Chapter 1395 An Empty Room

The tattooed man was too anxious to stay put, as he watched several men in the distance marching towards the cabin. His heart started to palpitate and fear clutched at him. At this point, he didn't have much time to hesitate. He had to escape as quickly as possible; or else, his identity would be exposed, or even worse, he would be caught red-handed. Time was of the essence and he didn't have much of it in his hands. In the end, he decided not to kill Shirley as Jim had instructed him. He knew that he wouldn't make it out of there if he had to carry her with him, so he rushed toward the back door, kicked it open and made a run for it.

The sound of heavy footsteps drew closer and closer. By then, Shirley had assumed that her patents must have found her location and now were coming to rescue her. The tattooed man's behavior explained a lot, which helped prove her assumption. Even in the face of fear and uncertainty, she tried to remain calm. She sensed, by her captor's desperate fidgeting, that he was too busy looking for a way out to pay attention to her. So she tried not to draw too much attention to herself and risk her own safety.

Once the tattooed man had disappeared without a trace, Shirley's face conveyed a spectrum of ambivalent emotions, mostly fear and excitement. Tears of joy welled up in her eyes and this time she allowed them to escape and roll down her cheeks.

When several men broke into the cabin, they saw a poor little girl in tears, sitting alone on the floor with her hands tied behind her back with a rope. Her face was covered in grime and her eyes were red and swollen.

Shirley watched as the men surrounded her, but none of them resembled her father. They were all donning identical black suits and came across as robots—expressionless and somewhat mechanical in their demeanor. The little girl didn't know what to make of them and their sudden arrival brought her no sense of safety.

She found it difficult to face the truth. A moment ago, she had assumed that this terrible episode of her life would soon come to an end when she heard multiple footsteps. She had already pictured herself in her mother's loving arms, but now it seemed to her as though it was all just a sad delusional fantasy in her head. The men in black that stood before her looked even more terrifying than the tattooed man.

Shirley's body trembled with fear and she cast a frightened look towards them. She felt like a helpless gazelle who was separated from its mother, and now was trapped by a group of hungry lions. The negative thoughts kept coming in like waves on rocks. Cold sweat covered her entire body and she felt like her heart was going to explode.

One of the men, boorish and tall, attempted to approach her in a very cautious manner. His name was Benjamin, the man in charge of the group. Judging from the way Shirley looked at him, he understood that the little girl was still in shock so he decided to ease her mind before making any sudden attempts to approach her. The others observed every nook and cranny of the room, trying to find the traces

ley might just pass out forever and that was a scenario he couldn't afford to face. Besides, even if Shirley's life wasn't in danger, in Leila's eyes, he might still be responsible for any wounds or injuries Shirley incurred. All things considered, all he wanted was what was the best for this girl.

Luckily, judging by her temperature he concluded that Shirley must have been suffering from a fever. 'Perhaps she fell unconscious due to exhaustion. That shouldn't be a big deal, ' Benjamin thought, wishfully. He then breathed a deep sigh of relief and answered, "Nothing serious. She just has a slight fever. Let's take her to hospital first."

The driver nodded his head and didn't ask anymore. As soon as Benjamin and his men all got in, the driver didn't waste another second to turn the car around before speeding off to the nearest hospital.

"By the way, since we are going to the hospital, we might need to show our ID cards and hers as well. That might expose us, so what should we do about that?" a man blurted out from the back seat.

"That's fine. We'll just say that we're her family. The doctor won't ask too much. Don't worry!"

Everyone fell silent, assured by the word of their leader. Meanwhile, Shirley shifted uneasily and sometimes let out a discomforted whimper.

Ten minutes later

Outside the cabin, the sound of brakes screeching rang out. A car pulled over and immediately, Charles jumped out and rushed inside the cabin.

On his way there, Charles drove his car as fast as he could, without pause. He had lost count of how many times he had to overtake other cars and run a red light. He knew the risks and he took his chances anyway. After all, his daughter's life was at stake.

Charles kicked the door open once he approached the doorway. He thought he would finally see his dear daughter, but to his disappointment, when he looked inside, he found nothing but an empty room. On the FLOOR, there were a pile of ashes and cigarette butts. When he moved his eyes around, he found pieces of ripped rope laid in a mess.