Chapter 279 An Error Occurred
The sky gradually darkened.
York came over to report to the two of them.
"Most of the reporters outside have left. Only six or seven are still watching."
As he spoke, he pulled out a location map.
"Ms. Richardson, there are no reporters at these two spots. You can safely leave from either of these exits."
"Okay."
Amelia stood up from her chair and said, "I'll go check on Stanley, then head out."
Samuel nodded.
He needed to stay here and couldn't go with Amelia.
"Be careful."
As he spoke, he pressed a delicate small handgun into Amelia's hand.
"If you run into any emergencies, use this to protect yourself."
Amelia pushed the gun right back.
"I don't need this to deal with Zachary. If my opponent were Francis, maybe I'd actually need it."
She had encountered all kinds of enemies.
Very few could be considered real opponents, and Francis was one of them.
But she had acted quickly, killing him in the most brutal way.
If she hadn't taken the initiative to kill Francis, The Hays family wouldn't have fallen so quickly.
He had made two attempts on Amelia's life.
Once was using Kurt, nearly making her harm Adrian.
The other was through Steven's hands, going after her at Scorching Flame Peak.
Both incidents were dangerous , one wrong move and Amelia would have died by his hands.
Though she hated Francis, she had to admit he was quite capable.
In comparison, Zachary was nowhere near that level.
He'd lived too comfortably his whole life. Too comfortable, so he didn't need to use his brain much, which is why he was no match for Amelia.
Of course, she wouldn't let her guard down because of this. She'd still be fully alert in dealing with him.
Samuel handed her the keys and reminded her to be careful.
"Don't worry. To Zachary, I'm not his enemy , I'm his ally."
Samuel nodded and watched her leave the room.
Amelia had already changed into a doctor's white coat with a mask on her face.
She didn't attract any attention along the way and got into the car at the pre-arranged parking spot.
However, as she drove out, Amelia noticed a car following her at a steady distance.
She didn't tip them off and continued driving at the same speed.
But she called York, just in case..
"York, is that your car following me?"
"No, someone's tailing you?"
"Yes."
"Is it a reporter, or...?"
"I'll handle it for now. Don't worry. I'll call you again if there's a problem."
"Okay."
After hanging up, Amelia gradually picked up speed.
Rush hour had passed, and the car was avoiding routes with heavy traffic, so it moved quickly.
The car behind her also sped up, maintaining the same distance.
Clearly, the driver was skilled.
That ruled out reporters.
Most likely it was Zachary's people.
Amelia pressed her lips together slightly, made a turn, and headed onto the elevated highway.
Traffic got heavier, making it harder for them to catch up.
Amelia kept changing lanes and passing cars. By the time she got off the highway, she'd left that car far behind.
Only then did she head to her real destination.
Staying alert the whole way to prevent being followed, she finally arrived at the hotel where Zachary was staying.
She entered through the main entrance and went upstairs.
At the door to Zachary's room, she raised her voice: "Mr. Crawford sent me to , if he's made up his mind. Open the door."
As she spoke, she exchanged a look with the two people at the door.
The two caught on and said, "We haven't received any notice from Mr. Crawford."
"What? Do I need to call him right in front of you?" Her tone carried obvious displeasure.
The two became nervous.
"Of course not, Ms. Richardson, please."
The door opened at that moment. Amelia walked in and turned to close the door behind her.
Zachary immediately came up to her.
Amelia made a gesture for silence and pointed to the bedroom.
Zachary understood and followed her into the bedroom.
"The room's soundproofing isn't great. We should talk quietly." Amelia spoke first.
Zachary nodded immediately and asked, "What's the situation outside? You said you'd come get me out today , why only now? It's almost dark."
Amelia frowned slightly.
"In broad daylight, how was I supposed to get you out? Kill everyone?"
Zachary paused, then said, "You're right. I was too anxious."
"Be patient. Our opportunity has come."
"What opportunity?"
Amelia lowered her voice even more.
"Stanley's dead."
Zachary's eyes shot toward her.
Amelia said calmly, "Because of this, I had to wait until now to slip out of the hospital."
"No wonder. Samuel must want to suppress this news. At least until things blow over before announcing his death."
"Exactly. So today is our chance. People outside are talking, saying he's holding you prisoner, and some are guessing he and I deliberately killed Stanley during surgery. So he has to suppress the news."
