Megan remained emotionless even after hearing Debbie's praise. "I'm ready," she said flatly.
They went out together. Megan's bodyguards followed close behind them and got in another car.
It wasn't until Megan opened Debbie's car door that she was shocked to see the other two guys sitting there. After a pause, she climbed into the back seat without a word.
Kasie shot her a cold glance and moved over, and then looked back down at her phone. That showed Megan the proper amount of contempt and disdain Kasie was going for.
Jared was in the driver's seat, and he turned around to glare at Megan. "Well, you do have the guts to come along. You think Mr. Huo will back you up so Tomboy won't do anything to you?" he remarked with sarcasm.
Debbie settled down in the passenger seat. After fastening her seat belt, she grabbed Jared's head and made him look at the road ahead. "Let's go!" she ordered.
"Hey! Watch the hair!" Jared protested. If it were someone else other than Debbie, who dared to lay a finger on his new hairdo, he would've kicked the guy away. Or at least he would've given him a good punch to remind him.
It wasn't easy to manage the new hairdo. He had spent more than an hour making it look just right before he went out today.
He anxiously looked at his reflection in the rear-view mirror and carefully smoothed the tousled hair, making sure he looked as handsome as usual. After two minutes, the flamboyant guy still hadn't started the car. Impatient, Kasie kicked the back of the driver's seat and yelled, "Are you going on a date? Quit messing with your hair. You already have a tons of pretty girls around you. Let's get going!"
Jared finally started the engine. He complained, "But it's you guys—not my Mrs. Right. I'm not looking for a friend or a girlfriend. I'm looking for a wife."
"A wife?" Debbie mocked. "You? The eternal bachelor? Dream on," she said, as she played on her phone.
Jared sighed helplessly. "Come on Tomboy. Have some respect.
On the other hand, Megan showed no interest in their bantering and secretly texted Carlos. "Uncle Carlos, are you free now?"
She waited awhile, but there was no reply. Megan assumed that Carlos was busy with his work at the moment, so she texted him again. "Aunt Debbie is taking me somewhere. She wanted to have a talk. But she's bringing a couple friends alone. Uncle Carlos, I'm scared..."
In no time, Carlos flat out called her. Seeing the caller ID on her phone screen, Megan instantly silenced the ringer. She didn't answer the call.
Shortly, Debbie's phone rang. Confused, she shot a glance at Megan, who was just sitting quietly with her phone in her lap. The screen was off, so she wasn't playing with it. After a little hesitation, Debbie decided to answer the call. "What's up?"
"Where are you now?"
Debbie's lips twitched. "Why do you ask?"
"Where are you taking her?" Carlos asked as he leaned back in his chair, massaging his aching temples.
"I just want to talk to her. What are you worried about?" Carlos could sense the irony in her tone.
"Don't do anything rash. Her health is bad."
"Haw-haw!" Debbie chuckled ironically. "Let me guess. You're worried that I'll hit her?"
'Since her health is bad, why can't she just behave and stop pissing me off?' Debbie thought to herself.
A bad feeling rose in Carlos' heart. He knew Debbie too well. There was a good chance she wouldn't let Megan off the hook easily this time. He tried his hardest to control his emotions and did his level best to calm her down. "Debbie, listen—she's innocent." What caused this mess was that Debbie was accused of taking birth control pills. Megan was the one who told Carlos about it, but he already knew that there was something more complicated behind the accusation. Megan might have been a pawn in a game that someone else was playing, trying to get rid of Debbie. He had asked Emmett to investigate the truth.
"She's innocent? Then what about me?" Hearing him defend Megan disappointed Debbie. She felt she was owed at least the same amount of respect, and he definitely wasn't showing it. He just grew enraged and colder when he found out the result of the blood test, and didn't even listen to her side of it. True, with the steroidal compounds showing up in her blood, it didn't look good for her, but there had to be some other explanation. Maybe someone had ground it up in her food, or something else. But Carlos had jumped to conclusions immediately. She was his wife, dammit! He should believe her over Megan.
