Six burly thugs, armed with long machetes and baseball bats, blocked the entrance to the hall. They wore menacing expressions. “Bruce, it looks like we’ve got a beauty here,” one of the goons said as he eyed Hera.
“I don’t need you to state the obvious! I’m not blind!” Bruce Wallace, the leader, snapped while his gaze remained fixed on Hera.
He spat.
“I’m here for the money. Her looks won’t change that.”
Bruce’s eyes lingered on Hera’s smooth, flawless skin, but his focus remained on his mission. He was here to collect a debt. It would be a miserable New Year for everyone if he didn’t.
“Hey, old hag, are you even listening? Stop wasting our time. Do you have the money or not?” growled a scruffy man who was gesturing aggressively toward Catherine with his baseball bat.
Hera stepped forward to shield Catherine. With a swift kick, she knocked the bat aside.
“Don’t point that thing at her!”
Caught off guard by Hera’s audacity, the scruffy man fumbled his bat and eventually dropped it.
Meanwhile, the other thugs quickly surrounded Hera, brandishing their weapons. One pressed a gleaming machete against her neck.
Catherine was intimidated by the sight of the blade and pleaded nervously, “Let her go. This has nothing to do with her.”
Bruce couldn’t help but admire Hera’s calm demeanor amidst the danger. Nevertheless, letting her go wasn’t an option.
“Where’s the money?” Bruce demanded.
“Show me the IOU first,” Hera replied.
She subtly twitched her fingers to retrieve a silver needle.
When she noticed Hera’s gesture, Catherine grabbed Hera’s arm tightly to silently warn her against making any rash moves.
Bruce took out an IOU for a three-million-dollar loan with two million dollars in interest. The borrower’s ID information was indeed Catherine’s. However, the signature was forged, though the fingerprint matched hers.
Catherine realized that Giselle had borrowed the money using her ID and had taken her fingerprint as she slept.
“Hands off!”
Wayne barged in, wielding a kitchen knife, with Everly close behind, gripping a frying pan.
Upon seeing the machete at Hera’s neck, Wayne’s anger dissipated.
Worried for her safety, hea’s
pulled a wad of cash from
ine
pocket. nove
“Don’t hurt them! Here’s the money!”
He tossed the cash to Bruce.
Bruce caught it, weighed it, and threw it back at Wayne.
“I need five million dollars, not this fucking pocket change! Don’t play a hero if you can’t pay up. Get lost!”
The cash was scattered across the
floor.
e’s veins bulged with e at Bruce.
he gripped the knife,
With no hope of police assistance in this remote location, fighting seemed inevitable.
Everly shrieked as a thug seized her by the neck.
“Move, and she dies!”
Wayne halted immediately. With his eyes bloodshot in anger, he held the knife and stood in front of them.
Hera was dumbfounded. She couldn’t help but wonder if Everly and Wayne were there to offer themselves as sacrifices.
Tension escalated. Hera initially
with Catherine, but now, with Everly to protect and Wayne outnumbered, brute force wouldn’t suffice.
might have handled things alone et
She needed to come up with a strategy.
“Wayne, stay calm,” Hera cautioned as she kept the silver needle.
She pulled a bank card from her pocket, pressed it against the machete, and handed it to Bruce.
“Give me the IOU. There’s five million on this card.”
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