"I can't take it anymore. This woman talks too much. I need to shut her up, or we won't have any peace for the next two days."
One of the female agents said this as she took off her sock, preparing to gag Deanna.
Seeing this, Deanna instinctively closed her mouth in fear. She did not want her mouth stuffed with a smelly sock.
Just as she was contemplating whether to lower her head, another female agent suddenly spoke up, "Termite, stop messing with her. We've got orders from above to release her now and return to base immediately!"
Hearing this, the female agent who was about to act on Deanna had to stop, showing a look of regret on her face. Deanna, however, felt a flash of joy in her eyes upon hearing this.
Sure enough, it didn't take long for her to be released by those two people.
The moment she gained her freedom, Deanna turned around and ran without a second thought, her anxious demeanor showing her fear that they might regret it. However, once she had escaped the abandoned factory and faced the desolate surroundings, regret welled up inside her.
In her haste to flee, she had forgotten that she was brought to the outskirts by those two, with no money on her and without her phone.
With no other option, she had to walk on foot, all the while looking for signs along the roadside. Luckily for her, after walking for about half an hour, she finally reached the main road.
Seeing a truck coming her way, Deanna waved to intercept it without thinking.
That evening, Deanna finally hitched a ride on the truck and returned to the city, meeting up successfully with Lance at the city entrance.
"Lance!"
As soon as she got off the truck, Deanna saw the man standing by the roadside, looking noticeably more haggard. She beamed and trotted over to him.
Seeing this, Lance immediately walked briskly towards her, grasped her shoulders with both hands, and checked her up and down, "Are you hurt?"
"No, they just tied me up and didn't do anything else to me." Deanna shook her head and explained the situation of her being kidnapped over the past few days.
Observing the two talking without paying heed to anything else, Xavier, being quite perceptive, took an envelope and walked toward the truck driver. "Friend, thank you for bringing our Missus back. May I ask where you found her?"
"It was near the abandoned factory in the western suburbs, 60 kilometers away from the city," the truck driver said as he accepted the envelope Xavier handed over without hesitation. After all, it was his well-deserved reward.
Upon hearing this, Xavier was astounded. It was so far away; no wonder they hadn't been able to find any trace of the Missus.
While he was pondering this, Deanna's panic-stricken voice rang out behind him.
"What did you say, my grandmother is not doing well? How could this happen?"
Deanna clung tightly to Lance's arms, her dark eyes flooded with fear.
Lance, seeing this, felt a deep ache in his heart but had no choice but to tell the truth. "It's my fault. I didn't expect Eula to act against your grandmother while you were in trouble. Now, your grandmother is holding on just to wait for you to return. We'll settle this account later, is that alright? We need to go see your grandmother now. I'm worried she might not hold on for long."
Hearing this, Deanna couldn't think of anything else. With her eyes blurred by tears, she urged, "Take me to see my grandmother quickly, I must see her!"
"Alright, I'll take you there right now!" Lance said, holding her as they turned to get in the car.
Throughout the journey, Deanna couldn't calm her emotions. She clung tightly to Lance's clothes, her body trembling with extreme grief.
Feeling the anguish emanating from Deanna in his embrace, Lance felt as if a knife had been plunged into his chest.
He even opened his mouth several times to offer comfort, but he couldn't find the right words to say.
Saying something like "be strong and carry on" might hit Deanna even harder, and he feared she wouldn't be able to take it.
But saying that everything would be fine was evidently not realistic.
Given the old lady's current condition, without that final breath to hold on, she might pass away at any moment.
In the end, he converted all his words into a single promise, "No matter what happens, I'll stay by your side, always."
Hearing this, Deanna's tears flowed even more fiercely. Holding tightly onto Lance's shirt, she hoarsely said, "If Grandma is gone, I won't have any elder family left. There will no longer be someone to prepare clothes for me all year round, and there won't be anyone to pat my head and call me silly child. I'll have no place to act spoiled."
As she spoke, she cried even more sorrowfully.
Lance held her tightly, and perhaps moved, his eyes also turned red.
"Don't be afraid, you'll have me from now on, and my parents too."
"Deanna cried uncontrollably.
Thus, she wept all the way to the hospital, stumbling to the intensive care unit with Lance's support.
At this moment, her eyes recognized no one but her grandmother inside the ward. Seeing her grandmother, covered with tubes, tears once again flowed from Deanna's eyes.
Covering her mouth, she called out mournfully, "Grandma..."
Standing beside her, Julia and the two little ones couldn't help but cry too.