'Have I done anything to her that deserved all the pain she put me through?' Debbie thought sadly. Whatever he said, she couldn't swallow her anger this time. She had almost died because of Megan's call.
"I won't let her go this time." As she finished this sentence, she hung up at once. She wasn't interested in hearing any more excuses.
Everyone in the car remained silent and held their breath the whole time. They were all well aware who Debbie was talking to.
Debbie's phone rang a few more times but every time, she rejected the call as soon as it rang.
Carlos called one of Megan's bodyguards and figured out where they were going. Realizing her intent, he hurriedly drove out with Emmett, tracing their routes.
But a few minutes later, the bodyguard called again, reporting to Carlos that they had lost track of their car.
Carlos immediately called Tristan and asked him to check Debbie's GPS position.
Jared finally stopped the car by the side of a river. This location was carefully selected by Debbie. She had personally come to study the surroundings beforehand. It was quiet here with no cars passing by. No one to see what was going on. No one to call for help.
Megan was forced to get out of the car. At the sight of the surging waves of the river, she was frightened, feeling the colors drain from her face. 'This was how Debbie almost lost her life, ' she thought. 'Does she have a similar fate in mind for me?' She was hoping to rely on Carlos, but she wasn't sure he'd be able to find Debbie, or get here in time if something drastic happened.
She tried to compose herself. "You wanted to talk, so talk now." But Debbie remained silent. "Why did you bring me here? It's so cold outside," Megan said, hoping to break the awkward silence.
Debbie grabbed her by her wrist, dragging her closer to the riverbank.
Megan's legs were trembling. "What are you doing? If Carlos and Wesley hear about this..."
When Carlos was mentioned, Debbie chuckled. "Carlos will love me like he always has. Only this time, you won't be in the way."
Flustered, Megan quickly looked around, hoping to find anyone to turn to for help. But there was nobody else except the four of them. She didn't even see her bodyguards.
She inhaled sharply and shouted to the three surrounding her, "This is a crime!"
Debbie found a block of stone and sat on it. Squinting at Megan, she said casually, "I know my husband cares for you, but don't forget, he cares for me more. Do you think my husband would lock me up if I killed you? Worst case scenario, I still have someone else to save me like Mr. Lu, Hayden Gu..."
Of course, Debbie just brought up these two names to brag. She didn't really think that Curtis and Hayden would get themselves in trouble for her sake, had she been locked up in jail. But Megan didn't know that, and it was possible they might be able to pull some strings and get her out. Of course, she might lose Carlos in the deal, and she wasn't willing to bank on that.
Megan got even more frightened, her face now white as a sheet. "Just calm down!" she said in a shaky voice.
"Calm down?" Debbie snorted. She stood up, drew closer to her and looked into her eyes as she whispered with resentment, "When I fell into the river with my car, I was really calm. You know why? Because I felt despair. I was ready to give up and quietly waited for my last breath!"
Overwhelmed by the great fear, Megan slowly stepped backward with each word Debbie said. "Why did I bring you here? I want you to feel the same way I did. Megan, do you want to have a talk with death?"
Debbie said as she backed her to the edge of the river where there was no guardrail. A one-meter tall warning sign was visible on one side with the words: DANGER! DEEP WATER!
Megan tightly clutched a branch of a small tree, her heart pounding. Taking a deep breath, she apologized. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. Please, I didn't want you to get into an accident..." 'No. I don't want to die now...' she exclaimed in her mind.
"You're sorry?" Suddenly, Debbie heard a car squeal to a halt behind her. Somebody came. If her guess was right, it should be Carlos who had come to save Megan.
And she was certain of her guess when she saw Megan shed crocodile tears again. Debbie had threatened her for a bit now, but she didn't even shed a tear. Now, as soon as her Prince Charming came, she began to cry...
The next second, a familiar voice came to Debbie's ears, "Debbie, get over here now!"