Into the woods
“Aren’t you too calm for someone whose reputation went downhill in one night?” Jared asked as he approached her.
She glanced at him, smirked, and twirled the wine glass she was holding. “So, you’re able to walk around with HQ’s men, huh?” she asked, looking at the spies and agents mingling secretly with the guests.
After all, it was a big party of the elites, and HQ wouldn’t miss the chance to connect with the country’s influential families. What made her frown was the fact that her colleagues didn’t realize Jared was around. He really managed to fool a lot of agents from HQ.
“I told you,” Jared said with a broad smile. “No one will be able to find me unless I let them.”
She rolled her eyes at him and looked around again. She saw Alex talking to someone not far away. She approached him and stood by his side. When Alex noticed her, he excused himself from the conversation. Before stepping away, Alex’s conversation partner glanced at her briefly with a look of disgust, but she ignored the visitor.
“Where have you been?” Alex asked, guiding her out of the hall. Some guests glanced at them, and Alex just smiled back.All content © N/.ôvel/Dr/ama.Org.
“Somewhere,” she replied, secretly glancing at the old Matriarch who was glaring at her. “I guess it’s not the right time to let the cat out of the bag, huh?” she said in a low voice.
Alex’s expression darkened. Because his grandmother refuted his words, everyone in the hall was filled with doubts. That’s why people had been staring at them. Jenica didn’t want to stay in that place any longer. Alex excused himself from the old Matriarch as they passed by her. She could feel the hot gaze on the back of her head as they walked toward the main door of the hall. But she didn’t care.
“The night’s still young. Where do you want to go?” Alex asked, opening the passenger door for her.
She got into the car while Alex walked around to the front. He opened the driver’s door and got in as well. He drove the car out of the Fuego property.
“I’m not full yet. Let’s eat somewhere,” she said, looking out the window.
Silence prevailed between them. But it was broken when Jenica noticed something in the rearview mirror.
“Someone’s following us,” she said, sitting up straight.
Alex also looked in the rearview mirror and noticed the red car trailing them. The windows were heavily tinted, so he couldn’t see the driver. Alex frowned and turned the steering wheel. Their car turned onto a private road owned by the Fuegos.
That road was built solely for the Fuegos, and no private vehicles of others were allowed. But as expected, the car followed them.
Alex frowned. He accelerated onto the long and straight road, and the trailing car sped up as well.
Soon they reached the end of the road and entered the private property of the Guams. A glint flashed in Jenica’s eyes. She never knew there was a shortcut to the Guams’ territory. She only knew that the Guams kept their operations hidden, and if she hadn’t seen the hidden symbol of the Guam Business Empire on the signage outside, she wouldn’t have known it was their property.
Alex cursed softly and quickly turned the steering wheel. If she was faint-hearted, she would have fainted from nerves due to the speed of the car. The current speed broke the minimum value allowed by national law when driving on public roads. But since they were on private property, no one would stop them.
“Can you jump safely?” Alex suddenly asked.
Jenica turned her head to his side. “Outside this running car? Maybe. Why do you ask?” she inquired.
The calmness in Jenica’s voice made Alex glance at her for a second before returning his attention to the road ahead. “Jump when I tell you and run away. Never look back.”
If it was five years ago, Alex wasn’t certain that Jenica could jump safely outside a running car. But now that she had her hidden identities, Alex was confident Jenica could survive what he was asking of her.
Jenica narrowed her eyes as she removed the seatbelt. “How about you?”
Alex just smiled. “They’ll die at my hands.”
The confidence in Alex’s voice made Jenica nod. “Let’s meet again at your house.”
“Sure,” Alex replied with a smile.
Without hesitation, Jenica opened the passenger door and jumped out while kicking the door closed. She rolled down the slope of a hill. She was surprised.
There were no streetlights in that area, and no moon in the dark sky, so only the headlights of Alex’s car lit the way. Based on the cold fresh wind blowing in her face from earlier, she knew they were outside the capital. But she didn’t expect the car to be driving along a hill.
It wasn’t a high hill though, as she quickly reached the bottom. She hissed and stood up. Jenica looked around but saw nothing but darkness. She could feel the ache all over her body. There were many protruding rocks on the side of the hill, so she was sure she had many cuts and bruises. But as an agent, she was used to this little pain.
She took a small flashlight from inside her bra. The faint glow of this little emergency light was enough for her to see her surroundings.
She was in the middle of a forest. Tall and lush trees surrounded her, almost blocking the night sky above. She wasn’t familiar with the area.
Without hesitation, she tore the hem of her dress. She wrapped that piece of cloth around her arms and knees, where her bleeding wounds were. Then she stepped forward.
She took out the earpiece hidden inside her dress. The earpiece was made from the finest material, so even after rolling down the side of the hill, it wasn’t damaged.
The earpiece connected to her remote assistant. Jenica frowned. She could feel her wounds bleeding. She really needed to treat her wounds soon.
“Locate me,” she ordered the assistant.
Soon she heard its voice. “Agent J, you are inside Guam’s territory. Two kilometers to the left is a road that leads back to the capital, while three kilometers to the right is… a road that leads to Guam Business Empire’s headquarters.”
A glint flashed across Jenica’s eyes. Just earlier, her Uncle Marc told her to come back and take her position as the Empire’s heiress, and now she was a few kilometers away from their headquarters. She laughed in her heart.
“I see. By the way, what happened to the party?” she asked.
“Our spies noticed you had gone away with Alexander Fuego, and they have started HQ’s plan.”
Jenica frowned. “What plan?”
“It’s a restricted mission, Agent J.”
Jenica pursed her lips and didn’t ask any more questions. She took out a medical pill that could numb the pain. She quickly made her way back to the capital.
But before she got far, five assassins surrounded her.
“It’s her,” one assassin said. He had his face covered, so Jenica couldn’t see his features.
She hadn’t even spoken when the five men attacked simultaneously. All of them held a sharp blade in their right hands. Jenica frowned.
She quickly dodged and turned away. She ran in the opposite direction, towards the road leading to the Guam Business Empire headquarters.
“Faster!” one of the assassins shouted.
Jenica pursed her lips and jumped high above the tree branches. Using her skills as an oriental fighter, she leaped from tree to tree using a lightness skill exclusive to oriental fighters.
“What did the client say? Why is the target so fast?” one assassin asked irritably.
“I don’t know! The client didn’t say the target could dodge!”
Jenica’s eyes sharpened as she heard the assassins behind her. She didn’t stop using her lightness skill and tried her best to move faster than the wind, but her wounds had split open and blood rushed out of her. Every tree branch she passed by was stained with her blood, so no matter how fast she was, the assassins would definitely find and catch up to her. She gritted her teeth.
What bad luck!
But she didn’t forget what they said. Her eyes narrowed. These assassins were sent to kill her. Only, she wasn’t sure if those chasing Alex’s car earlier were in the same group as these assassins.
Jenica’s face was as pale as paper, and her vision was darkening. She took out a medical pill from her dress and swallowed it. It was to make her mind clear and prevent her from losing consciousness.
Just a little more.
Her bloodshot eyes looked at the bright light at the end of the never-ending darkness.
“Hey, we’re in Guam’s territory! Sh*t!” one assassin shouted.
Just a little bit more.
Jenica squinted her eyes and used her last strength to leap forward and let the light embrace her as she closed her eyes.
Her body fell in front of the Guam Business Empire headquarters.