Chapter 119
On the ride home, the car was unusually quiet. Charlotte stared out the window at the rapidly retreating streetscape, saying nothing.
Victoria sat beside her, stealing occasional glances at Charlotte from the corner of her eye. She didn't speak again, seemingly afraid her 'enthusiasm' might cause even more trouble.
The driver, Indigo, was a longtime employee of the Langley family. Noticing the oppressive atmosphere, he tried to lighten the mood.
"Ms. Johnson, Ms. Langley has been the happiest about your return. She's been talking nonstop lately about redecorating the room she had set up for you."
At those words, something flickered in Charlotte's eyes. Through the window's reflection, she caught Victoria shooting Indigo a glare, as if scolding him for talking too much.
Then Victoria glanced at her, looking both awkward and worried.
Charlotte noticed this and was about to say something when suddenly the smoothly moving sedan lurched violently. The steering veered out of control, pulling sharply to the right, heading straight for the roadside guardrail!
"Ah!" Completely unprepared, Victoria slammed hard against the door.
"Ms. Langley?!" Indigo's face went white. He stomped desperately on the brake, trying to regain control of the vehicle.
But the pedal beneath his foot felt useless, sinking down limply without any effect.
"The brakes are out!"
His voice warped with fear, eyes bulging as he could only watch helplessly as the car hurtled toward the barrier at 50 mph.
"Let go!" At that critical moment, a cold command rang out.
Charlotte had somehow unbuckled her seatbelt. She lunged forward, shoving the frozen Indigo aside and climbing into the driver's seat, her hands clamping onto the shaking steering wheel.
She didn't touch the useless brake. Instead, she quickly and rhythmically downshifted, using the engine braking to reduce speed.
She made small corrections to the wheel, making the car zigzag in an S-pattern, buying time and searching for any chance of survival.
Finally, she spotted an uphill slope ahead.
The moment she saw it clearly, Charlotte's eyes lit up. This was an opportunity.
She yanked the wheel hard. The car scraped past the guardrail at a dangerous angle, changed direction, and charged up the incline.
"Hold on!"
As her words fell, the car's undercarriage scraped against the ground with a loud crash, jolting everyone upward.
Victoria clutched the handle, her face deathly pale, but her worried gaze never left Charlotte.
After the car surged partway up the slope, its speed dropped rapidly.
When they were just half a meter from the road's dead end, the momentum finally gave out and the car began sliding backward.
Charlotte seized the moment and yanked the handbrake.
"Screeeech—"
Accompanied by an earsplitting shriek, the car came to a stop.
Inside, dead silence.
Both Indigo and Victoria were still in shock, gasping for air, their backs already soaked with cold sweat.
Charlotte leaned back against the seat, working to steady her racing heart.
"Charlie, you..." Victoria stared at Charlotte's calm profile, too stunned to speak.
She had no idea her daughter possessed driving skills rivaling a professional race car driver!
Charlotte knew what she was thinking but didn't explain. Her gaze fell on the car body.
"If I'm not mistaken, the car was tampered with."
"You two stay in the car. I'll go check."
With that, she opened the door and walked to the front of the vehicle.
After examining the exterior, she opened the hood.
Following a thorough inspection, she finally found a fresh, concealed cut in the brake line.
Seeing this, Charlotte couldn't help clenching her teeth, her eyes darkening.
How professional. Such ruthless methods—trying to stage an untraceable accident?
Had Charles and the others already lost patience and made their move?
As she was thinking this, the sudden roar of engines came from nearby.
Charlotte's head snapped up. Two black vans were speeding toward them from both directions, then screeched to a halt, blocking their escape routes.
"Whoosh—"
The van doors slid open, and over a dozen burly men armed with steel pipes and machetes jumped out, their eyes vicious as they stared at them, advancing in a fan-shaped encirclement.
Victoria understood instantly—this was a premeditated murder!
Her heart sank to the bottom.
First tampering with the car, then this ambush—they clearly didn't intend to leave anyone alive!
"Charlotte! Get back in the car!"
Hearing Victoria's frantic call, Charlotte gritted her teeth, but she didn't move. Instead, she stood her ground, staring them down.
"Who sent you?"
"People about to die don't need to know so much!" The scarred man at the front sneered. "Ms. Johnson, don't blame us—blame yourselves for getting in someone's way!"
Before his words even finished, he swung his machete down toward Charlotte's head.
Hearing the whoosh of the blade cutting through air, Charlotte's eyes sharpened. She dodged sideways with agility, and in the same motion, her elbow flashed out like lightning, striking the scarred man's ribs.
"Ugh!" The man grunted, his movement faltering.
Seizing that split-second opening, Charlotte instantly capitalized—a fierce roundhouse kick swept his legs out from under him, knocking him to the ground.
It all happened so fast that the other thugs froze.
Clearly they hadn't expected this delicate-looking woman to possess such formidable combat skills!
"Get her together! Take her down!"
After their brief shock, they recovered and with an angry roar, rushed her all at once.
The scene descended into chaos.
Gradually, Charlotte began to struggle.
She had to fend off attacks from all directions while constantly ensuring these men couldn't get near Victoria.
Under this divided attention, she quickly found herself on the defensive.
In the confusion, one thug circled behind Charlotte, raising his steel pipe to smash it down on the back of her head.
"Watch out!"
Charlotte caught the movement from the corner of her eye. Her pupils contracted sharply. Without thinking, she thrust out her arm, planning to take the blow head-on.
"Thwack!"
A dull sound rang out. The instant the steel pipe collided with flesh, searing pain exploded from the point of impact and spread instantly, forcing a pained grunt from her throat as her brow furrowed tightly.
"Charlie!"
Watching her in agony, Victoria felt her heart being torn apart. Tears immediately welled up and spilled down her cheeks.
And at that moment, another thug seized this opening while Charlotte was weakened, raising his machete and slashing it straight toward Charlotte's face!