Chapter 270 Chapter 270

Chapter 270 Chapter 270
Hailey's POV.

The crash came unexpectedly. Sophia pulled me away into the darkness ambushed by dust as we fell to the ground.

I coughed as I picked myself up and sat for a few minutes to allow my vision clear up.

The mall still echoed with loud noises and screams. I clutched the gun in my hands and tucked it behind my waist, using my blouse to cover the handle.

Then I stood up and looked around, my breath coming in short bursts as I limped and stretched my muscles.

“Benita,” I called. “Sophia, where are you?” I coughed.

“Over here,” a voice answered, shaky and weak.

I rushed over thinking it was Benita. But I found Sophia sitting on the floor with her back against a short pole by the corner. Her gown was torn and she had a slight cut on her knees, but it wasn't too deep to request for urgent care.

“Hey, oh my goodness. I am sorry. You are hurt,” I gasped, dropping to my knees to help her. “Does it hurt? Tell me,”

“I'll be fine, it's just a slight cut,” she said and tried to stand up, but she fell back and grunted with a faint sound. “Crap, I think I fell too hard,” she tried to laugh it off.

“You don't look like you are okay,” I placed my hands behind her back to help her up. “I'll help you…”

My hands touched something with a stiff handle, a metallic frame and a very sharp edge stuck on her back. I froze, eyes narrowing in curiosity. I looked at the items that were scattered on the floor, noticing they were all kitchen utensils. Knives, forks, plates and the likes of them.

Slowly,I peered my head at Sophia's back, my jaws dropping as I caught sight of the bread knife stuck in her back, a little close to her spine.

My stomach turned, eyes unable to blink.

“Sophia,” her name escaped my lips.

She looked up with bright eyes unaware of her condition and smiled. “What? What is it?”

“You are going to freak out but I want you to trust me, okay,” I begged.

Her smile faded off into a tightly pressed thin line. “You don't look like I'm okay, what's wrong Hailey?” She began to panic, then tried to stand up but she snapped in pain. “Ouch!”

“You'll have to forgive me, Sophia,” I said, launching my hands to grab the knife. I pulled it out, causing a searing sound and she jerked in response. Her eyes bulged as I threw the knife away.

It wasn't deep in her skin but she needed help right away to ease the pain, to stop the bleeding that was soon going to start oozing out.

“I'll use my scarf to apply pressure on the….”

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!” Sophia screamed in terror, her expression broken and scared. I could tell she had begun to feel the pain caused by the knife.

“Hey, look at me, you are going to be alright. Just…”

Footsteps around us grabbed our attention right away. We were not alone. As a matter of fact, we might have been the reason for the shooting. I guess some things never change.

Four men stepped closer, guns pointed at us with an evil frown. Their faces were covered with masks, but their eyes gave off the information that they were ready to shoot at the slightest hesitation.

Sophia kept panicking like she had seen the end of the world.

“Hands where I can see them,” one of them ordered. “Get on your feet, the both of you,” they threatened.

“She can't, she's been injured,” I replied quickly, pointing my hands towards the knife on the floor.

I stood up carefully, hands raised high and caught sight of Damien, Marco and Benita at the other side of the aisle. They were cornered already and stripped of their weapons. The men didn't check us probably because they thought we were incapable of wielding a gun.

“She's bleeding, she needs urgent care from the medic,”

“That's not our business princess,” another laughed. “We are here for you,” he pointed.

“Me?” I questioned, twisting my lips.

“Boss wants to talk to you,”

He had barely finished his statement, when Luca walked in. His face, a memory I would never forget. The man who pointed his gun at me twice in a roll. What was he doing here? How did he find us? How did he avoid the authorities?

Luca moved close, wearing a clean suit and gelled hair, tucking his left hand into his pocket and his right hand swinging a pistol around. Damien and the others were behind him, cautiously doing as the men ordered to survive.

“Well, well, well. If it ain't the famous Hailey Cooper. I'm sorry, Hailey Alejandro,” he snickered. “You've been the talk of the under network since you bore a son for Damien. Some might say, a hero,”

I breathed hard while maintaining a cold face. He didn't need to know I was scared, nervous.

“Are you scared?” He taunted, glancing at Damien. “You want your knight in shining armor to come save you?”

“What do you want from me?” I muttered, exchanging glances between Sophia and Damien.

Damien knew Sophia was hurt, I could see his irregular movements, pursing lips, twitching fingers, moving eyes.

“You really want to know?” He asked with a crooked smile. “For so long I have been chasing and trying to prove myself worthy, but I never knew the answer was right in my face,” he walked closer and traced his gun down the bridge of my nose.

“The answer is simple, Hailey. I want you,”

The air went still, my mouth turned dry immediately. What the hell? Was my ears playing games or what?

“You…. Want me? “ I quoted.

“Yes, I want you,” he said with glee.

Sophia grunted behind me and a metallic clang made her squirm again.

“Why would you want me?” I fumed. “What do you want from me?”

“I want your hand in marriage, silly,” he proposed. My breath caught and Benita almost choked from behind.

“Marriage,” I almost coughed out. Why would he want to suddenly marry me? I barely knew him.

“My father knows of the stunt you pulled. Actually, he knows the stunts you've ever pulled. He knows you found out about Vincent being his mole, you got Damien in trouble with the government, and pulled a reverse on my father.” Luca replied.

“With you by my side, I can turn the government back in his favor. I can bring him back. I know you have a close, complicated relationship with a government agent. You are the grand prize,” he continued.

“You must be sick,” I spat out, hands shaking.

“You survived my first attack and I think you are loyal to the wrong team. Join me, Hailey. We can end this rivalry and be happy. You can call the shots and mother a full empire if we play the cards right,”

He took another step until I could feel his breath on my face, his lips centimeters away. “If you take my hand in marriage, I can also beat out my cousin for the inheritance. I get the name and power, I'll be unstoppable. We will be unstoppable.”

Yeah, he had gone crazy, absolutely nuts.

He was crazy to think I would accept his proposal even if I was in the deepest depths of the gutters.

I looked back at Sophia,she was already losing strength, her clothes soaked in blood. Damien was a few seconds from jumping into action,a deadly decision that might claim his life. His jaw was tight, too tight that it even hurt watching him.

“You are crazy,” I said aloud.

“What,”

“I said you are crazy,” I uttered again. “I'm not taking your hands in marriage. I'm happy with Damien, I have a son for him and I'm on the right side of…”

A hard slap hit my face and I fell to the ground with a soft groan.

“How dare you?” Damien thundered, charging forward for a fight, but a group of men circled him, launching a series of punches and kicks to his face. They helped him down and forced him to watch Luca have his way.

“Think twice, Hailey. Patience ain't my strong suit,”

“I don't need to think to give you a response,” I spat out blood from my mouth and stood up. “I'm not marrying you,”

“You aren't?” He made a dramatic look of surprise, lifting his gun in the air. With a short and deliberate smile, he pointed it straight at Damien's forehead and winked. “What if I blow his brains out, princess? Would that be a great motivation for you?”

“Dad,” Sophia cried weakly.

“I'm not going to ask this question again,” his expression turned cold with a killer stare. “This your last chance to give me the response I want to hear or I kill everybody, starting with Mr Damien,”

My heart pounded heavily against my chest. Luca was never going to quit. He was stating facts and I needed to think fast.