Cherry decided that, no matter how bad the situation turned out to be, she would not give up.
There was no guarantee that it was going to be easy for Larry to catch her! It was too early to tell who would win and who would lose!
Cherry walked out of elevator No. 1 quickly and noticed all elevators had stopped on the first floor. Evidently, there were people waiting for her to appear on the first floor.
She smiled and pressed on the “Up” button. Soon, an elevator stopped on the second floor.
She got into the elevator and pressed on the button to the highest floor, the 48th floor. However, when the elevator doors were about to close, she pressed on another button to open the doors and stepped out of the elevator swiftly.
The elevator doors slid shut again and rose up to the 48th floor, but she headed for the stairs.
Cherry recalled a costume party happening on the third floor today. She heard that it was organized by a third-generation red1 and it would last throughout the night.
This might be her only chance of escape.
As Cherry approached the stairs, she pulled out a slim phone from the pocket of her jacket. There was only one contact saved on her phone. She quickly typed a few words and sent a message.
On the first floor, the doors of the private elevator opened and Larry stepped out. His icy aura spread across every inch of the hallway and the temperature of the entire floor seemed to have dropped by a few degrees in the blink of an eye.
“President, there’s no one in the elevators. However, elevator No. 1 stopped on the second floor earlier. Then, elevator No. 2 ascended from the second floor. Perhaps the person you are looking for has gone up…” Manager Leo, who was on duty, mustered up his courage to report to his superior.
Larry did not seem to be surprised by this outcome. He glanced at elevator No. 2’s rapidly increasing number and those deep, enigmatic eyes of his exuded a hint of suspicion. “Check the CCTV’s footage.”
CCTVs were installed at every corner of the hotel. He wanted to see how far the woman could run.
Manager Leo made a phone call immediately, but a sour expression soon appeared on his face.
“President, the hotel’s CCTV system has been hacked. Every footage that was recorded since last night has been deleted. Now, all of the computer screens have gone black and every CCTV in the hotel can’t be used.”
“When did this happen?” Larry was momentarily stunned. His threatening gaze swept across the area. There was a dangerous aura about him and everybody around him was shocked speechless.
“Just now. Manager Zack said it happened five seconds before I called him…” Manager Leo badly wished that a hole would appear on the ground and swallow him. Right now, the President was terrifying.
Larry displayed a rollercoaster of emotions. His eyes narrowed with rage, as though a storm was approaching. He seemed hell-bent on punishing everyone that stood in his path. Yet, a wry smile crossed his face.
Apparently, he had underestimated her abilities. Things were getting interesting.
Manager Leo looked up and saw the current expression on the President’s face. For one moment, he thought that his own heart had stopped beating. The President, whom he had known all along, had always been pleasant and approachable. This time around, however, the President was terrifying and everybody feared him.
In the meantime, elevator No. 2 stopped on the 48th floor.
“Is Mr. Lebron’s costume party over?” Larry asked nonchalantly as he stole a glance at the elevator’s display.
“Not yet.” Manager Leo was unsure what the point behind the question was, but answered anyway.
“Mm.” Larry smiled and his deep, dark eyes exuded a glint of sadistic pleasure, giving him a mysterious yet fearsome vibe.
“Secure all exits of the hotel and don’t let anyone leave. Give me your handphone. Tell Steve to call me once he’s here.” Now, Larry had regained his usual calm demeanor.
Manager Leo was full of doubt but he dared not ask any further questions. He handed his phone over with a quaking hand.
Larry went straight for the third floor. If he was not mistaken, that woman must have gone to the costume party.
Indeed, Cherry had gone to the costume party on the third floor. She had changed her clothes and put on a fox mask. Currently, she was unable to leave the hotel on her own. Thus, she needed assistance.
She swept her gaze around the sea of people, searching for somebody. The hall was dimly-lit and everyone had put on a costume. Identifying someone under such conditions was no simple task.
Still, Cherry managed to recognize the person she was looking for —— Henry Max.
It was said that Henry was a dangerous man. He was hedonistic, cunning, sinister and as sly as a fox. Also, he happened to be Hardy Max's younger brother, and today was the day of her engagement with Hardy.
Assuming Cherry had the choice, she would not want to look for him. Then again, she did not have a better alternative at the moment.
