Chapter 220 Known As A Murderer
Chapter 220 Known As A Murderer
Lawrence guessed that a sensor must have been installed under the carpet covering the stairs. That would explain why there had been no alarm earlier— they hadn't stepped on the carpet.
And now that they were running downstairs, their only goal was to escape from the scene as soon as possible. As a result, they triggered the alarm.
The villa was brightly lit at this point, since the lights had all turned on.
Lawrence's men had already jumped out through the window, the sense of urgency propelling them to move faster than usual.
Maria, however, discovered to her dismay that she had stepped on something.
Lawrence was about to make his own exit when he realized that she had not been following him. He craned his neck and whispered, "Hurry up!"
The alarm in his voice prompted Maria to do as he ordered. She was about to lift her foot when he caught sight of what was under it. His expression changed. "No! No, no, don't move!"
He trotted back and squatted beside her. "Don't move your foot. You've stepped on the switch of a shock trap. This thing has a wide range of cover. The trap's current is so strong, it's enough to knock out an adult elephant in the blink of an eye. If you release the trigger, we're sure to meet a fate worse than the elephant's." "What's going to happen?" Maria's heart was caught in her throat.
"We'll be electrocuted," he said.
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "What a coincidence then. My outfit today is specially made of insulating materials. Come on, let's go."
"No, wait!" Lawrence was caught between crying and laughing. "You might be wearing suitable clothes, Maria, but I most definitely am not. If you choose to move from that spot, you will have no choice but to carry me on your shoulders all the way out."
And if he chose to leave first, then Maria would be left here, unable to escape.
One of his men poked his head through the window. "Sir, I saw a shock trap. Come out quickly. Don't touch the switch!"
The man's warning was futile. Maria had already stepped on the trigger.
Noises came from upstairs, and both Maria and Lawrence noticed that. Then she pushed him away. "You go first. I'll cover you and follow later."
His protest was instant. "No way! How can I—"
"Okay, enough with this! I told you, my clothes are made of insulating fabric. Can you say the same for yourself? Besides, you and I are different. I'm an infamous murderer. You, on the other hand, are nothing short of a national hero. You still have a lot of responsibilities, and many people look up to you. Now hurry and leave this place!"
He opened his mouth to argue, and Maria punched him impatiently. "Stop being a pussy! Why are you hesitating?"
Lawrence stood his ground. "I refuse to let a woman cover our escape!" "Are you serious right now? Do you even know what year we're currently in? Gender equality is on the rise, my friend, even within the battlefield. Do you understand what I'm saying here, Mr. Lu?"
He had nothing to say to that. And they were truly running out of time. Lawrence relented. "We'll be waiting for you outside," he assured her before moving to the window.
"Yes, yes, now go!"
He swung out of the window and scaled the side wall as fast as he could go. When he was at a manageable distance from the ground, he jumped. This content belongs to Nô/velDra/ma.Org .
He crouched low in the darkness, intending to wait for Maria from this spot. But then one of his subordinate's voice came through his earpiece. "Sir, something is wrong! You have to get here right away!"
Lawrence glanced back at the window he had exited a few seconds ago. He would have to leave from his station for the time being.
A man appeared at the second floor landing. He had a gun in his hand, and he pointed it to the intruder standing in the hallway. "Who are you?"
The first thing that Maria saw was the weapon. She then turned her head slightly to check the time. Lawrence should be well out of range by now. Thinking fast, she released her foot and rolled on the floor to hide from view as the man proceeded down the hall. When he was walking down the stairs, swinging his gun from side to side, Maria dashed to the window and climbed down the wall.
No sooner had she done this than several cars screeched to a halt at the villa gates. Several men rushed out of the vehicles and stormed into the yard.
They saw her clinging to the wall, and one of them produced a gun and aimed at her.
Fortunately for her, none of these men were skilled enough, and she easily dodged the bullets they fired as she slid down the wall.
She went running the moment her feet touched the ground; pursuers were already at her heels. She made for the road as fast as she could.
Then a car suddenly thundered down the road, its headlights blinding Maria. Although the driver stepped on the brake pedal, she still ended up crashing into the vehicle.
As luck would have it, she didn't get any serious injuries.
Maria rubbed her aching leg as she came to her feet. What the hell! She couldn't believe that someone was actually cruising down the streets at this ungodly hour.
A woman stepped out of the car and approached her, and when she recognized who she had run over, she screamed. "Maria Song? What the hell!"
Maria sighed in resignation. It turned out that she wasn't so lucky after all. To think that she would meet Daniela, of all people, under such circumstances.
For her part, Daniela was just on her way home from her ex-boyfriend's place. She was just as surprised to see Maria here.
Hurried footfalls soon came from behind Maria, and she braced herself for another run.
Before she could take another step, however, the other woman grabbed her arm and refused to let go. "What are you doing here so late at night? Tell me the truth! And why are you dressed like this?"
"What the hell is your problem?" If Daniela wasn't a woman, Maria would have kicked her without hesitation.
She could hear her pursuers get closer and closer. She might have to kick Daniela after all.
But it was too late.
The men had caught up to her and were only a few meters away now. One of them pointed at Maria and pulled the trigger three times in a row.
She wasn't able to dodge in time, and the bullets sailed into her body. She crouched in pain and tried to staunch her wounds, struggling to regain her bearings.
Daniela let out a short scream and let go of Maria, terrified at what she had just witnessed.
She scrambled back inside her car and turned the engine on to run for her life.
Maria watched as the car disappeared into the night, cursing Daniela over and over inside her head. Then she gritted her teeth and mustered all the strength left in her body to run away from the road.
She ran and ran, pausing from time to time to hide and make sure she wasn't being followed. After what felt like forever, she finally got rid of the people chasing her.
She found herself in a residential area somewhere, and she stumbled into one of the many gates lining the road. Maria bumped into a woman who had been on her way out of this particular villa, and they both fell to the ground at the impact.
"Who are you? So careless!" The girl's voice was gentle and soft, albeit a little irritated.
But then she noticed the metallic scent of blood.
She quickly rose and came over to Maria. "You're wounded!"
The girl looked to be the same age as Sandra, and had fair skin and a delicate appearance. Maria caught a whiff of antiseptic from her clothes, the kind one would smell upon entering a hospital.
Maria looked at her coldly without saying anything.
"Hang in there for a bit, I'll help you," Meagan Su said.
"No, thank you," Maria refused point blank as she tried to get back on her feet.
Meagan glanced at her warily, thinking, 'What a cold woman.¹
Maria looked like she planned to leave, and Meagan hurried to stop her. "I'm a doctor," she explained patiently. "Although my medical skills aren't exactly renowned, I assure you that I won't hurt you. Please let me help you."
Her wounds had never stopped bleeding, and Maria knew she had already gone pale. She looked at the girl for a good while, weighing her options. Finally, she agreed.
Meagan assisted her into a car parked by the side of the road and produced a medicine box laden with all sorts of pills and bottles.
She disinfected Maria's wounds and applied two types of medicine to make the bleeding stop. "We must get you to the hospital for an immediate operation," she said as she bandaged the wounds. "I can't do any more than this."
"Thank you." In truth, Maria was barely hanging on.
They bullets seemed to have been infused with something; the pain she was feeling was far worse than anything she had ever encountered in other previous injuries.
Meagan took out her phone and made a call. Shortly after, a driver came rushing out of the villa. "Felix, please take us to the nearest hospital." "Yes, ma'am."