At the CBD Exhibition Center of Y City, a group of elites from all walks of life had just walked out of the main entrance after concluding a comprehensive meeting.
Matthew was encircled by several people as they kept going over the main points of the meeting. "Mr. Huo, what do you think about that matter?"
Matthew, however, looked around obliviously and replied in an obvious tone of indifference, "It depends on the opinion of the public. The best way is to do a survey among the masses."
Just at that moment, another group of people approached them from the other side, led by a woman, sophisticatedly dressed in a grey plaid design dress and her long purple hair bounced over her shoulders neatly. When her eyes met with Matthew, she walked up to him and greeted, "Mr. Huo, what a coincidence!" The woman was beautiful, graceful and noble.
Matthew simply cast her a glance and responded with a silent nod of the head.
However, another person who knew the both of them greeted the woman in a flattering tone, "Miss Su, what brings you here?"
With a pleasing smile, Camille looked past their shoulders, at the building behind them and said, "I am here to take part in an activity. It's on the third floor."
It was then that they realized there was a fashion show on the third floor of the CBD Exhibition Center today.
The smile on the woman's face captivated all the other men present as they struggled to take their eyes off her. Of course, all but one man, Matthew, who was just about to walk past Camille and make his exit.
Bang! All of a sudden, an earth-shattering sound snatched everyone's attention.
It happened so fast that everyone's brain had shut down and their eyes were wide as if someone or something was coming to deliver a fatal blow. "Ah! A gun! Someone's been shot..."
Unfortunately, the instant someone screamed that there was a gun, everyone panicked and started dispersing in all directions.
Someone had opened fire on the people, critically wounding those standing in the crowd.
Senses sharpened with adrenaline, only Matthew held his breath and remained calm, straining to hear with every ounce of his concentration. He found the perfect spot to shield himself from the bullets while he squinted his eyes to get a better look at the source of the gunshots. Soon, he saw two or three men with guns pointing at him from a minibus just at the opposite and at a corner.
Just in the nick of time, a bevy of bodyguards, dressed in black, broke through the crowd and rushed towards Matthew to protect him.
Matthew immediately swerved, successfully dodging a bullet as it almost grazed past his left shoulder by two mere inches. The yelp of a helpless woman caught his attention. It seemed as though she screamed out in pain as she had just sprained her ankle and was about to fall down right before Matthew.
Matthew wasn't too happy when he found out who it was. He stretched out his hand to help her keep balance, so that Camille wouldn't land on him.
Unfortunately, Camille had clutched onto his strong hand very tightly, almost as though her life depended on it.
The entire scene was a pure spectacle as Matthew had two or three guns aimed at him, while his bodyguards were desperately trying to get to him.
Chaos ensued as the combined deafening screams and cries came from all sides.
Suddenly, a car sped over and stopped right in front of Matthew, who was surrounded by his bodyguards. When the door of the car was opened from the inside, Camille screamed, "Mr. Huo, be careful..."
A group of gangsters had suddenly appeared behind the CEO and cocked their guns at his back. The woman who was standing next to him turned around and stood behind him almost instantly. "Ah!" Two bullets in succession were shot into her body, silencing her.
Frowning, Matthew pulled her away and helped her into the car.
The bodyguards quickly found the hiding place of the enemies behind them and got rid of two of them very soon.
Matthew took the opportunity to take a look at the woman in the car, who was covering her wound with her hand while writhing in pain. He knew then that these people were serious and the target was none other than himself.
He grabbed the pistol from the bodyguard nearest him and pushed the bodyguard into the car. He used the car door as cover and located the nearest attacker. Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger and accurately hit him on the shoulder.
The attacker went down with a painful wail as he dropped the gun, and was soon subdued by the police who came later.
Such a big event couldn't have gone on in broad daylight at the newest district of Y City without ending up on the headlines of every newspaper in the city.
Erica found out about it when she had just finished her class. She couldn't have missed it as the whole classroom was talking about it. "Oh my God, it must have been horrible for such a thing to happen in public!"
"Yes! I saw it too! Oh my God! Look! Mr. Huo was there!" Everyone looking at their phone all simultaneously turned to look at the pregnant woman almost as soon as they heard the name "Mr. Huo."
Staring at their stunned gazes, Erica realized that something bad must have happened. "What's wrong?"
"Well... Erica, there was a shoot-out on the street in front of the CBD Exhibition Center. I saw Mr. Huo there..." a bold classmate said.
'Matthew?' Erica stood up nervously, grabbed the classmate's phone and stared at the screen with eyes wide open.
She noticed Matthew standing in the crowd, but the first thought in her mind was of someone else. Who was the woman Matthew was holding with his hand?
Erica enlarged another picture with a front view. Was that Camille?
Why were they together? Why did Camille get in Matthew's car? None of that was important right now. Only Matthew's whereabouts was the most important concern in Erica's mind. Where was him? Was he hurt?
She returned the phone to her classmate and took out her own phone with hands that trembled like dry leaves, as she tried to reach Matthew's phone.
Another classmate whispered to the bold girl who had told Erica the news, "Hey, Erica is pregnant. Why did you tell her that?
Aren't you afraid that something bad might happen to her?"
"Yes, she is pregnant with Mr. Huo's child. If something really happens to Erica, you are done!"
The words of her classmates immediately made the bold girl regretful as she started to see the folly in her action.
But it was too late, because Erica had already known about it.
When Hyatt noticed the look on Erica's face, he was genuinely frightened. After a brief pause, he assured Erica, "Don't worry. Mr. Huo will be fine!"
In order to make up for her mistake, the bold classmate immediately comforted her, "Yes, Erica, you must calm down! Think about the baby!"
Erica's mind went blank. She could no longer hear what her classmates were saying. It was as if the world had frozen as she tapped on her phone with clammy hands, quickly found a number and pressed the call button.
Erica called twice, but there was no answer. She was so scared that tears burst forth without word or warning.
Her classmates around her, panicked. They all came over and tried to comfort her. "Erica, calm down."
"Mr. Huo is going to be fine. You can't allow this to affect your pregnancy."
"That's right. Mr. Huo is a very capable man, as we all know. Don't cry. He might have lost his phone."
That last sentence finally consoled Erica. Perhaps that was true. From what she could see, everything was so chaotic that the thought of Matthew losing his phone in such a situation didn't seem unreasonable to Erica.
She wiped her tears and quickly dialed Debbie's number. Luckily, the call was connected soon. "Mom, something happened to Matthew."
Debbie had just received the news herself and was about to call Erica. "I know. Matthew is fine. Don't worry. His phone fell and broke so he called from one of his bodyguards' phone just now. Carlos has sent someone to pick you up from school. Don't go anywhere else. You should go home first, okay?"
What Debbie didn't tell her was that when Matthew was taking Camille to the hospital, his car was being followed by two other cars on the way and he was looking for an opportunity to get rid of his unwanted followers.