Chapter 206 Critical Moment

Chapter 206 Critical Moment

The moment the gunshot rang out, Olivia instinctively covered Jasper's ears, and they both huddled behind the door, their hearts racing wildly.

The sound of heavy bodies hitting the floor came from outside the door, followed by Zack's labored breathing.

"Zack! Are you okay?"

Olivia rushed to the door and shouted, her voice trembling.

Silence fell outside for a few seconds, and both Olivia and Jasper felt their heartbeats stop.

"I'm fine. Stay inside and don't come out. Keep the door locked."

Zack's voice suddenly came from the doorway, sounding relatively steady.

Only then did the two people inside breathe a sigh of relief, though Olivia's expression remained grave.

That gunshot had been so close—there was no way he hadn't been injured. She pressed her ear against the door panel and could hear the thugs talking outside.

"This guy got shot, and he's still fighting like crazy. He's got a gun too. What do we do?"

"So what? He'll run out of bullets eventually. Let's just wait it out."

Zack leaned against the door, his left hand covering his right shoulder where blood seeped through his fingers, staining his clothes red.

When the gun had fired, he'd dodged sideways to avoid vital areas. The bullet had grazed his shoulder, and though the pain was excruciating, he'd seized the opportunity to lunge forward, wrestle the gun away from the shooter, and pull the trigger repeatedly, taking down the three thugs charging at the front.

Based on his familiarity with firearms, he could tell from the weapon's weight that it was now empty. He could only grip the empty gun and maintain his standing posture, both to keep Olivia and Jasper from worrying and to prevent the thugs outside from seeing through his bluff.

"Listen up in there! You're surrounded. Come out and surrender now!"

The lead thug shouted toward the door, his voice threatening.

Zack let out a cold laugh, deliberately raising his voice to sound strong. "Come and get me if you dare. Let's see how many of you walk out of here alive."

The thugs exchanged glances, but none dared step forward. They'd just witnessed Zack kill three men, and he was still holding a gun. Fear had settled in their hearts, so they could only maintain their standoff around the doorway.

Zack knew in his heart that the longer he could stall, the better. Backup might arrive soon.

But just then, Jasper's scream suddenly came from the bedroom. "Olivia! Someone's climbing through the window!"

Zack's expression changed. He wanted to rush into the room, but the door panel was firmly blocked—he couldn't get in.

Inside the bedroom, Olivia turned to see two thugs climbing through the window, knives in hand, charging toward them. She quickly pulled Jasper back and grabbed the table lamp, hurling it at one of the thugs. The lamp struck the thug in the head, and he staggered. The other thug seized the opportunity to pounce, grabbing Olivia's arm.

"Let go of Olivia!"

Jasper rushed forward, wrapping his arms around the thug's legs and pulling with all his might.

The thug cursed in pain and kicked Jasper away. Jasper fell to the ground, his forehead hitting the corner of the bed, blood seeping out.

Hearing the commotion inside, Zack's heart raced with anxiety. He tried to ram open the bedroom door but was blocked by four thugs.

Seeing that Zack's condition had deteriorated, they were no longer afraid and all lunged at him together.

Zack endured the searing pain in his shoulder and swung the empty gun, smashing it into one thug's face. The man fell to the ground, but the other three immediately surrounded him, their fists raining down on Zack's body.

Zack was beaten back repeatedly until he was pressed against the wall, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. But he still stubbornly blocked the doorway, refusing to let the thugs into the bedroom.

"Mrs. Olivia Howard, hang in there! Backup will arrive soon!"

Inside the bedroom, seeing Jasper injured and the thugs advancing, Olivia felt both frantic and terrified. She picked up a piece of broken glass from the floor and slashed at the thug's arm. The thug cried out in pain and released his grip.

But Olivia's action clearly enraged the thug. He viciously kicked Jasper down, then raised the knife in his hand, slashing toward Olivia's face.

"Die, you bitch!"

Just then, the window was suddenly kicked open, and Matthew leaped in from outside, kicking the thug hard in the back.

The thug fell to the ground. Matthew immediately stepped forward and delivered another kick to the man's neck, knocking him unconscious. When the other thug tried to help, he was met with a fierce punch to the nose.

At that moment, several police officers climbed through the window and pinned both thugs firmly to the ground.

"Are you both okay?"

Matthew quickly checked on Olivia and Jasper's condition.

Seeing Matthew, tears immediately streamed down Olivia's face as she hugged him tightly.

"Matthew, you finally came. Quick, go save Zack!"

Olivia cried out urgently. But suddenly she heard angry shouts from the doorway.

"This is the police! This place is surrounded. Everyone drop your weapons and surrender, or we'll open fire!"

Another round of chaos and several gunshots erupted outside the door. Before long, there was knocking at the door—it was Red Fox's voice.

"Mr. Howard, all the criminals have been subdued."

Only then did Matthew move aside the furniture blocking the door panel and open it.

Outside the door, all the thugs had been subdued. Zack was leaning weakly against the doorframe, his face extremely pale.

"Zack, how are you?"

Matthew supported Zack, looking at his wounds with a darkened expression.

Zack smiled weakly, his body swaying as he nearly collapsed.

"I'm fine, Mr. Howard. They said the ambulance will be here in two minutes. I can hold on a little longer."

"Don't talk anymore. Let's get out of here first."

Red Fox supported Zack while Matthew carried the injured Jasper as they all walked out of the villa together.

Outside, dawn was breaking. The police car lights illuminated the surrounding grass, and the sound of an ambulance could be heard in the distance.

Outside the surgery room at Evergreen Hospital, Olivia stood by the door, her expression full of guilt.

Suddenly, a jacket was draped over her shoulders. Olivia looked back to see Matthew.

"Don't worry. Zack will be fine."

Olivia nodded, resting her head against Matthew's chest.

"Thank God for Zack. Without him, Jasper and I might have died in there."

Matthew looked at Olivia, his heart full of pain. He knew this incident definitely wasn't an accident—someone must have orchestrated it from behind the scenes. He took out his phone and dialed Red Fox's number.

"Red Fox, investigate the identities of those thugs. Find out who sent them. We need to get to the bottom of this."

"Understood, Mr. Howard. The police are intensifying their interrogation. We should have results soon."