Chapter 50: Blow Up the Building
Enrico carried her step by step down the stairs.
Downstairs, chaos reigned, with pools of blood everywhere. The bodyguards were already cleaning up the battlefield.
Molly, both frightened and disheveled, struggled to get up from the ground, pleading with them, “Please help me untie these ropes… please…”
No one paid her any attention.
Molly reluctantly walked over to a nearby pillar, leaning against it to try and rub the ropes binding her wrists.
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t cut them. Why was this so difficult? Molly stood there weakly, tears streaming down her face. Suddenly, she heard voices nearby calling out respectfully in unison, “Mr. Gustin.”
“Mr. Gustin…” she immediately cried out, lifting her eyes to see Enrico carrying a woman out from the staircase. The woman nestled intimately in his arms, wearing the same dress Paige had worn earlier today.
Molly was shaken to the core. Could it be that Enrico didn’t come to save her, but to save Paige? No, she couldn’t believe it! It couldn’t be true! She was Enrico’s woman. Enrico came to save her! She cried out in pain and despair, but Enrico didn’t even look back.
Outside, the sun was shining brightly.
Enrico carried Paige to the passenger seat of the Pagani sports car and took the driver’s seat. With a slam of the gull-wing door, he hit the accelerator, and the car sped away down the road.
Inside the car, silence filled the air.
Paige glanced at his stern profile for a moment, then looked away, staring straight ahead.
Enrico gripped the steering wheel with one hand and pressed a button on the car with the other. Jaden’s voice came through the car speakers, “Boss, any orders?”
“Blow up the building,” Enrico said coldly.
“Blow up the building? Mr. Gustin, we’ve already taken control. Do we still need to blow it up?” Jaden asked, puzzled.
“The little one got hurt. I’m not happy,” Enrico replied expressionlessly.
Paige, referred to as “the little one,” silently glanced at him.
“Yes, boss,” Jaden replied without questioning the absurdity of the reason, agreeing readily.
Not long after hanging up the phone, a tremendous explosion erupted behind them, sending thick smoke billowing into the sky.
The blast startled Paige, causing her ears to ache. She moved to cover them, but Enrico swiftly lifted his hand and pushed her down onto his lap. His large palm covered her head, shielding her from the deafening noise.
The intense sound was muffled by his hand. He continued driving with one hand on the wheel, the other protecting her from the noise.
Paige felt uncomfortable lying on his lap, especially with the warmth of his skin seeping through his pants. The position felt ambiguously intimate.
After a while, she couldn’t resist removing his hand and sitting upright in the passenger seat. She quickly secured herself with the seatbelt, ran her fingers through her hair and glanced back towards the direction of the abandoned building, now engulfed in flames.
“Isn’t that explosion quite the fireworks display?” Enrico gripped the steering wheel with one hand, his tone revealing no emotion.
He called the explosion a fireworks display? Paige scoffed inwardly, licked her slightly dry lips, and calmly asked, “When did you figure out I wasn’t mentally ill?”
“Guess,”
“The night market incident?”
“Smart.”
Paige frowned. So it was that time. The first time she stepped out of Rose Estate and he saw through her? What bad luck.
“Why didn’t you expose me right away?” she asked.
“Wanted to see how far you’d go.” Enrico glanced at her sideways.
Paige was speechless. She wasn’t playing games with him; she was afraid he’d put a bullet in her at any moment.
…
The car drove onto a road guarded by security personnel.
In the distance, Paige saw a towering castle and several villas scattered around it.
Was this the Gustin estate? Why did Enrico bring her here?
After a brief acceleration, the sports car abruptly stopped. Uniformed butlers and servants emerged, bowing respectfully to greet them.
This reception… was he being welcomed back like a prince returning to his palace? Paige thought.
Enrico circled around to her side from the back of the car, swiftly unbuckling her seatbelt, lifted her out of the car and began walking towards the entrance.
…
In the master bedroom, Leah Dowdy, the current mistress of the Gustins, sat elegantly by the window, draped in luxurious attire. Her gaze was sorrowful as she looked at the man lying asleep on the bed, with a bottle of liquor on the bedside table.
