Chapter 29

On the other side, Liam sat in his office, gazing at the bright, solitary full moon that hung outside his huge floor-to-ceiling window. His emotions were a tangled mess. "When were those photos taken? Why are there such nasty photos of Emma circulating? Emma…"

His phone rang, interrupting his reverie. Seeing it was Levi, he answered with a frown. "What's up?"

"Mr. Hall, Mrs. Hall just drove off. Has she arrived yet?" Levi asked.

"What?" Liam had instructed Levi to monitor Emma's movements. Levi's call, however, indicated he had no idea of Emma's location. Concerned for her safety, Levi called Liam for confirmation. "Mr. Hall… hasn't Mrs. Hall arrived yet? She's been gone for over an hour."

"Did you tell her I'm here?" Liam asked.

"No…" Levi hesitated.

"Then how does she know where I am?" Liam's impatience grew.

Levi's voice was grave. "She couldn't be…"

A bad feeling settled over them both. Liam immediately hung up and called Emma, only to find her phone was off. "Find her immediately!" he ordered Levi.

"Will do." Levi began to make arrangements when Liam added, "Send out Team Thunder. Find her as soon as possible!"

Levi hesitated. "Mr. Hall… Team Thunder members are your personal guards. Dispatching them to search for Mrs. Hall leaves you vulnerable to attack. The consequences could be disastrous."

But Liam's voice was low and resolute. "My wife's safety is my safety! If anything happens to her, Team Thunder might as well scram!"

"Got it." Levi immediately made the arrangements.

Meanwhile, Emma was badly injured. She’d administered another dose of anesthetic to her right leg. To fight off unconsciousness, she kept tearing open the wound in her palm, letting the blood flow. But even her endurance had limits; she was near collapse.

Several of the dozen black-clad assassins had already fallen. They were wary of Emma; without the anesthetic, they were no match for her. Still, she was nearing her breaking point. "Come on, let me guess, who's so eager to take my life? Is it the Rossi family from Antgem? Or the Ide family from Nionheim?"

"What do you think!" The leader of the assassins, holding a thick, barbed whip, approached. Emma recognized it instantly – a brutally effective weapon, once her own. "Too bad," she sneered. "This used to be my most proficient weapon. Trying to kill me with that? Come on, man." She leaped, landing a kick squarely on the man's wrist.

The assassin winced, his grip loosening. Emma seized the opportunity, snatching the whip. He reacted quickly, trying to regain control, but Emma laughed coldly, using his force to twist the whip, embedding its barbs into his palm. The whip became a gruesome tool, tearing flesh from his hand. He was in agony, cold sweat pouring down as bone became visible. Emma moved swiftly behind him, wrapping the whip around his neck.

"Captain!" Another assassin rushed forward, kicking towards Emma's abdomen. Exhausted, she could only shield herself. She flew back, her head hitting the stairs, knocking her unconscious.

An assassin quickly removed the whip from the captain's neck, but his face paled with terror as he checked for a pulse. "The captain… is dead!"

"What?"

"Captain!" The assassins erupted in fury, drawing blades and slashing at Emma's abdomen repeatedly. Blood spurted; the woman on the steps was clearly dead.

"This isn't right!" Someone noticed something amiss. The woman wasn't Emma, but one of the assassins she’d previously incapacitated.

The man wielding the blade roared in agony and disbelief, having killed his comrade. His mind spiraled into madness. Emma, in a clever diversion, had stealthily swapped clothes with the unconscious assassin. Now, she was gone.

"Get her!"

"She's badly injured. There's no way she could have gotten far!" The remaining assassins split up to search.

Meanwhile, Emma, her abdomen wracked with pain, crawled through the underbrush. She’d faced worse in her past life, but fighting alone, she knew she couldn't hold on much longer. That last kick had damaged her internal organs, and the anesthetic threatened to overwhelm her. Her vision blurred; her limbs felt unresponsive.

"I see her! There she is!" Someone spotted her movement in the bushes, aiming a weapon. With no escape, Emma gritted her teeth and leaped, plunging into the valley behind the Watery Garden.

Silence fell, broken only by startled birds.

"There's actually a cliff here," remarked an assassin.

"Come on, let's go down and take a look."

"Let's go." The assassins, relentless, linked hands and began their descent.

Emma lay curled beside a mound of earth, pain consuming her. From her past life, she remembered this mound—a hidden refuge that would save her from the fall. The collapse of pathways near the Watery Garden in her past life had forced her to take a mountain detour. This spot, she recalled, provided a natural cushion.

As she thanked whatever fate allowed her survival, she heard the assassins approaching.