CHAPTER 20.

   Marchen gently dragged AnniBerry to a corner of the room and made her crouch behind the door. He held his gun firmly with both hands, his eyes scanning the room cautiously. He slowly made his way into the sitting room, bending his head to avoid exposing himself in case another bullet was fired. As soon as he noticed where the previous bullet had come from, he immediately dropped to the floor and rolled toward the window. He carefully raised his head and looked outside, trying to see who had shot at them.

  There was no one in sight. Marchen frowned.

  Who had shot at them?

  He quickly rolled away from the window and made his way toward the front door. Once outside, he looked around, but all he saw was a van speeding away from the house. He exhaled deeply before rushing back inside.

  His eyes immediately fell on AnniBerry, who was still lying unconscious on the floor, he dropped his gun on the floor and for a moment, he considered carrying her on his shoulders to the car, but he quickly dismissed the thought. It was broad daylight, and carrying an unconscious woman out of the house would only attract unnecessary attention.

  He rushed into AnniBerry's bathroom and, luckily, found some water in a small cup sitting on the sink. He grabbed it and immediately poured the water over her face. AnniBerry's eyes flew open as she gasped for air. Marchen quickly helped her sit up, gently patting her back.

  “What happened?” she asked, panic evident in her voice.

  “AnniBerry, we have to leave here now. I mean, right now,” he said urgently.

 Marchen stood up and gently helped her to her feet. He then peeped through the window, carefully examining the area outside.

 “Can you run?” he asked.

  AnniBerry nodded quickly, fright visible in her eyes.

  “Good,” Marchen said.

  His eyes suddenly landed on her bed, and he noticed the blanket lying on the floor. He quickly picked it up and spread it open.

  “Come here.”

 AnniBerry stepped closer, and Marchen wrapped the blanket around her, covering her from head to toe. Without questioning him, she held the blanket firmly around her body.

  “Listen to me, AnniBerry,” Marchen said in a low, serious voice. “We are going to the car. I don't know if they're still here or if they've already left, so you need to stay behind me and be careful. Don't look anywhere else. Just keep your eyes on the car.”

  He paused, making sure she understood.

  “As soon as we get to the car, get inside immediately. Understood?”

  AnniBerry nodded.

  Marchen tightened his grip on his gun and carefully moved toward the door, ready to protect her from whatever or whoever was waiting outside.

  Marchen picked up his gun from the floor. AnniBerry’s eyes fell on the weapon, and she swallowed nervously.

  “Just be calm,” Marchen said.

  He carefully stepped out of AnniBerry’s room and moved toward the front door, cautiously analyzing the area. AnniBerry followed closely behind him.

 Once they stepped outside, Marchen’s eyes scanned the surroundings sharply as he made his way toward his car. He pulled out his car keys and pressed the unlock button.

  “Fast, Anni,” he said.

  AnniBerry immediately got into the car. Marchen quickly turned around, got in, and sped away.

  Marchen drove as fast as he could. When he reached the expressway and was certain they weren’t being followed, he glanced at the frightened AnniBerry beside him.

  “Do you have a thing for passing out?” he asked curiously, though his voice remained calm and carried a hint of mockery.

  AnniBerry turned to look at him. “I was so scared. It wasn’t intentional,” she replied.

  Marchen kept his eyes on the road, occasionally checking the side mirror to make sure they were safe.

  “Marchen,” AnniBerry called softly.

  He turned to look at her for a moment before returning his attention to the road.

  “I have a feeling you know so much more than you’re telling me,” AnniBerry began. “You said some people are after me because of my cousin, and until now, I haven’t heard from or even seen Merrilyn.”

  Her voice began to crack as tears threatened to fill her eyes.

  Marchen said nothing. He simply kept driving, his eyes fixed on the road.

  “Marchen!” AnniBerry screamed at the top of her voice.

  Marchen immediately glanced at her.

 “Answer me!” she demanded.

  Marchen inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. “Listen, Anni. I cannot lie to you, but I also can’t tell you more than I know,” he said.

  AnniBerry let out a frustrated laugh. “Really? But as you can see, I’m being attacked everywhere I go!” she exclaimed. Marchen looked at her briefly.

  “Don’t worry. We’re going somewhere safe. No one will come there. Trust me,” he assured her calmly before turning his attention back to the road.

  AnniBerry stared ahead through the windshield, her mind racing with countless questions. She sank deeper into her thoughts, wondering what Marchen was hiding from her and whether the place he was taking her would truly keep her safe.

