Liam Burkhart walked to the door, deep in thought, and pressed the handle. “Stop knocking…”
Before he could finish his sentence, a fist came straight at his face. His wound, still bleeding, was struck again, causing blood to spurt out.
Liam Burkhart let out a scream and fell to the ground. He couldn’t see who hit him before he was pinned down and slapped repeatedly.
He was dazed, his breathing unsteady, and his face swollen beyond recognition.
A few months ago, Leland Burns had also beaten him up, breaking his arm and knocking out two teeth. Those teeth had just been fixed, only to be knocked out again now.
The assailant stood up and stomped on Liam Burkhart’s wrist with such force that it felt like an iron hammer shattering his wrist bone.
Liam Burkhart convulsed in pain, spitting blood and shouting incoherently for help. “Someone, help-”
Earlier, when Winifred Dawson called for help, he mocked her. Now, karma had come swiftly for him. It was true what they said: retribution comes sooner or later. One should never be too arrogant; humility is key.
His left wrist was broken. Liam Burkhart’s vision blurred as he felt dizzy and helpless. He couldn’t resist as the attacker kicked him repeatedly with lethal intent.
This was the second time Liam Burkhart felt such fear-the first being when Leland Burns beat him up. Both incidents happened in the same place and were because of Winifred Dawson.
Finally, Liam Burkhart saw the attacker clearly: dressed in black with a mask obscuring their face but revealing their eyes.
Those eyes…
“Leland… ah-” Before he could finish saying the name, the masked figure kicked him in the groin with such force that something seemed to break.
That area is vital for a man; even a light touch would cause pain. The kick sent Liam Burkhart into unconsciousness immediately.
Blood pooled around him, creating a horrifying scene. Liam Burkhart lay unconscious on the ground, his face swollen like a pig’s head, mouth open with two teeth on the floor, right hand twisted, and lower body bleeding.
Two people who entered with the masked man winced just by watching.
“This will make him impotent,” one remarked. “Such brutality.”
The masked man wanted to continue but was stopped.
“Enough. If you keep going, you’ll kill him, and we won’t be able to leave.”
“He’s lucky,” the masked man said coldly with an undertone of menace.
“Where’s Winifred Dawson?” The tone changed completely when mentioning her name.
“Inside.”
The masked man hurried inside with frantic steps and found Winifred Dawson lying on the floor covered in blood. He wanted to kill Liam Burkhart all over again.
Fortunately, someone reminded him, “We can deal with Liam Burkhart later. Right now, we need to get Winifred Dawson to a hospital; she doesn’t look good.”
Winifred Dawson’s clothes were intact except for her skirt stained with blood like red peonies. The strong smell of blood filled the air as he approached her carefully and lifted her into a secure princess carry to avoid further injury.
“Let’s go.” As they exited and saw Liam Burkhart still unconscious on the floor, he stepped on his hand while passing by.
Winifred Dawson had lost so much blood that she was pale and semi-conscious. She vaguely sensed someone carrying her.
Was it Liam Burkhart? No… this embrace felt familiar and made her instinctively calm down.
Ironically, at that moment she thought of Leland Burns. When Liam Burkhart tried to assault her, she would have preferred Leland Burns instead. She couldn’t deny that in such matters, only Leland Burns seemed acceptable to her.
Perhaps she despised such acts so much that she preferred being tainted by just one person rather than many.
Blood flowed down her legs; even those used to seeing blood would be shocked by this amount.
“She’s lost so much blood; I doubt the baby can be saved…” Just as these words were spoken, a sharp glare silenced them.
The masked man was about to enter the elevator with her but paused upon hearing this.
“Boss,” someone said cautiously, “let us take her to the hospital. You can’t show yourself right now.”
The masked man hesitated for three seconds before understanding. “You take her then. Stay by her side until she wakes up and ensure she’s safe…”
“What? Stay with her…” A cold glare from the masked man shut him up immediately.
“Fine, I’ll stay with her. But given her condition, I doubt she’ll be okay,” he warned. “Boss, I must say this: it’s unlikely the baby will survive.”
“The baby doesn’t matter; just save her.” He never intended for Winifred Dawson to have a child; this was an accident.
But seeing her miscarriage disturbed his composure deeply.
“Alright.” The man extended his arms. “Give her to me.”
As he reached out to take Winifred Dawson from his arms, he noticed she hadn’t let go yet despite saying he’d hand her over.
The masked man looked at Winifred Dawson for a moment before taking a deep breath and carefully transferring her into another man’s arms. Her grip on his clothes loosened only when she was fully handed over-a moment that filled him with dread.
“Baby…” Winifred Dawson mumbled incoherently.
She shouldn’t have had any feelings for this child since it was meant to be aborted anyway. But as it slipped away from her grasp, an inexplicable sadness overwhelmed her.
As blood flowed out of her body, she didn’t think about her own safety but about how she could make it stop and flow back into her veins.