Debbie felt her blood boiling. Overwhelmed by white hot rage, she suddenly raised her clenched fist and rushed the man who had already taken off his shirt. She leaped into the air and kicked at him, using her momentum to plow into the thug. Caught off guard, the man lost his balance momentarily.
Seeing her start the battle, two other kidnappers instantly darted towards her, intending to take her down.
The bare-chested man lifted himself up from the ground. Massaging his aching arm, he cursed ferociously, "You bitch! Kick me, will ya? You're dead meat. Get her, boys!" As he finished speaking, he picked Sasha up, slinging her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He moved off to the side. Sasha wanted to cry out but her mouth had been taped.
The kidnappers were hired by James. They all were trained in various martial arts styles. But Debbie's main problem was that she was pregnant. She couldn't strain herself, so she couldn't attack at full strength.
In spite of that, she still was able to handle three of them. One of them rushed towards her, and she simply sidestepped. His momentum carried him right by her, and she struck under his chin with her palm as he passed. His head snapped back and he fell to the ground. Another of the thugs thought he'd fare better, and she trapped his arm and shoved him deftly into another kidnapper, and they both fell into a heap.
Realizing Debbie was better than they thought, they quickly pulled out knives from inside their clothes and pointed them at Debbie. She saw all sorts of knives: butterfly knives, wicked looking tea knives, and even some models she was unfamiliar with, though they definitely looked western in origin.
The glint of the sharp blades made her heart skip a beat. Meanwhile, she began to feel a dull pain in her belly. Worried about the safety of the baby, she didn't move a muscle.
The kidnappers sprinted towards her, knives in hand. Cornered, Debbie clenched her jaw and shouted at the man who was about to **** Sasha, "Wait!"
Each man stopped in his tracks, surrounding Debbie without attacking her. The bare-chested man had already taken off his trousers, and was getting ready to cut Sasha's clothing off. In an unhappy voice, he roared, "What now? If you won't sign that paper, then don't bug me!"
"I... I'll sign it..." Covering her aching belly and looking at Sasha's desperate eyes, Debbie surrendered. What else could she do?
She picked up the piece of paper from the ground. Tears sprang to her eyes as she read it in her mind again and again, until she couldn't bear to even look at it anymore. Gripping the paper tightly, she was unable to lift a finger to sign it.
The kidnappers were impatient. They shouted at her rudely to sign the thing. Finally, with trembling hand, Debbie signed her name and left a fingerprint on it.
Satisfied, the man donned his clothes again and told Debbie in a sarcastic voice, "So, for signing that you get to come to the funeral. It's in the cemetery in the suburbs, day after tomorrow. After that, get lost! Never come back to Y City, or else." Debbie remained silent.
Frustrated, she clenched her fists, nails digging into her palms. Never would she forget this day. The darkest hour. The saddest heart. She swore that James would be her enemy forever. Someday, she'd get her revenge. The lead kidnapper looked at Sasha. "Hey, too bad we didn't get to know each other. You ever need a date, look me up." She looked horrified, but he just grinned. Then he winked lewdly, and then went to help the others pack up.
By the time the police arrived, the kidnappers had already escaped. Before they ran away, they also tied Debbie up too, just in case.
Sebastian and Lucinda heaved a deep sigh of relief when they saw the two girls safe and sound.
Then, they were taken to the police station to give their accounts.
On their way there, everyone all noticed something was wrong with Debbie. It seemed like all the life was sucked from her.
Sasha didn't know anything about the paper that Debbie signed. She asked her several times, yet got no reply.
Even at the police station, Debbie still wasn't able to answer the officer's questions properly. In the end, the police had no choice but to let them go home.
Debbie's mental state worried Lucinda. She wanted to take Debbie to the Mu family's residence, but the depressed girl refused.
"Hey, listen. Everyone's looking for you. You don't know friend from foe, and you're pregnant. Come with me, okay?" Lucinda argued as she held Debbie's hand, stopping her from getting out of the car.