"What a bastard?"
"He really is cold-blooded. If I keep working for him, I'll end up dead sooner or later."
As she said this, Amelia's brow furrowed and her eyes turned cold, as if very displeased.
Zachary observed her expression and said, "Don't worry, I'm not like him. If you work for me, I'll never put you at risk."
Amelia curled her lip carelessly.
"I don't need your empty promises. After this is done, just give me my share."
Her undisguised ambition and greed made Zachary lower his guard a bit more.
He could work with her without worry now.
Of course, after everything was done, he wouldn't actually give her that many shares.
Once he was back in his rightful position, getting rid of Amelia would be a simple matter.
Zachary suppressed the coldness in his eyes and asked in a flattering manner, "Ms. Richardson, what should we do now?"
He could sense that Amelia looked down on him.
Actually, not just him , Amelia looked down on Samuel too.
Amelia was arrogant, so he needed to lower his posture, make her think she was in control, so she'd work for him without worry.
Sure enough, Amelia began laying out her plan.
"Samuel has already released a statement saying; Stanley's surgery went smoothly and he's recovering. What we need to do is expose his lie."
Zachary completely agreed.
For the first time, he told Amelia about his people.
"When I came back to the country, besides these few people locked up with me in this hotel, I have two more people outside. Those news online, targeting Samuel , my people put those out."
Amelia looked at him with surprise.
"Looks like you're not completely stupid. At least you know how to create momentum."
Zachary thought to himself. 'Of course!'
But outwardly he smiled and said, "If I were too stupid, I wouldn't be worth Ms. Richardson's help."
Amelia nodded slightly and said, "Since you have help, that's even better. Once you're out, have them release a statement saying Stanley is dead. And we need to sneak into the hospital and get photos of Stanley's body."
Zachary nodded vigorously.
"That's exactly what I was planning. This way, Samuel won't be able to talk his way out."
"No time to waste. Let's move now."
"How do I get out?"
"Climb out the window."
Amelia pointed to the bedroom window and said, "Last time you made too much noise and attracted their attention, so this time I brought tools. You'll quietly climb out. I'll leave through the front door, then meet up with you outside."
As she spoke, she unzipped her down jacket.
Inside was a long climbing rope.
She helped Zachary set it up, then said, "Wait until I leave before you climb out. We'll meet at the hotel's back entrance."
She pointed out the direction of the hotel's back entrance.
Zachary responded, "Okay."
The two discussed some more details, then began their separate actions.
Amelia opened the door and walked out calmly.
"He's agreed to Mr. Crawford's proposal. He'll leave first thing tomorrow morning. I'm going back to report to Mr. Crawford."
"Okay."
The two men responded while locking the door again.
As soon as the door closed, the two nodded at Amelia.
The silent exchange lasted only a moment, and Amelia quickly walked away.
Five minutes later, she arrived at the hotel's back entrance.
She waited patiently.
But after a full ten minutes, Zachary still hadn't appeared.
She couldn't help feeling uneasy.
No matter how clumsy Zachary was, he should have climbed down by now.
It couldn't possibly take this long.
And the people in the hotel wouldn't stop him.
Everyone was cooperating with her act.
Something must have gone wrong on Zachary's end.
She opened the car door and got in, quickly calling the two bodyguards stationed at Zachary's door.
"Check if Zachary is still in the room."
Soon the two replied, "He's not in the room anymore."
Amelia's heart pounded hard.
Zachary had run off on his own.
Damn it!
She immediately hung up and told Samuel about the situation, along with her suspicions.
"When I came here, a car was following me. I lost them later. I suspect Zachary was picked up by those people. Zachary mentioned them to me, he trusts them more than me. The plan might go wrong."
"Okay, I understand. You be careful too. Unless something else happens, stick to the plan for now."
"Okay."
Amelia hung up and started the car, heading back to the hospital.
At the same time, Zachary was sitting in a black sedan.
Next to him with two of his other subordinates.
These two had followed Amelia here.
On the elevated highway, Amelia had lost them.
But later they caught up again.
They'd just switched cars, so Amelia didn't notice them.
They were about to force their way in to grab him when they saw Zachary climbing down from upstairs on a rope by himself.
So they immediately went up and got Zachary into the car.
"Mr. Crawford, we'll take you straight to the airport now. We're leaving the country."