Filed to story: The Regretful Billionaire: An Unpredicted Reunion >>
Graham retired to his room, and Jolene stormed out of the house, leaving Rowena alone in the living room. She glanced at his room on the second floor and frowned. It could have been a mistake, but she sensed that he had an odd reaction upon the mention of Danika Zellweger. She had always been cautious and would capture minor behavioral changes in others.
It wasn’t a mistake, she decided after a while and nodded. She called her assistant. “Look into this person for me. I need everything you can get on her.”
At the same time, Danika was back at her hotel after a busy day. She called Christopher to get an update on Harvey, and she was upset to learn that Harvey remained unconscious. After the call, she lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling as she fell into a reflective state.
“Why is it this hard to get to the truth? Do I really have to go home empty-handed?” she wondered.
The doorbell interrupted her train of thought. She went to the door and asked, “Who’s out there?”
“Good evening. This is room service. Would you like some desserts freshly prepared by the kitchen?” A sweet female voice rang from the other side.
Danika happened to be starving after a long day. She opened the door without thinking much and said to the hotel employee in uniform, “Sure. One order for me.”
“Okay. I’ll send the desserts to your room.” The woman picked up a plate of desserts, entered Danika’s room, and placed the plate on the table.
Danika sat only to frown when she realized the employee didn’t plan to leave. “Is there anything else?”
“No. Please go ahead,” the employee answered but didn’t budge.
Danika dared not dig in. Her eyes traveled between the desserts and the employee as she leaned into her chair. “Could you please leave? I can’t eat when you’re in my room.”
On top of that, the employee was staring at her with a suspicious look. Even though the employee did not make a move, Danika rose in defense. She wasn’t an idiot-she would be one if she failed to sense the threat.
“Who sent you?” she demanded to know as get into a fighting stance. The employee smiled in defeat and took off her cap and heels. “Darling, please don’t worry. I won’t take your life. I just need something from you.”
While speaking, she charged at Danika. Danika quickly dodged her attacks, but her opponent swiftly kicked and punched at her without showing mercy.
Frowning, Danika couldn’t understand how she could make enemies in the last few days she had been in Bardoff City. Not only that, but her curiosity was also piqued by the attacker, who was highly skilled in martial arts. While wracking her brain, she focused on defending herself against the attacker, but her heart sank after a few rounds of combat. By then, she knew that she was no match for the attacker.
“My dear teacher, did you lie to me? Before leaving the village, you told me I had no competition among my peers. But what about this?” she thought. She wouldn’t mind having competition in Parrington, but the fact that she couldn’t take down a random opponent in Bardoff City made her question her abilities.
She felt helpless but had no choice but to give her all, for she couldn’t surrender. Ten rounds later, she was exhausted and pinned under the attacker.
“You won.” Danika quit the struggle. To her disbelief, she might actually lose her life during her first visit to Bardoff City.
However, the attacker was not in a hurry. Looking at Danika, she had a renewed sense of awe and somberness. “You’re quite good. Who taught you?”
Danika held her tongue because she would never reveal her teacher in Orchid Village to anyone.
“Are you not going to talk? Do you have a death wish?” the attacker said in a warning tone as she narrowly slid her blade across Danika’s cheek.
“If you wanted to kill me, you’d do it whether I tell you or not.” Danika was clever enough not to fall for the attacker’s lie.
The attacker chuckled at her logical interpretation, her blade still sliding across Danika’s cheek as she contemplated her next move. “You’re pretty, but you’d look better with a few scars.”
Danika didn’t say a word, but she scanned the room desperately to find an escape. Sadly, she was cornered under the attacker’s violent domination.
When the attacker raised her knife, Danika braced herself for facial injuries, but the blade merely made a tiny cut on her neck. She felt a pang of pain and some bleeding, but it was not a serious wound. Out of Danika’s sight, the attacker collected her blood in a small tube and tucked it away before grinning at her victim. “Did you feel that everything’s ending for you just now?”
“What do you really want?” She didn’t intend to kill Danika, for she would have acted sooner if she wanted to murder. Danika had no idea about her identity.