With glazed eyes, Debbie looked at her aunt and said, "I'll be careful, Aunt Lucinda. I have something to do right now. I'll be there later on."
Unable to persuade her, Lucinda conceded and let her get out of the car.
Watching the car drive away, Debbie took out her phone and opened Facebook. She tapped Chat, and sent a private message to Miranda. "Aunt Miranda...Mom. Please help."
She waited for a long while, but there was no reply. She texted again. "I need to see you." She also texted her phone number to her.
After that, she opened her contact list and found Curtis' number. She stood there for a while, going back and forth about calling him. Finally, she decided to just do it.
He picked up quickly. "Debbie." Curtis' tender voice came through the receiver.
Debbie's eyes reddened and tears began to flow. She raised her head to look at the sky, stopping the tears from falling down. "Mr. Lu."
"You okay? Where are you? Back at my apartment?" He had been handling things in the manor ever since Debbie hurried away. He hadn't had the time to ask how she was.
"I...I'm sorry. I lied to you. James was right... I had an affair. I aborted the baby. My dad passed away a long time ago, and now Carlos is dead. My mom abandoned me as a child. There's no reason for me to stay here." She bit her lower lip, trying to hold back tears.
Curtis knitted his eyebrows deeply. "Debbie, what happened?"
He didn't believe she was like that. Moreover, he knew she wasn't like that. Something was wrong.
"Don't believe me?" Debbie smiled silently. 'Mr. Lu trusts me...He's a great guy...'
"I don't believe you did any of that. I know you. Debbie, why are you lying to me? Tell me, and I'll fix it." Curtis became more anxious. He sensed that something was really wrong with Debbie. Was she being coerced?
Wiping away her tears, Debbie said with a sob, "Uncle Curtis... Thank you for helping me. Carlos is really...dead... Everyone hates me. I can't stay here any longer. I need to move to another city, start fresh..."
"Don't. This is wrong. Where are you? I'll swing by and we'll talk face to face, okay?" Curtis said anxiously.
Debbie shook her head. She took a deep breath to collect herself and said in a calm tone, "No. I have a new boyfriend. He's not as rich as Carlos but he treats me well. I'll be happy."
"What? New boyfriend?" Curtis was shocked.
His voice was so loud Wesley could hear it. Wesley didn't know who was on the other end at first, but then he heard Curtis say Debbie's name.
'A new boyfriend? Debbie?' Wesley was shocked and angry, eyes burning with fury. Frowning, he walked up to Curtis and grabbed his phone from his hand. "Debbie Nian! What the hell are you doing? Carlos died of protecting you. But you divorced him no matter how much his dad begged you not to. You even aborted his kid. We haven't even buried him yet, but you have a new boyfriend already? You're nothing but a bitch!" Wesley snarled on the other end.
At first, he didn't believe any of the rumors. He knew how much Carlos loved her and spoiled her. Someone must have been spreading lies. He didn't believe Debbie was like that at all. But now, she admitted it herself, which disappointed him so much.
Curtis tried to shut Wesley down. "Wesley, it's not like that..."
On the other end, Debbie shut her eyes in anguish. A pang of sorrow grew in her heart. After a moment, she pushed her sorrow down, buried it, and said in a relaxed voice, "Carlos is dead. Do you want me to be unhappy?"
Wesley's anger grew. He had dark fantasies of pointing a gun at Debbie!
Debbie just hung up. She couldn't lie to them anymore. Her tears would betray her if she kept doing it.
That night, Debbie went to spend the night at Lucinda's, just like she promised. She slept in the same bed as Sasha. Staring blankly out the window, Debbie didn't fall asleep until midnight.
Soon after she fell asleep, she thought she saw Carlos in the darkness. She grinned and said sweetly, "Mr. Handsome..."
Carlos smiled at her tenderly and reached out to caress her face.
"Mr. Handsome, I miss you so much..."
Carlos said nothing but just looked at her, eyes full with tenderness and love.