Chapter 482
Chapter 482
About five minutes had passed before Neil came out from the living room, his brows furrowed in consternation.
He apparently hadn’t found Russel, which was concerning, but even more troubling was the thought that he may not have found any strange man either.
“Did you find anyone?” I asked anxiously. The worst-case scenario was Neil not finding anyone at all. What would I do if I found the man after Neil left?
I had a strong intuition that someone had indeed entered the house.
However, Neil couldn’t possibly conduct a thorough search. If Russel really was here, as Neil suggested, he wouldn’t have hidden.
“No, Russel isn’t here. Why are you so nervous?” Neil asked, puzzled.
“I…” I wanted to tell him about the fugitive murderer in the neighborhood, but I was worried that it might not be appropriate, especially since I had invited him in to have a cup of coffee and search for the living room. My intention was clear.
What if Neil thought I was trying to endanger him.
I was alone with two children at home, and the consequences would be unthinkable if something happened. Even if Neil accused me of having bad intentions, I had to say.
“Norah isn’t home today. She called me in the evening to say that there was a…..” I was midway through my sentence when Neil’s phone rang.
I instinctively shut my mouth as he glanced at the caller ID and signaled with his eyes that he needed to answer the call.
From the conversation, it seemed like Karina was on the line. Hiram had sneaked out again, and she couldn’t find him.
“I’ll be right back,” Neil responded immediately. It was dangerous for a child to be out alone late at night. For some reason, Hiram was particularly bold in this regard.
I wanted to continue talking about the situation, but Neil left in a hurry, not giving me a chance to say another word.
It was clear how concerned he was for Hiram’s safety.
Watching as the gate closed again, I immediately reopened it and took Serena and Brandon-out for a walk. If there was a police station nearby, I planned to bring back a couple of officers to check the house.
Half an hour later, I returned home with two police officers. Given the situation involving a fugitive murderer, they were very cautious and thorough, searching the entire house. Strangely, they found no one.
I couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed, wondering if I was being overly suspicious and wasting police resources.
“Miss, we didn’t find anything unusual. But you should still be cautious, especially since you’re home alone with the kids. Make sure to check all the doors and windows, and have some self-defense tools ready. If there’s any emergency, call the police immediately. We’ll be right over!” An older officer advised me carefully.
I nodded. “Okay, thank you.”
“You’re welcome. We’ll be on our way then.” The two officers said goodbye and drove away in their patrol car.
The house fell silent again. Both kids were asleep. I carried them to their bedroom, checked everything carefully, and was about to wash up.
“Crash!”
Just as I stepped into the bathroom, I heard the sound of a glass shattering. It seemed to be coming from behind the bathroom door, where the bathtub was.
A chill ran down my spine. Despite the sweltering heat, I felt a cold shiver down my back.
Without a second thought, I turned and ran out, quickly shutting the bathroom door behind me. But it couldn’t be locked from the outside, so I ran towards the kids’ room. If something were to happen, I had to protect them.
As I locked the bedroom door from inside, I heard footsteps outside.
I was right. Someone was indeed in the house. They had just hidden very well and weren’t discovered. Now it was just me and the kids at home. What was I to do?
Worse yet, I had left my cell phone in the bathroom, on the vanity. I hadn’t grabbed it when I ran back!
Soon, I heard sounds of doors opening and closing, and things being ransacked. It seemed like the intruder was looking for valuables. My heart pounded in my chest. If he was just after money, that would be one thing. But if he intended to harm us…
“Woof, woof, woof!”
Suddenly, Daisy started barking fiercely. It seemed very aggressive. My heart settled a bit, knowing that we had a fairly large dog defending the house. It could at least provide some help.
The barking was coming from the yard. I could see Daisy if I opened the window, but the window was barred with a burglar-proof screen. I couldn’t get out.
“Bam!”
A chair was thrown onto the ground, nearly hitting Daisy. I finally got a clear view of the man. He was about 6 feet tall, rather bulky, weighing at least 160 to 170 pounds. He looked menacing, exuding a murderous aura.
“Woof, woof, woof!” Daisy, too, was agitated. It showed no signs of backing down and lunged at the man.
The yard was in chaos with the man and the dog fighting. Daisy, being a large dog, managed to hold the man off for a while. But the man pulled out a dagger from somewhere and jabbed it at Daisy.
Daisy yelped in pain. The sound tore at my heart, but there was nothing I could do. If I went out, I would be walking into certain death.
But if I didn’t go out, would he spare me and the kids?
I quickly rummaged through the drawer for the keys, then left the room and locked the door from outside. This would at least ensure Serena and Brandon’s safety to the greatest extent possible. Then I rushed to the bathroom to retrieve my cell phone, only to find it was gone.
In the yard, Daisy continued to yelp. The sound was heartbreaking. Daisy was putting up a brave fight to protect me, while I was hiding in fear.
In this situation, there was no room for strategy. I didn’t have a cell phone, and I couldn’t leave the kids and Daisy behind to escape through the back door. So I gritted my teeth, went to the tool shed, and grabbed my father’s rechargeable electric saw. He used it for pruning plants. I carried the saw into the yard.
The murderer was still savagely stabbing Daisy with his dagger, and Daisy was biting onto his arm, refusing to let go. The ground was covered in blood.
“Get away!” I shouted, turning on the electric saw and slashing it at the murderer’s back.
With a gut-wrenching scream, the murderer shivered in sheer pain, a gruesome wound now visible on his back. The sight of the spraying blood startled me, almost causing me to lose my grip on the saw.
Daisy was completely exhausted, no longer having the strength to hold onto the murderer. Despite the excruciating pain in his back, the murderer managed to rise, glaring at me through eyes as cold as steel.
