Chapter 26
Chapter 26
A few hours earlier. When Sharon was still in the parlor, the eight–legged lizard had crawled out from the confinement chamber and lunged at her with it bloody jaws wide open.
From the shadow behind her, a massive beast emerged, roaring at the lizard with ferocious intensity.
The lizard’s pupils narrowed into slits. It was as if it had come face to face with its natural enemy. Its claws scratched at the floor repeatedly, producing a high–pitched screech.
Greg, the security guard, couldn’t handle the sound. He passed out on the spot.
Sharon stood in front of the mutated lizard. Behind her, the shadow had grown and lifted off the ground. The beast crouched behind her, fierce and imposing, locking eyes with the creature ahead.
She said, “If you don’t want to die, get back in there.”
The eight–legged lizard paused, then actually turned and slinked back into the confinement chamber.
Sharon turned to check on the guard’s condition, but just then, the lizard doubled back and tried to attack her from behind. It was swatted away by the beast with a single paw, its tail ripped clean off and tossed aside.
The beast chewed it twice, then spat it out in disgust. The lizard’s blood soaked the carpet.
Sharon checked Greg and confirmed he was only unconscious. She straightened up and stared at a spot above her head. “Come out. Enjoyed the show long enough?”
From the very beginning, she’d sensed she wasn’t the only one in the parlor. There were others hiding above, right behind the ceiling panels.
“Oh no, Ms. Vance caught us,” a woman’s voice said.
A panel in the ceiling slid open, and several people dropped down. Leading them was a beautiful woman who walked over with a smile.
She said politely, “Ms. Vance, congratulations on passing the test. From now on, we’re yours to command. I’m Joan Thornton, your personal steward starting today.”
The room fell into silence. Sharon stared at them without any expression, her gaze distant and cold.
After a few seconds, Joan looked slightly surprised. “Do you have something to say?”
She thought, ‘Ms. Vance doesn’t look pleased at all. Wouldn’t most people be overjoyed at a time like this?‘
“I refuse.” Sharon’s tone was blunt as she looked at the subordinates her brothers had left for her. “I don’t keep useless people around. My brothers sent you to protect me, and yet my family still got kidnapped. That’s on your incompetence.”
Joan said, “Ms. Vance, we just wanted to test you. That’s why we made that call on our own.”
After all, Sharon was just a girl from a poor village. None of them felt entirely comfortable calling her their boss.
Joan had only intended to scare her a little to make her easier to manage. She hadn’t expected Sharon to be hiding this much strength, and now the whole situation was spiraling out of control.
Sharon remarked coldly, “Disobedient subordinates are even more useless.”
Joan could barely keep her expression steady. None of them had expected someone from a poor village to be this impressive, speaking with a mix of grace and authority that was both sweet and sharp
“We’re sorry, Ms. Vance. We didn’t think it through. You may punish us however you see fit.” Joan dropped her casual tone and became respectfully
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Chapter 26
Serious
Sharon responded, “Where are my dad and the others being held?”
Joan’s expression was a mix of emotions, full of guilt. “We’re not sure yet, but we’ll look into it right away?
Sharon glanced at her phone and saw a message from Zanker. He texted: [They’re in the stables.]
She said flatly, “Found them. Let’s go.” Her look carried a clear message–it was almost as if she boss had to do everything herself.
were
saying her subordinates were so useless that their
Joan groaned inwardly, ‘It’s our first time meeting Ms. Vance and we totally blew it. How embarrassing. I should’ve known better. We really shot ourselves in the foot.
Sharon followed the group her brothers had left behind for her. They exited the parlor through the ceiling and headed straight to the basement beneath the stables.
When she opened the door, she saw Martin and his family. Alyssa shrank back a little, still afraid something might happen.
“Shari.” The moment Martin saw who it was, he let out a sigh of relief. He’d known they’d be okay.
“Shari, you’re finally here. We were so scared.” Martin’s two kids, Milo Crawford and Gloria, rushed over and wrapped themselves around Sharon’s legs, crying so hard their faces were covered in tears and snot.
Sharon felt a bit guilty. “I’m sorry. You were dragged into this because of me.”
“This has nothing to do with you. The Vance family went too far, using us to threaten you. You didn’t agree to any of their terms, did you?” Martin suddenly felt nervous.
“No.” Sharon shook her head.
“Good. Shari, who are the people behind you?”
“They’re the ones my brothers left to protect me.”
Only then did Martin relax. That was for the best. Now he didn’t have to worry about Sharon’s safety.
Just then, Sam shoved the door open. The assassins who had arrived behind him tried to snatch the captives from Sharon.
Joan stepped in front of Sharon, her expression turning icy. She figured that since they had embarrassed themselves in front of their mistress, this was the moment to redeem that failure.
Their group charged forward. It didn’t take long before the enemies were forced to retreat.
A flicker of approval flashed in Sharon’s eyes. “Not bad.”
Joan felt embarrassed. She thought, ‘Of course we’re nothing compared to Ms. Vance. These people wouldn’t even be enough for her to warm up on. Now what? We wanted to put her in her place, but ended up humiliating ourselves.‘
“Let’s get out of here.” Sharon led the Crawfords out of the stables. She wasn’t going to let this slide.
Meanwhile, in another part of Graceville Manor, Nicholas was the first to reach the parlor. He had already taken out quite a few of the assassins drawn there by the bounty post, which had attracted no shortage of desperate maniacs.
The door to the parlor opened, and the stench of blood rushed out. His gaze hardened. In his hand was a black umbrella. With a swift motion, he drew the handle out with his left hand, and a sharp blade sliced through the air.
Chapter 26
viay
Nicholas stepped inside. Blood and dismembered limbs were scattered across the floor, the scene especially gruesome in the corner, a mastated lizard lay slumped near the confinement chamber, harely clinging to life.
Brent followed behind him, his expression grave. “Nick.”
He thought. ‘Did something happen to Sharon?‘
Just then, Wayne arrived. When he saw the bloody scene, his face darkened. “Mr. Baxter, please let me explain. There’s been a misunderstanding, We would never get Shari killed.”
Brent said with a cold expression, “Like there’s anything the Vance family wouldn’t do.”
At that moment, Wayne didn’t even know how to respond. He felt like the Vance family was truly in deep trouble this time.
Nicholas turned slightly, his handsome features shrouded in gloom. “I’ll have someone run a DNA test. If something bad really happened to her, the Vance family would be wiped off the four major families ranking starting today. Mark my words.”
He then walked out of the parlor, his profile icy and grim. This was the first time in his life he had ever wanted to protect someone, and now she might actually be gone. The feeling left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Just hours ago, Sharon had been sitting quietly at his side. And now, she might be nothing more than a pile of mangled flesh. He couldn’t accept it, no matter what. He refused to believe she was dead.
Brent caught up to him. “Nick, what now?”
Nicholas said, “Seal off Graceville Manor. Clear out the assassins. Find the Crawford family.”
Brent tried to console him. “Nick, calm down. I’m sorry, man.”
Suddenly, Nicholas stopped in his tracks and said in a stern voice, “She might still be alive.”
Brent was confused. After all, normal people had no chance of surviving an encounter with a mutated lizard.
He said, “Nick, I wanna believe Sharon’s still alive too. But we’ve seen so many of those mutant lizards. There’s barely a single ordinary person who could make it out of their jaws alive.”
n’ts
“Did you forget about the bounty on the forum?” Nicholas’s gaze was sharp. That kind of post just anyone could make. He was certain it had something to do with Sharon.
