“Who is there?” Sampson didn’t want to open the door, because he wasn’t sure who was knocking on the door.
Dolores gazed at the door. Her heart hammered. She wondered if Matthew had tracked them here.
She was full of expectant.
The person outside the door was quite determined. He pounded at the door again with loud bangs, “Open the door now! Or we’ll break in!”
Sampson seemed to realize who was outside the door. He cursed in a low voice, “How come there are police checking here?”
He turned around and tucked Dolores into the quilt. He said, “No matter who will enter the door, you can’t utter any sound.”
Dolores heard his curse just now, so she roughly knew that it wasn’t Matthew outside.
In fact, she doubted if Matthew would come to find her.
She had so much uncertainty about him.
After all, they had parted from each other for such a long time.
However, she still had a ray of hope, hoping and expecting his rescue.
Since she wasn’t sure if she could escape successfully right now, she wouldn’t expose her intention to Sampson. She obediently nodded in agreement, “I won’t.”
“Good girl.” Sampson rubbed her head. Then he turned around and opened the door. When the door was open, people outside broke in aggressively. Then an undercover cop walked in with a solemn look, “You two…”
“Excuse me, Officer. Please don’t misunderstand. We’re not in an improper relationship. The girl on the bed is my girlfriend. She doesn’t feel well, and she’s mute.” As he spoke, Sampson pulled out his ID with a pile of cash under it, roughly twenty thousand in total. He handed all of them to the officer and said, “Here is my ID.”
The policeman took over the ID and rubbed secretly to know how much was under it. He put all of them into his pocket expressionlessly. Then he took a perfunctory glance at the ID and said to other policemen, “All right. They are not.”
They left the narrow room one after another. The lead also gave them a kindly reminder before going out, “You’d better not stay in such a kind of hotel in the future. It’s unsafe and your relationship would be easily misunderstood.”
Sampson walked him out and nodded, “Yes, Sir. I got it. Thanks.”
The officer lowered his voice and whispered to Sampson, “I know you are not a hooker with her client because I know almost all the hookers in this neighborhood.”
Sampson was quite unhappy to hear him say such undisguised words. However, he had to remain smiling. After all, he was not in his territory. No matter how rich and powerful he was, he couldn’t compete with a local tyrant and he didn’t want to get in trouble, “I got it, Sir.”
Sampson returned to the room and closed the door. He said, “They are anti-pornography officers here…”
Before he could finish his words, he found the woman on the bed was missing. The bedhead was next to the window, which was open now. His expression changed and rushed over. Then he peered out of the window, only to find a small roof below. It wasn’t built on this building originally but added later.
As the officer said, almost all guests checked in such a kind of hotel were involved in pornography, so those officers always had sudden inspections. For the guests to escape, such type of roof was built below each window.
Although Dolores made it to get downstairs by stepping on the roof, the room was still distant from the ground. She twisted her ankle when hopping down, so she couldn’t run fast.
Sampson saw her figure and roared angrily, “Dolores Flores, stop!”
Upon hearing his roar, Dolores fastened her paces as if she had heard the urge of death. She ignored the pain in her ankle and only wished that she could run faster so that Sampson wouldn’t be able to catch her.
After all, since she had managed to escape, Sampson would definitely know that she hadn’t lost her memory yet.
He didn’t believe her, and she could imagine what he would do to her after he caught her again.
Sampson rushed downstairs and ran fast to chase her.
He couldn’t let Dolores escape!
It truly was a small town, where even street lamps were scarce. The dimly lit neighborhood was filled with various lanes, occasionally accompanied by a roadside barbecue stall. The aroma of cumin and barbecues permeated the air.
Dolores darted into a dark, narrow lane. The absence of light made it impossible to see, but she couldn’t afford to stop. With outstretched hands, she waved them in front of her, feeling her way forward with quickened steps.
“Dolores Flores, you can’t run away!” Sampson’s voice echoed, accompanied by the beam of a flashlight drawing closer.
He was closing in on her.
Suppressing her terror and panic, Dolores pressed on, pushing through the pain. Unbeknownst to her, she had stepped on something that pierced her foot. Bound by Sampson, she ran barefoot, ensuring silence but exposing her feet to any sharp objects on the ground.
She didn’t know what had stabbed her foot, but the pain was unbearable.
Clutching the lane’s wall, she dared not slow down.
As she reached the end of the lane, a glimmer of light caught her eye. She rushed towards it, hoping to find refuge, but the light passed by too quickly.
Her hope shattered. With Sampson’s footsteps growing nearer, she frantically scanned her surroundings, searching for a hiding spot.
“Hello, Lola?” His voice drew closer. She even caught a glimpse of the flashlight shaking in Sampson’s hand.
At that moment, how desperately she longed for someone to save her!
However, deep down, she knew she could only rely on herself to escape Sampson’s clutches.
She encouraged herself, enduring the pain as she continued running.
Once she emerged from the lane, a concrete road lay ahead. A street lamp not far away illuminated the area, providing a welcome brightness.
“Dolores Flores, you lied to me!” Sampson was almost upon her, catching her off guard.
Dolores turned back abruptly, finding Sampson standing at the lane’s exit, his cellphone in hand. The flashlight from his phone was trained on her, his expression filled with anger and annoyance. “Do you really think you can escape from me?”
On the other side of the concrete road, Dolores stood defiantly, her voice growling, “Don’t push me to hate you!”
“Don’t you already hate me? You’ve hated me all along. I have no way back. Will you come to me willingly, or must I come and drag you over?” Sampson retorted.
Dolores curled her dry lips into a bitter smile. “I’d rather die than go with you!”
With those words, she ran towards the bright lamp, noticing the glistening water nearby. She surmised it must be a river or stream.
As she drew closer, her suspicion was confirmed-it was indeed a river.
“Dolores, are you insane? You can’t swim!” Sampson realized her intention.
Dolores glanced back at him, her lips still curled. “I recall that you can’t swim either.”
Without hesitation, she leaped into the river, causing water to splash around her.
She’d rather die than be captured by Sampson.
Sampson, unable to swim himself, watched helplessly from the riverbank. The fast-flowing, deep river overwhelmed him. Overgrown weeds added to the treacherous appearance. He contemplated jumping in but recalled nearly drowning as a child, leaving him too afraid to take the plunge.
Frustration clenched Sampson’s hands. “You have a death wish. No one can stop you!”
The river rushed swiftly, its depth unfathomable. Dolores, unable to swim, struggled against the currentand felt the river engulf her. She had seen it on TV – being unable to swim and jumping into the river meant she couldn’t breathe in the water. The prospect of water filling her lungs loomed, threatening her life.
However, if she could prevent the water from entering her lungs, there might still be a glimmer of hope for survival. Even though the odds seemed stacked against her, she couldn’t give up so easily.
Her children needed her. Dolores urged herself not to surrender.