Chapter 34
Aurora’s move successfully stopped the three men in their tracks
“What now?” One of the men instinctively glanced at the leader, Caleb.
Their employer had made it clear–they couldn’t harm the girl in the pink dress. Now that their target had figured out what was going on and had a firm grip on that girl, it was obvious she was using her as a shield.
If they acted now and accidentally hurt her, would they still get the rest of their payment? When it came to money, they couldn’t afford to take chances.
“Ms. Aurora, what are you doing? Let go of Ms. Maura right now,” Leopold shouted, clearly panicking as he pointed at Aurora. He had thought that stopping the car and making sure Maura wasn’t taken would complete his job.
When he had heard the planned horn honk, he had even found an excuse to pull Maura away from Aurora, making sure she wouldn’t get caught is the chaos. But this was unexpected
“Aurora, let go of me. My head hurts,” Maura cried out, struggling to pry Aurora’s hand away from her hair, her pretty face twisting in pa
pain
Aurora, however, ignored Maura and even tightened her grip. She shot a cold glare at Leopold and barked “Leopold, are you blind? Can’t you see these guys aren’t here for anything good? You’re our driver, and your job is to get us home safely. Why aren’t you dealing with them!”
Leopold froze, a storm of conflicting thoughts racing through his mind. He was struggling with the idea if he should go along with Aurora’s orders and fight off those men. Technically, he wasn’t supposed to know anything about today’s planned kidnap of Aurora, and this wasn’t how things were supposed to go at all.
His original plan had been simple–pull Maura aside, stand by the hood of the car, and let the guys take Aurora away. He could’ve jogged a few steps after the van as it sped off, just to make it look like he tried. Of course, he wouldn’t actually catch them
Then, after Aurora was taken, he’d call Stacy in panic, and Stacy’d reward him handsomely for his efforts. But somehow, everything had gone off-
script
How did things come to this step! First, Aurora had dodged the grab from the guys. And now, she had Maura in her grip. Maura was the apple of Stacy’s eye. If she got hurt. Leopold really didn’t know what he’d face.
Leopold’s mind was spinning with possibilities. It felt like he’d thought through a thousand scenarios, but in reality, only half a minute had passed. Finally, he made his decision and strode calmly toward Aurora, his face expressionless. “Ms. Aurora, what are you talking about? They’re just passing by. Let go of Ms. Maura now.”
Clearly, he had made up his mind to take on Maura’s side.
At that moment, Aurora was eerily calm. She cast a deep, penetrating look at Leopold before a wicked smile spread across her face. “Since you won’t protect Maura, I guess I’ll have to“
Since Stacy has the guts to scheme against me,
then I’ll throw all of Stacy’s plans back onto her baby girl, Aurora mused.
With that, she began dragging Maura slowly backward toward the driver’s seat. Leopold’s actions had made things crystal clear–the car wasn’t broken down at all. He had stopped on purpose
A chill ran through Maura as the painful memory of being held underwater by Aurora resurfaced. The suffocating helplessness of it all male cold sweat break out across her skin “Aurora, what are you doing? You’re pilling my hair too hard!”“” Maura ureamed, her voice high–pitched and desperate. The fear from before–being drowned, completely powerless–was crashing back.
Maura’s eyes were filled with tears, and she was panic–stricken. She looked pleadingly at Leopold, her feet shuffling along with Aurora’s movements, while her hand desperately reached toward him. “Tropold, help mel Aurora’s lost in”
he other side, Caleb had also made up his mind. “Get this over with fast. We’re taking both of them away”
His two lackeys hesitated and stared at him dumbfounded. “B–Both? Are you sure?”
They thought, brit the plan just to grab Aurora alone? The employer has even sent us a photo to make sure. The girl in the pink dress is the employer’s niece. If she gets hurt, will that mess up our paycheck! After all, we do this for money. If there’s no money, why risk at
Caleb’s forehead throbbed with frustration. He smacked one of his men, named Tom, on the back and growled, “Just dump another girl somewhere later, alright?”
Caleb had his plan. ‘Cars pass by here all the time. If someone spots us, we’ll be in deep trouble. They are just two high school girls–how much trouble can they really be? Once we have them in die van, we’ll call the shots. We can drop one off at some random corner, and the mission will be completed,
11:37 AM
Chapter 24
“Boss, you always think ahead” Tom grinned and exchanged a glance with the other man. With a sleazy smirk, they cracked their knuckles and started walking toward Aurora.
“Chick, you’d better come with us now, or you’re in for a world of pain, Tom said, his tone laced with threat.
Aurora kept backing up, her eyes darting around, sizing up the environment, her mind racing for an escape plan. She thought for a moment but couldn’t come up with a foolproof solution.
These guys weren’t like the school bullies–they were clearly trained. Taking them all down quickly wasn’t an option. She thought she’d need to buy some time, and Leopold was her best bet.
‘Leopold, are you seeing this now? They’re trying to kidnap us. What are you waiting for? Call the police now!” Aurora shouted at Leopold
If that goon hadn’t said words like “come with us“, Leopold might’ve continued playing dumb. But now, he couldn’t fake ignorance even if he wanted to. He was stuck, unsure whether to act or stay put,
Aurora noticed his hesitation and secretly reached out for the car door while raising her voice to push Leopold to make a choice. “You need to think this through. You’re the Crawfords driver. If you let us get kidnapped while you’re on duty, you’ll be held accountable. And trust me, it won’t end well for you.
Her words made sense, and started to shake Leopold’s resolve.
Aurora pressed on. These thugs are only after money. They won’t kill anyone unless they have to. to buy me back later, do you really think you’ll still have a job to do in our family!”
But if you do nothing today, and my father has
Leopold knew the answer: Absolutely not. He knew if Jaxon found out the truth, whether it was for Aurora’s reputation or his own pride, he would be fired. And no other wealthy family would hire a driver who couldn’t protect their employer. His career as a private driver would be over. He’d have no choice but to switch professions entirely.
Aurora’s words tipped the scale completely in her favor. Leopold turned back and spread his arms wide to block the men’s path. He declared in a firm and righteous tone, “Ms. Aurora, Ms. Maura, as long as I’m here, no one’s laying a finger on you.”
Leopold knew what Stacy wanted–just to teach And once she did, she’d surely come after him
ora a lesson. But the way things were going, no matter what, Aurora would make it out alive. stood by and did nothing–now.
