Before getting into the car, Winnie remained in a state of utter chaos.But as soon as she hopped into the vehicle, the gears inside her head began to turn once again.At present, she and Christopher had been shoved into the back of the car by Leandroâs men, whereas Leandro himself was now seated in the passenger seat.Winnie recalled Christopher once mentioned that people in the underworld normally addressed Leandro as Boss, so she followed suit.âPlease take us to the best hospital there is, Boss.
My friend needs a blood transfusion!âLeandro was a middle-aged man with medium-long hair. As someone who wasnât too tall and had a slightly chubby build, he looked very average and accommodating at first glance.However, he and Harold were hospitable in different ways. The former appeared especially down-to-earth, unlike the latter who was more like a wolf in sheepâs clothing and had an insidious smile.Thus, Leandro immediately agreed to Winnieâs request.âDonât worry. Weâre on our way to the best hospital. Itâs not just for Chris; you need to get that arm treated too. Iâll be sure to get the most skilled doctor to tend to you.âWinnie frowned as soon as she heard him referring to Christopher like that. âYou know him?âLeandro glanced back and smiled, his tanned skin and disheveled hair making him look like a law-abiding commoner rather than a major drug lord.âChris is Haroldâs best subordinate. Everyone involved in this business knows him. Frankly speaking, Iâm fond of talented people and just so happen to lack people like him. Thatâs why Iâd save him without you telling me to. I want him to be indebted to me and work for me in the future. As for you, Ms. Vivian, I believe my reasons are obvious. Everyone wants what you have.âWinnie was fully aware that people like Leandro did everything with a goal in mind. They always had an ulterior motive.Still, she couldnât be bothered to think about that now. All she wanted was for them to reach the hospital as quickly as possible and find out more information through him.âWeâre naturally grateful that youâre willing to save us, Boss. Itâs just that weâve barely just managed to escape from Harold, and thereâs no way heâll let us off so easily. He and his men have been chasing after us ever since we fled last night, so Iâd like to ask you if you happen to know more about them?ââTo be honest, there was another chemist who escaped with us in the midst of all the chaos,â she continued. âI want to know if Haroldâs caught up to him and taken him back. Have his men captured anyone since last night?ââAnother chemist working for Harold?â Leandroâs curiosity was piqued immediately. âAre you referring to Professor Riley White?ââYes.â Winnieâs brows furrowed. It looks like heâs only interested in chemists and his own benefits. He didnât pay any attention to my question.She began to grow impatient. âPlease answer my question, Boss. Iâll tell you whatever you want to know when I get my answer.ââOh, of course. Look at me! I lost my focus the moment you brought up chemists. Regarding your question, I think you donât have to worry. Youâll be safe once youâre on my turf since Harold wouldnât dare enter my territory for now. I also heard heâs been injuredâby explosives, at thatâmy guess is that heâll stay hidden for a while.âHe continued, âAs for Professor White, according to what I know, he probably hasnât been captured. Harold is so ruthless that if anything happens to him, his whole family would be thrown into chaos. Thatâs why his biggest priority right now is to protect himself and take care of his familyâs internal strife. He doesnât have the time or manpower to deal with outsiders now. Not only did you guys blow up his lab and burn his factory, but you also released his chief drug maker. If he ever finds you guys, heâs definitely going to skin you alive. Iâm not trying to scare you. Heâs capable of doing something like that. Thatâs why youâll be the safest with me.âThen, he began to try to entice her, âIâd say itâs best if you could tell me where Professor White is, given the dangerous situation heâs in now. Tell me his location so I can take him here and guarantee his safety.âWinnie glanced at him silently before responding, âSorry, but I donât know where Professor White is either. Iâm not actually well-acquainted with him. I blew up Haroldâs lab because he didnât want to give me the proceeds I asked for. But according to what I heard from Professor White himself, heâd been wanting to get out of there since ages ago, so he escaped during the explosion. If youâre looking for him, Iâm afraid I wonât be of much help.âIf all is well, Professor White should be with Xavier right now.Winnie breathed an internal sigh of relief upon learning that the two were safe, but she certainly wasnât going to tell Leandro where they were.âI see.â The man looked disappointed but quickly changed the subject. âHow much would you ask for if we were to work together then, Ms. Vivian?ââHalf the proceeds,â the woman answered candidly. âI wonât accept anything less than that.ââHaha!â Leandro chuckled. âI can tell, judging from how you burned down Haroldâs factory just because he couldnât agree. Iâm overjoyed to know that!âWinnie didnât know how to react to the manâs glee and merely shot him another glance.Noticing her cold gaze, Leandro quickly hid his smile.âBut donât worry, Ms. Vivian. Iâm not as greedy as someone like Harold who expects seventy percent of the proceeds, so fifty-fifty is fine by me. If you work with me, Iâll provide you with whatever you need so long as I have it!âFeeling Christopherâs pulse grow weaker, Winnie didnât have the energy to pay attention to Leandro.âSure,â she replied half-heartedly. âLetâs talk about it when he wakes up.âLeandro shot both her and Christopher a glance. âIt looks like you really love each other, huh? Iâm so envious of you kids. Your love comes so quickly and with so much passion. You havenât even known each other that long, from what I heard.âWinnie frowned and kept quiet, choosing not to respond anymore.With that, the rest of the journey continued in silence, and they finally arrived at a hospital about ten minutes later.Winnie had fractured her right arm, so a doctor from the orthopedic department immediately gave her an X-ray and cast thanks to Leandroâs connections with the hospital.
