Lillian turned her head and saw Osborn driving the truck, looking at her.
“It’s really you! I thought your figure looked familiar. Why aren’t you at the shop?”
Lillian quickly walked up to him. “Where are you going?”
“I’m delivering goods, heading to H Town.”
“Could you give me a ride?”
“Sure, but it’ll be late coming back.”
“That’s fine, you can drop me off at the service area!” Lillian opened the door and got in, keeping her head down to avoid the cameras.
Osborn frowned. “You’ve got a big bag, where are you going? My mom said she’d cook extra tonight for you to eat.”
“I’m sorry, something came up at home, and I have to leave immediately.”
“Oh, I see. Do you need any help?”
“No, just drop me off at the next service area.” Lillian thought for a moment and then added, “If anyone asks you if you’ve seen me, just say you haven’t, okay?”
“Why? You make it sound like someone’s after you or something.”
“Just do as I say.”
“Alright, don’t worry. I’m the most loyal guy around.”
As she watched the truck move farther away from the bus stop, Lillian closed her eyes and exhaled in relief.
Just as the truck turned right, local people had already entered the flower shop.
“Hey, old lady, do you recognize this girl?”
Ms. Judith, who had been half-asleep, became frightened as a group of men burst in.
She looked at the photo in front of her. The woman in it was stunningly beautiful with long, flowing hair. “I don’t recognize her.”
“Really don’t recognize her?”
Ms. Judith shook her head.
One of the men suddenly threw a vase to the ground. “Now do you recognize her?!”
Ms. Judith hadn’t expected them to come here to destroy the shop. She was so angry that her heart started to feel uncomfortable.
“Damn old woman, look carefully! Do you recognize her or not?”
Ms. Judith just kept waving her hands.
“Damn it, let’s go ask around elsewhere. She’s definitely nearby.”
They had received word from the local area and had rushed over as quickly as possible.
There was no way they wouldn’t find her.
“Go to the next one.”
“The guy over there said Conrad came personally and wants us to do a full search. He said that woman is really cunning, so she might not look exactly like her photo.”
“Then how the hell are we supposed to find her? A big boss like him is coming in person?”
“He really went through all this trouble over some woman, huh?”
“So what now?”
“What else can we do? We search!”
Lillian clutched her bag, watching the car pass the service area and merge onto the highway. She sighed quietly in relief.
“Don’t worry. I drive steady. You don’t need to be so nervous,” Osborn said, noticing her reaction and smiling.
“I’m just a bit tense, don’t mind me.” Lillian closed her eyes but couldn’t fall asleep.
“Which service area should I drop you at? There are two up ahead.”
“The second one,” Lillian said, thinking she probably still had some time before they caught up. She could prepare a little longer.
“When are you coming back?”
Lillian’s eyes seemed a bit vacant. “We’ll see, but still, don’t tell anyone you’ve seen me.”
“Why are you being so mysterious?”
Lillian smirked. “Just think of me as a fugitive.”
Osborn nearly lost control of the steering wheel. “Don’t joke around like that!”
Lillian chuckled quietly and didn’t say anything else.
However, as soon as they hit the highway, traffic came to a standstill. She grew anxious, staring at the long line of cars ahead.
“What’s going on? There’s never this many people at this hour. It’s not even a holiday. Why’s there traffic? And there’s traffic cops, too.” Osborn sighed. “We’ll just have to wait.”
Lillian said, “Maybe I should go see what’s happening up ahead.”
“I’ll go. You stay here and don’t worry.” Osborn opened the car door and got out.
He was fast, quickly running back.
“Bad news, everything’s backed up at the service area ahead. I can drop you at this one for now, but the road’s blocked. We can’t take the national highway either.”
“Why?” Lillian asked, a sudden unease hitting her.
“They said it’s for road maintenance.”
After what felt like forever, they finally reached the service area, and Osborn was about to get out of the car. He looked at Lillian and said, “Aren’t you coming?”
“I’ll keep an eye on the car. You go ahead. I’ll leave when you get back.”
“It’s fine.”
Lillian grew serious. “Make sure, no matter who asks, whether they have my picture or not, you say you don’t know me.”
Osborn watched her seriousness and nodded. “Got it.”
He scratched his head and trudged into the service area, clearly bothered.