Henry was the only person whom she recognized among this crowd. Coincidentally, she was aware of some secrets of his family.
“Henry!” She approached the man and called him out.
He stopped for a while before turning around. He glanced at her emotionlessly.
She was not surprised by his reaction.
She greeted him and smiled wanly. “Seeing how he is able to party here all night, does this mean that his family’s recent problems have been settled?” She uttered each word carefully while stepping closer to him. Then, she added, “Like the time your cousin purposefully killed two people with his car; the time your father’s mistress got pregnant but died suddenly a few days ago; the time…”
She understood his character. Despite his hedonistic personality, he still cared about matters concerning his family.
There was a subtle change in his expression. He grabbed her wrist without warning. “Who are you?”
Cherry merely looked at him in a friendly manner but did not say a word.
“Tell me what you want.” He looked at her closely. He was a smart man and naturally, he knew she was up to something.
“I need to leave this hotel as soon as possible.” Cherry maintained her smile in spite of her anxiety. She spoke calmly without showing her uneasiness.
“Is it difficult to leave the hotel?” Henry frowned. He was surprised by her request.
“Right now, it’s difficult for me. That’s why I need your help.” Cherry nodded slowly.
“Sir, this is a costume party. Please wear a mask.” Larry was stopped outside the hall.
To avoid wasting precious seconds, Larry took a mask and wore it instead of arguing. After that, he quickly headed inside the hall.
“Alright, I’ll help you.” Among the crowd, Henry regarded her with fascination. He desired to find out who this woman was.
“Let’s go.” Without releasing his grip on her wrist, he tugged her along and walked outside.
Quietly, Cherry heaved a sigh of relief. As she was about to follow Henry, someone caught hold of her waist. Before she had time to scream, her whole body was dragged into another man’s arms.
Cherry raised her head and stared into the man’s eyes. In that split second, she felt like she had been sucked into a bottomless void and the icy cold aura reeked of danger and death.It was rather dark in the hall and Cherry could not identify the man as he wore a mask. Nonetheless, judging by the man’s gaze, she was sure that he might be that man.She did not understand how the man could find her that quickly. Was it a coincidence, or did he recognize her?He kept quiet and merely stared at her, burning fear into her with that inscrutable gaze of his.She was afraid. She knew that she could not stay and had to flee at once. The only way out was to shake him loose.Fortunately, she was well prepared.“Ahhh, murder! Ahh, ahh, blood, blood everywhere!” She squeezed an object in her pocket, which was filled with fake blood, and screamed loudly.Suddenly, her bloodcurdling scream overpowered the noises in the hall and the blaring music.No one noticed that while she was screaming, she th
At that moment, elevator No. 1 stopped at the basement parking level. The elevator doors opened and Larry stepped out.Cherry had already arrived at the car door. There was a pole between her and Larry.Henry Max was astonished at how fast Cherry ran. Was this her hidden potential that was triggered by this dangerous situation?He unlocked the car door using his remote and Cherry got in immediately.Larry noticed one of her legs which was still outside of the car by the time he ran around the pole.Henry reversed the car once he got in and it drifted swiftly. He was able to pull off tricky moves with his car due to his love for car racing.In a short time, they managed to get away from the people who were chasing after them including Larry.“Done.” Henry grinned smugly, displaying an air of arrogance and ego of a 20-year-old.“Don’t rejoice so soon.” Unlike him, Cherry was not that optimistic for she knew how powerful Larry was.“What do you mean? Are you saying that there are people
“No…” One of the people who was on the phone glanced at the smoking grenade and gulped. “The hand grenade is fake.”“What the f*ck?! A fake grenade fooled you?!” swore Stanley.“There was smoke coming out of the grenade earlier and that woman threatened us in a very professional manner…” The person lowered his gaze.“Looks like that woman is not very simple.” Stanley hung up and frowned. “Steve, what sort of person is she?”What sort of person is she? Larry desperately wanted an answer to this question.He never expected that Cherry would have been able to escape from the hotel in the end.Nonetheless, escaping from the hotel did not mean that she fled successfully.“Bentley, license plate number ending with 666. It departed the west exit of Jills Hotel’s basement parking level two minutes ago. I want the woman in the car.” Larry made a phone call and gave his orders.“Larry, I can’t believe you called…” Stanley was shocked and speechless. His facial expression changed. He knew who hi
