Mandy; she twisted her ankle…”
Just as she finished speaking, Damien saw the woman behind Cherise’s house retrieve a small object from her pocket.
–
Damien’s eyes narrowed. He could see it clearly it was a lighter!
The woman nonchalantly tossed the lighter onto the gasoline-drenched ground, and in an instant, flames shot up!
The fire began behind the house, and Cherise, who had been facing away from it, was blissfully unaware.
Damien clutched his phone, urgently commanding, “Run!”
Cherise hesitated for a moment, bewildered by the sudden urgency.
Instinctively, she spun around to see the blaze roaring skyward. The entire house. appeared to be swallowed by an invisible behemoth!
With no time to lose, Damien dropped his phone, leaped from the balcony, and yelled, “Cherise, run!”
But the woman standing by the house appeared unfazed, seemingly oblivious to Damien’s words. She swiftly removed her coat, dipped it into a nearby water tub, and wrapped it around her nose and mouth. With determination, she darted into the blazing structure.
Mandy was still in there, sound asleep!
Cough, cough, cough…
Surrounded by the intense heat and thick smoke, Mandy awoke, startled by the pungent fumes. Her twisted ankle was momentarily forgotten as she tumbled from the bed, struggling to regain her balance..
Cherise, in her desperate haste, stormed into the room. The encroaching flames brought Mandy face to face with the impending danger.
Without a moment to spare, Cherise urged, “Get up! I’ll carry you out!”
Mandy, bewildered by the sight through the dense smoke, asked, “You… you came back for
me?”
“Quit the chatter!” Cherise’s urgency grew. She snatched the camera bag and backpack from the bed. “Get up now!”
Mandy hesitated, her lip quivering. “You wouldn’t be able to carry me, I…”
