LOGINMiranda suddenly grabbed Felix by the front of his shirt and pleaded hoarsely, “Felix, save him! Please, hurry. Get him to a hospital.”“I’m fine, Miranda.” Mike tried to reassure her. It was obvious she was badly shaken.Felix turned and signaled sharply to his men. “Bring the med kit. Now.”One of the bodyguards immediately brought it over. They moved fast, pressing gauze to Mike’s wound and wrapping it tightly. Mike cooperated without a word. Right now, stopping the bleeding mattered most.Felix’s gaze returned to Miranda. It moved over her face, then the rest of her, silently checking for injuries.Finally, he asked in a rough voice, “Are you hurt?”Miranda shook her head, but her eyes never left Mike. The fear and concern in them were impossible to hide.Mike was looking at her too.For a moment, the two of them seemed to see no one else.“Your injury...” Miranda asked softly, her voice trembling.“It’s nothing serious.” Mike gave her a faint smile, then lifted his eyes
Miranda lifted a hand to shield her eyes from the blinding headlights. She stared at the figure walking toward her through the glare, and even before she could make out his face, she knew who it was.Mike.Then she caught the cold flash of a knife in one of the kidnappers’ hands, and panic ripped through her.“Mike, don’t come any closer!”Mike reached the doorway just as the headlights from the vehicle behind him spilled into the warehouse, lighting up Miranda where she sat on the ground. Her collar had been torn open. A handprint stood out on her cheek. Her hair was a mess. One look was enough to tell what she had just been through.Fury exploded in Mike’s eyes. His fists clenched so hard they cracked, and a terrifying edge came off him all at once.The four kidnappers had thought only one man had shown up. But the second they felt the force of his presence, all four of them realized he wasn’t going to be easy to handle. They exchanged a glance and tightened their grips on thei
On the road at dusk, the fake patrol car disappeared down a side lane and headed toward the reservoir.It finally stopped at an abandoned reservoir maintenance building. A fence enclosed the property, dark tree shadows hung over it, and the whole place felt eerie and deserted.When Miranda was thrown hard onto the ground, she started to come to. Before she could even make out her surroundings, a brutal slap landed across her face.“Bitch, you’re the one who got Mr. Zink’s chemical plant shut down back then, aren’t you?” a thickset man snarled. He grabbed Miranda by the hair and forced her to look at him. “If you hadn’t stuck your nose where it didn’t belong, our guys wouldn’t still be out of work.”Fighting through the pain, Miranda understood immediately that these were Owen Zink’s men. She gritted her teeth and shot back, “Your plant was dumping way over the legal limit. You know exactly how many people in those villages got sick because of it.”“Oh, you’ve still got the nerve t
Zion looked at Miranda meaningfully. “When Eugene was alive, you and Mia were the ones he worried about most.”Miranda pressed her lips together and nodded. “Thank you for telling me all this, Uncle Zion.”“The work he never got to finish has now been carried on by you,” Zion said. “In a way, you’ve fulfilled the dream he left behind. If he knows, wherever he is, I think he’d finally be at peace.”After Zion left, Miranda drifted down the hallway in a daze. She looked up and saw Dr. Smith talking to the head nurse. She walked over.“Dr. Smith, there are a few things I want to ask you.”“Oh?” Dr. Smith turned to her. “Go ahead.”“Who founded the blood research lab in Danesia?”Dr. Smith hesitated. “Mr. Gibson never told you?”“It was my father, wasn’t it?” Miranda asked quietly.Dr. Smith nodded. “Yes. Eugene wasn’t only the lab’s lead researcher, he was also its founder. Mr. Gibson provided the full funding.”Miranda’s heart dropped.Eugene had never told her.Neither had F
As Miranda passed the reception desk, one of the younger receptionists chirped, “Dr. Stone, was that your boyfriend? He’s so handsome.”“Yeah,” another added. “Dr. Stone, is your boyfriend in the military?”Miranda just smiled at them without answering.But to the receptionists, that was basically the same as a yes.Mike got into his car, but before he pulled away, his sharp eyes landed on a black SUV nearby. It had tailed him to the restaurant earlier, and now it had followed him back to the lab. The sight immediately put him on alert.Was Miranda in some kind of trouble?His brow tightened.Miranda headed straight back to her office, slipped on her white lab coat, and pressed the intercom. “Which conference room is Dr. Declan in?”“Conference Room Three.”She made her way there and found Zion deep in conversation with Dr. Smith.Since it had been a while, Miranda greeted him warmly. “Uncle Zion, you’re here.”“I heard about your breakthrough in blood disease research, so I
Miranda nodded. “I’d really like to ask him a few things when I get the chance.”Mike’s gaze softened. “Then the timing’s perfect. Mia wants to visit the base again too. When you have some time off, you should come spend the day there.”Miranda blinked. The last time she had gone to his base, it had been for work. Going there just to see him felt different. It was a lot more personal. She couldn’t help feeling a little awkward about it. It was a military base, after all, not somewhere people casually dropped by unless they were family.“Mia just says whatever pops into her head,” Miranda said softly. “You don’t have to take it so seriously.”But Mike only looked at her steadily. “I know. But when it comes to you and Mia, I can’t help it. You both matter a lot to me.”Miranda met his eyes. She understood what he meant. She wasn’t some naive girl in her early twenties anymore.“Mike.” She stirred her coffee lightly. “I know how you feel. But you should understand that there’s a hug
“James, what happened to your hand?” Miranda asked with concern.“When I was holding the pig down earlier, its hoof scraped me. It’s nothing,” he replied.“Let me clean it and bandage it.” Miranda grabbed the first-aid kit and returned to the lab bench.James sat quietly while she disinfected and
The text message came from an unknown number, but the tone made it obvious to Miranda who had sent it. It was Xena.Miranda stared at the message for a few seconds before replying, “Then keep your dog on a leash.”A response came almost immediately. “Miranda, aren’t you scared I’ll forward this to
By then, most of the guests had arrived. Leo entered while chatting with an older guest. When he spotted Miranda standing with Haley, he quickly wrapped up the conversation and headed over to them.“Uncle Leo!” Vivian squealed as she ran into his arms.Leo took her hand and glanced a few steps awa
“Well… I was planning to spend it quietly at home,” Miranda said.James smiled. “Celebrating with Mia?”“Yes. Just a small cake with her will be enough.”James nodded. “Alright. When you have time, we should have dinner together.”Miranda smiled back. “Sure.”At two o’clock, Miranda was analyzi







