His Real Wedded Bride

Chapter 1395 An Empty Room

The tattooed man was too anxious to stay put, as he watched several men in the distance marching

towards the cabin. His heart started to palpitate and fear clutched at him. At this point, he didn't have

much time to hesitate. He had to escape as quickly as possible; or else, his identity would be exposed,

or even worse, he would be caught red-handed. Time was of the essence and he didn't have much of it

in his hands. In the end, he decided not to kill Shirley as Jim had instructed him. He knew that he

wouldn't make it out of there if he had to carry her with him, so he rushed toward the back door, kicked

it open and made a run for it.

The sound of heavy footsteps drew closer and closer. By then, Shirley had assumed that her patents

must have found her location and now were coming to rescue her. The tattooed man's behavior

explained a lot, which helped prove her assumption. Even in the face of fear and uncertainty, she tried

to remain calm. She sensed, by her captor's desperate fidgeting, that he was too busy looking for a

way out to pay attention to her. So she tried not to draw too much attention to herself and risk her own

safety.

Once the tattooed man had disappeared without a trace, Shirley's face conveyed a spectrum of

ambivalent emotions, mostly fear and excitement. Tears of joy welled up in her eyes and this time she

allowed them to escape and roll down her cheeks.

When several men broke into the cabin, they saw a poor little girl in tears, sitting alone on the floor with

her hands tied behind her back with a rope. Her face was covered in grime and her eyes were red and

swollen.

Shirley watched as the men surrounded her, but none of them resembled her father. They were all

donning identical black suits and came across as robots—expressionless and somewhat mechanical in

their demeanor. The little girl didn't know what to make of them and their sudden arrival brought her no

sense of safety.

She found it difficult to face the truth. A moment ago, she had assumed that this terrible episode of her

life would soon come to an end when she heard multiple footsteps. She had already pictured herself in

her mother's loving arms, but now it seemed to her as though it was all just a sad delusional fantasy in

her head. The men in black that stood before her looked even more terrifying than the tattooed man.

Shirley's body trembled with fear and she cast a frightened look towards them. She felt like a helpless

gazelle who was separated from its mother, and now was trapped by a group of hungry lions. The

negative thoughts kept coming in like waves on rocks. Cold sweat covered her entire body and she felt

like her heart was going to explode.

One of the men, boorish and tall, attempted to approach her in a very cautious manner. His name was

Benjamin, the man in charge of the group. Judging from the way Shirley looked at him, he understood

that the little girl was still in shock so he decided to ease her mind before making any sudden attempts

to approach her. The others observed every nook and cranny of the room, trying to find the traces left

behind by the kidnapper.

However, fright consumed every cell in Shirley's body, swelling them with terror, when she saw a

stranger walking over to her. The past few days had been both mentally and physically taxing her as

she was always on edge waiting for the next bad thing to happen.

Despite her best efforts to control her emotions, she still could not resist bursting into tears. Her

gasping wails echoed and made everyone in the room feel distressed.

The moment Benjamin heard her cry, he stopped in his tracks and looked back to his partners. Their

faces were blank as they seemed at a loss. They exchanged gazes and the confusion in their eyes was

undeniable. They were worried that their aggressive actions might cause a trauma inside such a poor

girl's heart.

After a moment's hesitation, Benjamin decided to approach Shirley again, but he put on a mild smiling

face, and walked more slowly. Once he approached Shirley, he didn't talk to her at once. He slowly

untied her hands at first. Realizing that doing that didn't stop the girl's crying, he gave her a gentle pat

on the head. "Little girl, don't be scared. We are not the bad guys. We all are your parents' friends.

There is nothing to worry about. Let us help you get out of here and you will soon see your parents

again."

Shirley raised her head and looked at the man with beady eyes, her mind reeling in disbelief. Slightly

reassured by this, she sniffled and wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. "Really? Are you…

being honest?" Shirley's mental defenses doubted the man's credibility. And she was a smart girl. She

kept her eyes on Benjamin's face, trying to find out whether he was lying or not.

At the same time, nauseating spurts of adrenaline coursed through her veins. Now that her hands were

unbound, she was prepared to struggle and make a run for it if she detected any inconsistency from the

man's face.