The attacker smiled at her but didn’t plan to leave. “Don’t worry. I’m just having some fun with you.”
Suddenly, they heard footsteps from the door, and the attacker was on high alert as she pulled Danika closer to place the knife against her neck. A man wandered in from the door, and his eyes widened at the sight. “Let go of her!”
“And who are you to her?” The attacker beamed and developed an interest in the man who showed up.
Eustace Quincey looked grim. He had never expected to find Danika being held hostage when he was checking out her accommodation in Bardoff City. Although he didn’t know the attacker, he realized she was a tough opponent because Danika was good at martial arts. “I’m her boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend?” She raised a brow and examined his face before turning her attention to Danika. You’re a great match.”
“What do you want? Let go of her, and I’ll give you anything you want,” he announced as he wondered how Danika got herself into trouble with that dangerous woman.
The attacker silently walked up to Eustace with Danika in her grip. When she was right in front of Eustace, she quickly shoved Danika into his arms and escaped. “I’m out of this game! Goodbye!”
Instead of going after her, Eustace hurriedly checked on Danika. He was especially concerned about the blood on her neck. “Don’t move. I’ll send you to the hospital.”
He was about to carry her, but she stopped him. “I’m okay. This is a tiny wound.”
The attacker didn’t use force on Danika, who was unscathed except for the bleeding on her neck. However, it only puzzled her more. What had happened? Why didn’t she harm her or take her life?
As she was thinking, he wrapped her in his arms. “It’s good as long as you’re safe.”
She was confused by his sudden embrace that filled her nose with his familiar woody scent. She soon emerged from her daze and pushed him away. “Why are you here?”
He coughed awkwardly and put on a serious face. “I’m on a business trip and booked a room in the same hotel. I just happened to run into you.”
She rolled her eyes at him, a clear sign that she didn’t believe his words. He took the room card out of his bag and showed it to her. “I’m staying next door.”
Dumbfounded, she realized he had indeed checked into the room next to hers. Did that mean it was purely coincidental that he had passed by her room and run into the situation?
“Are we fated, or is it all because of dumb luck?” she wondered.
Eustace was about to ask Danika about the attack, but he was interrupted by some vicious-looking intruders who showed up at the door, clearly up to no good.
Danika’s expression fell as she thought, “When will this end?” She rolled her fists and stared at the men. “So, are you after me too?”
The men exchanged glances of confirmation and nodded at each other. She then realized that they were indeed after her. Without wasting time, she wanted to charge at them. Not every person in Bardoff City was as skilled as her previous opponent, she’d like to believe, and she vowed to take her revenge.
However, Eustace grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. “You’re injured. Leave them to me.”
“I’m not-
Eustace made his move. He was as fast as lightning, and the men were laying on the floor in no time, groaning in pain. They were obviously not at the same level as the female attacker. Danika walked up and smiled at one of them. “Who sent you?”
The man remained quiet. She kept a smile on her face but stepped on his face without warning. I’ll ask you once more. Who sent you?”
The man grimaced in pain but remained silent. Danika finally chuckled out loud. “You’re a stubborn one, aren’t you? I guess you’re flirting with death.” She turned to Eustace and ordered, “Beat him to death.”
Eustace wanted to execute her orders. The men on the floor were shaking in fear as he sprang into action, and they totally believed he would end them.
“I’ll talk! I’ll talk!” Someone finally cracked, for none of them wanted to draw their last breath there.
Danika was speechless at how fast they surrendered to Eustace. “Was I not murderous enough just now?” she wondered as she stared at the man who spoke and waited for him to talk.
Soon, she found out that Christopher’s parents were behind this planned attack, leaving her at a loss. Although she didn’t have a good impression of his parents, she got along well with him. How could she possibly send his parents to jail? Moreover, she was waiting patiently for Harvey to wake up and ask him about her birth family.
Eustace’s face clouded when he noticed her conflicted look. “Are you not going to take action on them because they’re Christopher’s parents?”
She had indeed contemplated doing so.