Larry raised his eyebrows slightly. The room smelled faintly of cigarettes and although it was not obvious, it proved that someone was here earlier. Frank had departed for another Country a month ago.He recalled a woman jumping into his room from the balcony of Frank’s room last night. With that behavior, she must have been drugged.His cold gaze swept across the room rapidly. Everything looked normal but there was something amiss upon closer inspection. Then, a hint of danger gleamed in his eyes.“Is Frank back?” As the Chief of police, Stanley had strong observation skills. “No, it isn’t Frank.”“A woman’s cigarette!” The highly observant Stanley soon discovered a cigarette butt beneath a chair in the lounge. "Larry, could the woman have entered Frank’s room? If it’s true, her purpose could be…”Larry did not answer him as he was already checking the CCTV footage.Based on The Fly’s info, he keyed in the time and location which brought up that area’s footage.In the footage, Henry’
“How did you know?” Stanley stared at Helen intently with his eyes bright.“When we were on the third floor, she approached the man and he initially ignored her. At that time, I was near them and despite the loud music, I could vaguely hear her said something about Henry's family, but I couldn’t hear what she said after that. However, the man’s behavior changed immediately before he grabbed hold of her wrist and asked her who she was. He was rather scary at that time.”Larry and Stanley did not speak for a while.Helen heaved a quiet sigh of relief. Due to the fear within her, she spoke faster, “That woman seemed like she was not afraid as she just remained silent. Then, the man gave in and agreed to help her. After that…”Helen looked at Larry, who was still wearing his mask. “You should understand what happened next, Sir.”“Earlier, when she ran towards me with her covered in blood, I was scared silly. I was dragged into the elevator by her and she threatened me with my darkest secr
At the same time, Henry’s phone rang.He flinched for a second as if he was jolted awake. Unable to react in time, his expression froze.“Hello, mom.” He sighed in relief. If not for the call, he would have given himself away. That fellow was diabolical to trick him this way.Under such circumstances, that if the person interrogating him had received a call and mentioned Cherry without warning, Henry would still show some hint of uneasiness, no matter how well-prepared he was.He believed that that person was observing him from a hidden place right now. Knowing how powerful that person was, the uneasiness that had almost shown itself would have been noticed.It was too dangerous.“Nana, where are you? Today is your brother’s engagement and I still don’t see your brother’s friends. He didn’t answer my call either. Do you know where he is?”“I know, letting your brother marry Cherry is extremely unfair for him. I, too, don’t want to let him marry that ugly, stupid and useless woman,” th
“Is your brother here?” Cherry raised her eyebrows. Her tone was nonchalant yet direct.“You knew all along that my brother won't be here today?” Henry was completely stunned and stared at her in disbelief. How was this possible? His elder brother never objected. He always thought that his elder brother was very committed to the family.How could Cherry be so sure that his elder brother will not be here today?!Cherry smiled without saying a word. With Nelly present, she knew that today's engagement will not go on successfully. This was also the reason why she did not protest all these while.Why should she take matters into her own hands when somebody else could help her solve her problems? It was not worth the trouble since it was both physically and mentally exhausting.“Are you certain that my brother won't be here today?” Henry was unconvinced.“He'll definitely be present but the engagement won't take place.” Cherry had to tolerate Henry's inquisitive nature but who was it that
“Hardy, you're finally here!” His mother heaved a sigh of relief when she saw him appear. “Thank God, you've finally arrived. We have been waiting for you for so long and were worried sick. Why didn't you call us if you had an emergency?”“Edward, he managed to come here. Naturally, he understands that nothing is more important than today's engagement. The ceremony can begin now.” She kept defending Hardy as she spoke. Edward's expression began to soften.His wife followed behind Hardy and lowered her head. She walked slowly from the moment she entered the hotel and kept a distance from him. Everybody's gaze fell on Hardy at that moment and only a few people had noticed his mother.No one thought much about the reason behind Hardy's delay in arrival.“Huh, he actually came. Honestly, I think it's understandable if he didn't show up due to Cherry's qualities.” Stanley quipped from the third floor and raised his eyebrows. “As a woman, it's fine if you're stupid as long as you're good-l