As a father, Benjamin's eyes were dripping with pity. He was reminded of his own daughter. Despite

being almost the same age, they had experienced completely different lives and seen different

perspectives of the world. Sensing the panic inside Shirley's heart, the man could not imagine how his

daughter would look if this tragedy had happened to his own daughter. He couldn't bear to think of it. 'It

would definitely leave an irreparable trauma in any child's heart. I just hope this will never happen to my

innocent girl.'

This little girl was too young to go through one of the most darkest and traumatic experiences of this

world. In his view, Shirley was supposed to live a carefree life, protected by her parents. But now, all

she was feeling was the absolute lack of safety!

If it were his daughter in her place, he would have lost his mind. It was such a pity that this girl had to

go through something so harrowing and soul-crushing. He wondered if she would ever be the same as

she was before this.

Benjamin shook his head in disappointment, furrowing his eyebrows and sighed. 'Look at you, poor

little girl. You look as thin as a lath! You must have suffered a lot.' The dark purple bruises around her

wrists were obvious indications that the rope had been tied too tightly and for too long. Such a scene

added more anger to Benjamin's mind. And he couldn't stand to curse silently, 'Such ruthless bastards!

How could they do this to a child?'

Soon after, the man smiled at Shirley, and his eyes were full of love and warmth. "We are not the bad

guys. We have come to save you. Your hands are bruised. Please allow me and my friends take you to Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

the hospital for having a check-up. After that, we will take you home, back to your parents. What do you

say?"

Shirley hesitated for a while before she nodded her head with agreement. She was so exhausted and

drained of energy that she was not able to think too much. The only thing her brain registered was the

fact that she would be going home to be with her parents. Everything else was just details that no

longer mattered to her. For the first time in days, relief and happiness took over replacing all doubts

and trepidation.

However, her mood fluctuated so steeply that her mind was not able to adjust. As a result, Shirley fell

unconscious in front of everyone.

Fearing that Shirley might lose her life, everyone got nervous, especially Benjamin. While the others

were at a loss for actions, Benjamin reacted immediately to carry Shirley over his shoulder and rush

outside to the car. His speed was as fast as a strong wind, zooming past his partners in a flash.

"Hurry up! We should follow Benjamin!"

As the other man yelled out to his suited colleagues, all of them left the cabin and rushed after

Benjamin.

When the driver saw Benjamin running towards him, he promptly started the engine and drove over to

him.

"Benjamin, is she okay?"

the driver asked.

As the head of the group, Benjamin had been asked by Leila to intercept Shirley before Charles' arrival.

He cast an impatient glance to the driver, and then put his hand over Shirley's forehand to detect her

temperature. He still wasn't able to pull himself out of panic. He feared that Shirley might just pass out

forever and that was a scenario he couldn't afford to face. Besides, even if Shirley's life wasn't in

danger, in Leila's eyes, he might still be responsible for any wounds or injuries Shirley incurred. All

things considered, all he wanted was what was the best for this girl.

Luckily, judging by her temperature he concluded that Shirley must have been suffering from a fever.

'Perhaps she fell unconscious due to exhaustion. That shouldn't be a big deal, ' Benjamin thought,

wishfully. He then breathed a deep sigh of relief and answered, "Nothing serious. She just has a slight

fever. Let's take her to hospital first."

The driver nodded his head and didn't ask anymore. As soon as Benjamin and his men all got in, the

driver didn't waste another second to turn the car around before speeding off to the nearest hospital.

"By the way, since we are going to the hospital, we might need to show our ID cards and hers as well.

That might expose us, so what should we do about that?" a man blurted out from the back seat.

"That's fine. We'll just say that we're her family. The doctor won't ask too much. Don't worry!"

Everyone fell silent, assured by the word of their leader. Meanwhile, Shirley shifted uneasily and

sometimes let out a discomforted whimper.

Ten minutes later

Outside the cabin, the sound of brakes screeching rang out. A car pulled over and immediately,

Charles jumped out and rushed inside the cabin.

On his way there, Charles drove his car as fast as he could, without pause. He had lost count of how

many times he had to overtake other cars and run a red light. He knew the risks and he took his

chances anyway. After all, his daughter's life was at stake.

Charles kicked the door open once he approached the doorway. He thought he would finally see his

dear daughter, but to his disappointment, when he looked inside, he found nothing but an empty room.

On the FLOOR, there were a pile of ashes and cigarette butts. When he moved his eyes around, he

found pieces of ripped rope laid in a mess.