Chapter 166

Chapter 166

Silverlight City was hit by a massive-century thunderstorm typhoon.

Strong winds mixed with heavy rain lashed the windows of Sapphire Hill Estate like countless whips.

Heaven and earth were pitch-black, as if even the starlight had been swallowed by the storm.

Scarlett had just put Arthur and Orla to sleep when an intense sense of unease wrapped around her heart like a venomous snake.

Just then, a loud bang echoed. All the lights in the villa flickered several times before going out completely.

Scarlett's heart seized violently.

A power outage?

Impossible! Sawyer had said the security system here was linked to an independent power station. Even if all of Silverlight City lost power, this place wouldn’t be affected.

Unless... the transformer station had been deliberately sabotaged!

Scarlett grabbed her phone from the nightstand. The screen lit up, and in the upper left corner where the signal bars should be, a glaring red X displayed—"No Service."

Communications had been cut off too!

A bone-chilling cold crept up her spine.

In the darkness, muffled sounds came from downstairs—like gunshots with silencers—followed by the thud of heavy objects hitting the floor and the crisp sound of shattering glass.

Someone had broken in!

"Mommy..." From the adjacent room came Orla's weak, tearful voice.

"Orla, don't be afraid. Mommy's here!" Scarlett moved swiftly into the children's room.

Arthur was already awake, but instead of screaming hysterically like before, he held Orla tightly. His eyes—still bright in the darkness—were fixed intently on the door.

"Babies, listen to Mommy. Right now we're playing a game of hide-and-seek." Scarlett kept her voice low but surprisingly gentle. "Some bad people have come outside. We need to hide somewhere they absolutely can't find us, okay?"

Though frightened, Orla looked at her mother's calm face and nodded obediently.

Arthur gripped Scarlett's hand tightly, his palm slick with cold sweat.

"Good children." Scarlett held each child's hand and, using the occasional flash of lightning through the window, felt her way to the study at the end of the corridor.

She stopped before a tall bookshelf and pressed a nondescript hardcover book with practiced ease.

With a soft sound, the bookshelf slowly slid apart, revealing a reinforced steel password door hidden in the wall.

This was a safe room Sawyer had specially built for the three of them when renovating the estate. Not only were the walls made of blast-proof steel plates, but the interior was equipped with an independent ventilation system, emergency food, and water.

Scarlett quickly entered the password. The door opened.

"Get inside. No matter what sounds you hear outside, absolutely don't come out and don't make a sound!" Scarlett pushed the two children into the safe room.

"Mommy, aren't you coming in?" Orla clutched her clothes, tears welling in her eyes.

"Mommy needs to lead the bad people away. I'll come find you very soon." Scarlett held back tears and kissed Arthur and Orla each on the forehead. "Remember, you are Mommy's life. You must be safe."

Steeling herself, she pried Orla's hands loose and pressed the button to close the door.

"First floor! Search quickly!"

Rough male voices and chaotic footsteps came from downstairs. Flashlight beams swept randomly through the darkness.

Scarlett knew they would search the second floor soon.

Though the safe room entrance was concealed, it was only a matter of time before these desperadoes' carpet search exposed it.

She had to lead them away!

Scarlett grabbed a bronze sculpture from the desk and violently smashed the study window!

The loud crash and falling shattered glass sounded especially piercing in the silent night.

"Second floor study! Get up there!"

The footsteps downstairs immediately became urgent.

Using her familiarity with the layout, Scarlett slipped out of the study like an agile cat, pressed against the wall, and ran toward the storage room at the other end of the corridor.

The study door was kicked open. Several powerful flashlight beams instantly illuminated the room.

"Nobody? The window's broken—she might have jumped out!" someone shouted.

"Idiot! There's a cliff outside! Search carefully! There must be a hidden room in this villa!" a low, raspy voice barked.

Scarlett hid behind the storage room door, her heart pounding wildly.

She couldn't let them linger near the study!

Scarlett bit her lip, grabbed a long-handled umbrella from the storage room, and struck it hard against a nearby vase.

The sound of the shattering vase successfully drew the intruders' attention.

"Over there! Chase her!"

Chaotic footsteps approached the storage room.

Scarlett yanked the storage room door open and, using the darkness as cover, ran toward the spiral staircase in the opposite direction.

"There! Catch her!"

Several flashlight beams quickly locked onto her figure.

A burly intruder reacted swiftly, lunging forward and grabbing the hem of Scarlett's clothes.

Scarlett stumbled and nearly fell, but she reacted quickly, jabbing the long-handled umbrella backward toward the intruder's eyes!

The man screamed, clutching his face and releasing his grip.

But more surrounded her.

They wielded sharp knives in the darkness, blades glinting coldly in the lightning flashes.

Scarlett desperately dodged, but the corridor was too narrow.

With a sharp sound, a knife sliced her arm. Blood instantly gushed out, staining her cream-colored knit sweater red.

Scarlett clenched her jaw, refusing to cry out in pain. Using her small frame to her advantage, she weaved between the attackers, narrowly avoiding fatal strikes each time.

But she couldn't fight so many alone.

When she retreated to a dead end at the corridor's far corner, Scarlett was completely trapped.

Her back against the cold wall, multiple wounds on her arms and legs from broken glass and blades continuously oozed blood. The pain made her entire body tremble.

Several gleaming knives were pointed at her.

"Run! Keep running!" one intruder sneered, raising his knife.

"Wait."

A voice rang out.

The intruders parted, creating a path.

Several flashlight beams illuminated a figure emerging from the darkness.

Seeing the face clearly, Scarlett's eyes widened in shock.

It was a woman, gaunt as a ghost.

She wore an oversized black raincoat, water dripping from its hem.

The left half of her face still showed traces of former gentle beauty, but the right half looked as if something sharp had scraped away a layer of flesh. Dark red scars crisscrossed the skin, appearing grotesque and terrifying in the harsh light.

"Lavinia..."

She never imagined that Lavinia—who'd been taken away by police at the wedding—would appear here in this ghastly state, leading a gang of desperadoes!

Lavinia let out a twisted laugh. "Scarlett, are you surprised? Did you think I'd already rotted away in prison?"

She approached Scarlett step by step, cornered against the wall.

In her hand, she carried a red plastic bucket.

As she drew closer, the pungent smell of gasoline filled the entire corridor.

"Look at me now!" Lavinia pointed at her disfigured half-face, eyes full of venomous hatred. "This is all your doing! All because of you!"

"If not for you, I'd be the high-and-mighty Mrs. Bourbon by now! If not for you, I wouldn't have been tortured worse than death by those filthy beasts on that smuggling ship!"

She splashed the bucket of gasoline around Scarlett!

The acrid liquid splashed on Scarlett's wounds, sending a burning, unbearable pain through them.

"Thirteen years ago, that fire didn't kill you—you were lucky." Lavinia pulled a lighter from her pocket, her thumb flicking it lightly.

A pale blue flame danced in the darkness, illuminating her ghastly, ghostlike half-face.

"Today, I'll make sure youand those two little bastards of yours..."

"All burn to ashes together!"