  Marchen reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out his phone. He made a call, but there was no response from the other end. He sighed, placed the phone on the dashboard, and continued driving.

  A few minutes later, his phone rang.He picked it up immediately.

  “Linx, meet me at Father’s,” he said before ending the call.

  AnniBerry glanced at Marchen, a faint smile playing on her lips.

  “You never struck me as someone who had a dad,” she said.

  Marchen smiled and briefly looked at her.

  “Why?” he asked curiously.

  AnniBerry shrugged. “Well, you just seem very independent. Besides, I’ve never heard you talk about your parents or even mention calling them.”

  Marchen smiled but said nothing. His attention returned to the road. Before long, they arrived in front of a tall, imposing house. Marchen stepped out of the car while AnniBerry remained seated, looking around at the unfamiliar environment. He walked around to her side and opened the door.

  “Come down, Anni,” he said softly.

  AnniBerry gently stepped out, and Marchen took her hand as they walked toward the house together. An elderly man welcomed them at the entrance. His eyes immediately fell on AnniBerry before shifting to Marchen. Marchen gave him a faint smile.

  “This is AnniBerry, Father,” he introduced.

  He then turned to AnniBerry.

  “My father, Anni.”

 They exchanged pleasantries.

 The elderly man smiled at AnniBerry. “You look gorgeous.”

  AnniBerry smiled politely. “Thank you, sir.”

  The elderly man led them toward his office, but Marchen stopped.

  He looked at AnniBerry, then pointed toward a wooden chair near the entrance.

  “AnniBerry, just sit here and wait for me,” he instructed gently.

  She nodded and sat down.

  Marchen followed the elderly man into the office.

  As soon as they entered, the elderly man turned to him with a confused expression.

  “Why did you bring her here?” he asked.

  “She is being attacked at my home, Father,” Marchen replied.

  The elderly man's eyes widened in shock.

  “By whom?”

  “I don't know,” Marchen admitted. “And I'm shocked that someone would dare come to my house and launch an attack on someone.”

  The elderly man remained speechless for a moment. He inhaled deeply and slowly exhaled.

  “So, what do you want me to do?” he finally asked.

  Marchen moved closer and sat on the edge of the sofa.

  “Father, I want her to stay here with you for a while, at least until I figure out what's going on.”

  The elderly man immediately stood up.

  “Never!”

  His voice rose, but when he glanced toward the entrance of his office, he quickly lowered it.

  “You want to put me up against the Boss and Victoria? No, Marchen.”

  Marchen stood as well.

  “Father, she has nowhere else to go. Her home isn't safe anymore.”

 His voice carried a pleading edge.

  The elderly man walked toward the window and stared outside for a long moment. After a while, he turned back to Marchen.

  “Why do you want to destroy everything we suffered to build?” he asked.

  Marchen stared at him, anger slowly rising in his eyes.

  Then he gave a bitter smile.

  “Father, that lady sitting outside is the one who was cheated out of everything. Her parents were killed, everything they built was taken away from them, and now you think the same thing should happen to their daughter?”

  His voice hardened.

  “Is that what you want, Father?”

 The room fell silent for a moment. The elderly man finally looked at Marchen in defeat.

  “She can stay. I’ll have Ella instruct the maid to prepare a room for her,” the elderly man agreed.

  Marchen walked over to him. “Thank you so much, Father. I won’t forget this,” he said gratefully.

  He immediately stepped outside to meet AnniBerry, but she was no longer sitting on the chair where he had left her. He looked around, but she was nowhere inside the building.

  Thinking she might have returned to the car, Marchen headed toward the parking area. He soon found her leaning against the car.

 “Anni, I was wondering where you were,” he said as he approached her.

  AnniBerry let out a sharp exhale. “Well, I wasn’t comfortable with the way that fierce-looking lady was staring at me.”

  A small smile tugged at Marchen’s lips. “That’s Ella She’s my father’s assistant.”

  AnniBerry nodded, then suddenly looked thoughtful. “But why does she have a bandage on her hand? It looks like she’s injured or something.”

 Marchen’s expression changed.

  “Really?” he asked, his curiosity piqued.

  He immediately found it strange. He had seen Ell just two days ago, and she hadn’t had any injury on her hand then.

  A sense of suspicion crept over him.

  He looked at AnniBerry. “Get into the car and wait for me.”

 Without explaining further, Marchen turned and walked back into the house.