Yes, she didnât actually lose the pouch.It was such an important thing that James had given her. How could she lose it so easily after a fall?Harold was essentially only coming after her. She did not want Xavier to be put in danger as well.If something bad were to happen, it should only happen to one of them. There was no need for the other to suffer as well.He had tried to protect me so many times before, even at the cost of his own life! This time, itâs my turn to protect him.The kiss she had shared with Xavier was not fake.She did that because she wanted to and so she could swipe his earpiece at the same time.Without it, he could no longer keep in contact with James.I have to get Xavier out of danger as soon as possible!At that thought, Winnie quickly stuffed the earpiece she had taken from Xavier into her ear.Then, she opened the bag James had given her to see a pair of night vision goggles and a stun baton in it.She understood that these were the only weapons James could provide her without breaking the rules.After gearing herself up, she immediately called out to James.âThe pouch isnât lost, and Iâve already sent Xavier to locate it. I have his earpiece with me. Officer Clark, please tell reinforcement to take him away immediately, and Iâll have to trouble you to call his phone to let him know. I wonât be telling him myself. I have to get to the chemical plant now because Harold is rushing me.âJames was shocked. He didnât expect Winnie was just pretending that the pouch was lost.However, he could understand why she was going through all this trouble.When considering the big picture, she was making the right decision.If it were him, he would probably do the same.âOkay. I will contact Mr. Fairchild after this. Stay in contact at all times.âWinnie hummed in response.The closer she came to the abandoned chemical plant, the lighter her steps became.Meanwhile, Xavier was hunched over, trekking through the woods.The more he thought about it, the more he felt something was off.Thereâs something wrong with the situation earlier. First of all, my Dumbo is not a careless person at all. I didnât suspect anything earlier, but now that I think about it, it really is impossible. Even if she fell, she would have checked her pouch after getting up. And there was that look she gave me.
Why did she look at me like we would never see each other again? Thereâs no reason for her to worry about that now. We havenât even entered the chemical plant or seen Harold!Upon that thought, Xavier suddenly realized that Winnie had tricked him!He instinctively reached up to feel for his earpiece, but there was nothing in his ear.When he realized that his earpiece was missing, his mind immediately went to the parting kiss Winnie had given him.He clearly remembered that she had lightly caressed his ear when she pressed her lips to his.Xavier was at a loss. âWinnieâ¦âHow could she do this? How could she?Snapping back to his senses, Xavier did not care about the route he had taken to get here and just headed back in a straight line.As he waded through the forest, he called Winnieâs phone.She didnât plan on answering, but she couldnât hold herself back in the end.âXavier.âNothing could get through to him now. He growled deeply, âStop! Stop whatever youâre doing right now, Winnie. You said you would wait for me at the same spot! You lied to me again!âWinnie replied in a low voice, âXavier, itâs my turn to protect you this time. Please allow me to do so.â âI donât need your protection! Iâm also not giving you a f*cking chance to. Stop it! Stop this right now! Just stop!ââNo, I donât want to.â Winnie didnât listen to him. Instead, she chuckled lightly and asked, âXavier, have I ever told you I love you?ââShut up!â Xavier didnât want to listen to a thing. His mind was racing, and his heart was in emotional turmoil.
âItâs fine even if you donât love me. Letâs talk face-to-face. I donât want to talk about this over the phone.
Do you hear me, Winnie? Stay right where you are, and donât go anywhere!âWinnie clicked her tongue.
âDo you think Iâm that much of an obedient person? I do love you. Xavier, I love you.âWith that, she hung up the phone.Xavier tried calling again, but no one answered.Yes, she has never told me that she loves me. This was the first time Iâd ever heard those words from her. But so what? I just want to keep her by my side.Xavier felt like he was going insane with worry. However, he knew that it was times like this that he had to remain calm.He forced himself not to think about what might happen and focused on analyzing the situation.From the conversation they had, he was confident that Winnie did not stop advancing.As she made no sound while she was walking, it meant that she was moving at a very slow pace.If that was the case, it was entirely possible for him to catch up to her if he hurried.Winnie stopped in her tracks and was currently bargaining with Harold.She sent him a text: Iâm sure youâre aware there are people in the chemical plant right now. Theyâre no ordinary people. If you make me go in like this, I will die at their hands immediately, even if you give them a hand. Did you go through all that trouble to get your revenge just to see me die at someone elseâs hands?Haroldâs reply came quickly: And here I thought you werenât afraid of death. Guess I was wrong. But what you said makes sense. If you were to die at someone elseâs hands, then this little game of revenge between us wouldnât be fun anymore. Iâve changed my mind. Donât enter through the front door. Go around the side and locate the boiler room. Iâll be waiting for you there. To be honest, I didnât want this game of ours to end so quickly, but Iâve gotten some new business at the last minute. Otherwise, I will send you the corpses of the people you care about to give you a good scare. The first one would be Mason. But itâs a pity that he managed to escape. The second one would be Lisanne. However, I didnât expect her to be with the police. I canât do anything to her like this. In any case, Iâm really looking forward to meeting you, dear Winnie. Come to me as soon as possible! I canât wait any further!Winnie frowned as she finished reading Haroldâs text.
Then, she carefully placed her hand on the side of the chemical plant.She took each step with the utmost caution and even took off her shoes to avoid making noise.It was at that moment a tin can fell from the sky and landed right in front of her.Although it didnât hit her, the sound it produced upon landing on the ground reverberated throughout the place.She knew that the sound would definitely alert the terrorists, so she immediately ducked to the side and started looking for a place to hide.Before she could react, a signal flare suddenly lit up in her direction.Her surroundings became as bright as daylight in an instant.With the help of the bright light, Winnie saw a masked person standing on the roof.That person stared at her and lifted their hand in a wave.Itâs Harold. That b*stard exposed my location to the terrorists on purposeâ¦