The man was Jeremy, Enrico’s father. Since being forced out of power by Enrico at gunpoint, Jeremy had deteriorated into this state-spending his days either with women or in drunken slumber.
As Leah contemplated their situation, a knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. She looked up to see a servant entering, speaking in hushed tones, “Madam, Madam, Mr. Enrico has returned.”
Startled, Leah stood up nervously. “Quickly, prepare his favorite dishes, and have a few sharp servants attend to him. Hurry!”
Every time Enrico returned, Leah became extremely anxious. She needed to ensure everything was perfect for him, or their household would face consequences.
“He’s brought a woman with him,” the servant added.
“What?” Leah exclaimed in shock. Enrico was vehemently against Jeremy bringing women home. Now he had brought one himself?
“Yes, they went to the medicinal spring together,” the servant continued.
“The medicinal spring?” Leah was deeply shaken. What kind of girl could capture Enrico’s attention?
On the mansion’s lawn, Rachel Dowdy, Leah’s adopted daughter, sat in a gazebo watching several servants fly kites. The kites soared higher and higher into the sky. She held her coat tightly around her, coughing lightly from time to time.
Leah had adopted Rachel after marrying Jeremy, took Leah’s last name. Then became known as Miss Rachel of the Gustins. Rachel, now 21, had always been fragile and couldn’t engage in strenuous activities, even flying a kite.
Currently living in the house were Rachel, Leah, and Jeremy. Jeremy and Leah had a son after their marriage, Rachel’s younger brother, who was studying abroad and rarely returned.
“Miss, Miss,” a servant hurried over to Rachel. “Mr. Enrico has returned, and he’s brought a woman with him. They went straight to the medicinal spring.”
“Him?” Rachel was astonished. “Isn’t the medicinal spring where his late mother built? Since Enrico forced his stepfather to step down at gunpoint, no one has been allowed into the medicinal spring. And now he brings a woman there himself?”Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.
“Yes, Mr. Enrico won’t even let you into the medicinal spring, yet he brought a woman there. I took a quick glance, and she was covered in blood, quite badly injured. Mr. Enrico seemed very anxious,” the servant said.
“He worried about someone?” Rachel couldn’t imagine such a scene. In her mind, Enrico was fearsome and ruthless.
Earlier last year, she was painting at home when gunfire erupted, windows shattered, and armed men stormed the castle. Servants and guards were all pushed to the ground.
Terrified, she sat on the couch, watching as Enrico descended like a devil in a black trench coat, bloodied hands gripping a gun, stepping over fallen bodies, heading straight for Jeremy’s study.
After that day, everything changed for the Gustins.
She had never known Enrico to be concerned about anyone. What would that woman look like?
Meanwhile, Paige was still unaware of the commotion her arrival had caused among the Gustins.
At this moment, Enrico was guiding her into an elegantly styled spa facility.
She immediately noticed a large irregular-shaped hot spring pool, surrounded by amenities like audiovisual systems, massage chairs, and lounging areas. The windows were draped in delicate white curtains, creating a place of beauty and romance.
Why had he brought her to an indoor spa? Paige wondered. As she thought, Enrico settled her onto a nearby recliner and walked to the edge of the pool, pressing a switch.
Water began to rise slowly.
Taking a quick look around, Paige stood up and walked toward a transparent bathing area on the side. Inside, she washed the blood off her hands; the wound still oozed blood.
There was no time to bandage it now. They needed to have a heart-to-heart.
Glancing around, she grabbed a thinner towel, quickly wrapping it around her wrist wound and tie it in a knot to staunch the bleeding.
Once done, Paige turned around and saw Enrico standing by the pool’s edge. The water behind him had risen, its milky white color emitting a faint medicinal fragrance.
His gaze fell on the towel around her wrist, and he scoffed coldly. “You’re managing with just that towel?”
“It’s just a minor injury,” Paige replied calmly, walking towards him.
Seeing her speak to him like a normal person for the first time, Enrico couldn’t help but look at her a bit more. “Take off your clothes and get in.”