Christopher had long been wheeled into the operating room for an emergency operation by the time Winnie was done being tended to.As she waited outside the operating room, Leandroâs men watched over her from a distance, making it difficult for her to go somewhere to make a phone call.The two men refused to budge even when she tried telling them that she wanted to use the restroom.The way they never even responded to the woman was as though they couldnât understand a word she said, no matter how aggressive she became, and that riled her up.She wouldnât have wasted her time on them if it were before, but Christopherâs life was on the line now, and she couldnât stop feeling anxious.Just as she got up and was about to pace back and forth to calm her nerves, Leandro suddenly appeared.In his hand was a plastic bag containing a few bottles of drinks. He took one of the bottles out and handed it to Winnie after twisting the cap open for her.Yet, her brows creased in response. She hadnât let her guard down just because this man had saved her.Hence, she turned down his gesture. âIâm not thirsty.âUnderstanding her reaction, Leandro drank half the bottle right away. âI guess you donât trust me, but thereâs nothing wrong with the drink.âThe woman took a deep breath. âIâm really not thirsty.ââThen Iâm sorry for misjudging you,â he replied before taking a seat next to her. Then, he asked in a seemingly innocent way, âWhat happened, by the way? Were you arguing with my men? Let me know if they did anything wrong. Iâll punish them on your behalf.ââThen please do, Boss.â With a frown, Winnie pointed toward the cast on her right arm. âWhat can I even do when Iâm in this state? Itâs not like I can blow up the hospital with just my left hand, but they wonât even let me use the restroom.ââOh! So thatâs what it is. Itâs their fault then. But think about it this way: theyâre just concerned about your safety.
I can accompany you if you want to use the restroom, but Iâll have to get them to clear the area before we head there.âWinnie was flabbergasted. What? Theyâre going to clear the whole restroom area before I can go there? But I was thinking of borrowing someoneâs phone to make a call! How the hell will I be able to do that now?âForget it,â Winnie spat. âIâm so annoyed that I donât even want to pee anymore.âLeandro laughed heartily before taking a phone out of his pocket.âIs this yours?â he asked, handing it to her.Winnie furrowed her brows. âWhat do you mean?â Has he seen through me? Is he testing me by giving me this phone?âOne of my men found it in the basement,â Leandro explained, looking slightly puzzled. âDoes it not belong to you?âThe basement? It has to be Yulissaâs then. She used this phone to capture the videos!âYes, itâs mine.â The woman took the device without a second thought.Her thumb brushed the fingerprint scanner as she grabbed it, but the phone didnât unlock.Leandro noticed that but wasnât sure what was going on.âArenât you going to unlock it to make sure everythingâs still intact? Iâll buy you a new phone if this oneâs broken.âWinnie shoved the phone into her pocket right away.âThereâs nothing to inspect, nor am I in the mood to play with my phone now.
By the way, what did you do with that body in the basement?ââWhat?â Leandro frowned in astonishment. âBody? What body?âWinnie became more confused as she saw how clueless the man looked.âThere was a womanâs body right next to me. Didnât you see it?ââNot at all.â Leandro summoned two subordinates immediately and spoke to them in front of her.She couldnât fully understand what they were saying, but it most likely had to be about Leandro asking them about a female corpse.It didnât take him long to receive an answer, and he shook his head at Winnie.âMy men can confirm that there was no one else inside the basement apart from you and Chris. There was no corpse either, but itâs true there was blood on the floor. I saw that too. It was probably Chrisâ, though.ââThatâs impossible!â How could it have just been Christopher and me?âCould you have recalled wrongly?â Leandro surmised.
âYou were in bad shape when we found you, so what if you were just seeing things?ââThereâs no way I was hallucinating,â Winnie insisted before realization dawned on her. âD*mmit!âShe had broken her right arm and was being hung in midair at the time, so she could only maneuver her left arm.Furthermore, it was true that she didnât manage to make a proper cut due to the less-than-ideal angle, amount of force, and position she was in.All I know is that Yulissa did collapse to the floor, but I didnât pay attention to her after that. Now that I think about it, she mustâve run off while Christopher and I were talking! This is bad. Sheâs going to come back with a vengeance.Winnie used to think that Yulissa was a character with rather extreme tendencies who would do anything to meet her objectives, but now, it was apparent that the latter was much more than that. She was a complete deviant, and a lunatic like her would only continue to push the boundaries.At the thought of that, Winnie quickly turned to Leandro. âFind her. Sheâs Professor Whiteâs granddaughter. If you can get your hands on her, you might be able to find Professor White too.âShe decided to take the initiative this time.The door to the operating room finally opened more than two hours later.Christopher had made it for now, but he was to be admitted into the intensive care unit.As for whether or not he could pull through, even the doctors dared not guarantee anything.Winnie wanted to stay behind and look after him, only to be taken away by Leandro.She didnât expect to fall into another wolfâs den right after escaping one.Still, Leandro didnât force her to make drugs yet since her right arm was injured.The woman remained sleepless at night.
She repeatedly tried to unlock Yulissaâs phone to no avail and eventually gave up when the battery died.After putting the device down, she couldnât help but gaze at the ring on her left ring finger.Then, she brought the ring in front of her lips and took a deep breath.âWhere are you, Xavier? Can you hear me? If youâre in Lightspring, give me a signal. Use a green flare just like what we agreed upon.âAfter that, Winnie strolled toward the window and opened it.If he heard me, Iâll definitely see a green flare tonight.Alas, despite her having waited until dawn, the sky remained pitch-black with not a single flare in sight.