Lillian locked the car doors, shrinking down in her seat so no one could see her. She planned to wait for Osborn to come back, then leave as soon as he returned.
Meanwhile, Osborn had just entered the men’s restroom when he called his mom.
“Yeah, the delivery’s not going through, so I’ll come back now.”
“Your voice sounds weird. What’s going on?”
Osborn had just finished and hadn’t even zipped up his pants when a sudden force slammed him against the wall.
Frowning, Osborn looked up to see seven or eight big men in front of him. “Who the hell are you guys? What, you looking for trouble in broad daylight?”
“You’re Osborn, right?”
Osborn was angry. “Yeah, it’s me. What’s the matter?”
One of the men pulled out a photo. “Do you recognize the woman in this picture?”
Osborn looked at the photo of Lillian, instantly remembering her warning. He cursed under his breath, thinking how unlucky he was.
Immediately, he said, “I don’t know her.”
“Did you fucking look carefully? Then why the hell are you saying you don’t know her?”
Osborn, annoyed, swatted the man’s hand away as he zipped up his pants. “I told you I don’t know her, are you deaf?”
In the next moment, Osborn was slammed to the ground, each of the men kicking him. “Do you recognize her?!”
Osborn was in pain from the kicks, his head pressed against the ground as someone stomped on him.
“They saw her get into your car and you don’t recognize her?! Huh?!”
At the same time, the car door was knocked on. Lillian held her breath, waiting, until a voice called from outside.
“Miss Lillian, we know you’re still inside. If you don’t want that little driver to get hurt, you’d better come out.”
Lillian froze. The next second, the locked truck door slowly creaked open.
Clutching her bag, Lillian looked at the group of men standing beside the truck and asked, “Where’s Osborn? What did you do to him?!”
“Miss Lillian, if you come down and cooperate, he’ll be fine. Mr. Conrad is on his way, please comply,” one of the men replied.
Lillian’s mind raced, frustrated by the whole mess they’d caused just to capture her.
“I have to see Osborn is okay, or I won’t go with you.”
“How troublesome,” the man shot a look at his subordinates.
In a few moments, someone dragged Osborn out.
Lillian’s pupils constricted as she saw his beaten-up condition. She immediately jumped out of the truck, trying to rush towards him, but someone grabbed her arm firmly.
“Osborn!”
Osborn watched helplessly as they dragged her into a luxury car. He clenched his lips. “What are you doing? Is this kidnapping?! No law in this world anymore, huh?”
“Law? You took a woman you shouldn’t have taken. You’re lucky we didn’t throw you in jail. Move along!”
Lillian was shoved into the car, with two men following her inside, locking her hands tightly in handcuffs.
“Miss Lillian, I advise you to behave. If you care about that guy, we can’t guarantee he still has his hands. He’s just a student, a young man. It’s bad luck for him to get mixed up with you.”
Lillian, enraged, retorted, “How dare you hit him like that? Are you seriously not going to pay for what you did to him?”
“That’s Mr. Conrad’s business. Our orders are just to bring you back. Drive!”
The once-blocked highway began to move forward, slowly clearing.
Osborn, left behind in the service area, felt utterly confused, not knowing what the hell had just happened. But seeing that she was taken by so many men, he couldn’t just sit by. He immediately jumped in his car and started to follow.
“That guy’s following us.”
“Let him follow. He won’t stop until he’s been dragged through the mud. Wait till his parents’ reputation is ruined, then he’ll know what fear is!”
“Does he even know who he’s messing with?”
“How dare you!” Lillian shouted.
“Miss Lillian, we can’t control what you do, but you should consider if others do have a say.” The man gave her a cold glance.
Though he wasn’t happy with her attitude, he knew this type of woman wasn’t someone he could mess with.
Conrad from City N-they couldn’t afford to cross him.
But this woman was indeed stunning. No wonder Conrad had turned City N upside down just to find her.
Lillian watched the familiar streets getting closer, the flower shop she had passed by, the building she lived in. A sense of overwhelming despair rose within her.
“Miss Lillian, we’re here, get out!”
The car door was suddenly yanked open, and Lillian was forcefully pulled out, twisting her ankle in the process.
She frowned, looking at the alley ahead. With no choice, she forced herself to keep walking.
“Hey, where are you taking her?” Osborn quickly parked his car and ran toward them.