Chapter 106
After calling the police, I followed their instructions and drove to the police station.
But before I even got there, I noticed that all those questioning voices online had suddenly vanished completely.
Even the videos and photos I'd saved wouldn't open anymore when I tried to click on them.
This proved even more that his death was deliberate, and someone was already scrubbing the internet clean to cover their tracks.
As I neared the police station, I got another call from an unknown number. I couldn't recognize the voice.
The caller said he was Officer Jesse Turner, in charge of Jeremy's death case, calling to confirm my location.
I didn't think much of it and gave him my address, saying I'd be there in ten minutes.
After Jesse hung up, something felt off, though I couldn't quite put my finger on what.
While waiting at a red light, my phone buzzed with what seemed like a text message. Before I could check it, the light turned green. My car started moving slowly. Just as I reached the middle of the intersection, an SUV came charging from the side, heading straight for me.
In that moment, my mind went blank. Instinctively, I jerked the steering wheel right to dodge it. But the empty right lane suddenly had a van speeding into view. The two vehicles sandwiched me, and my car was crushed and deformed from the violent impact.
Through the intense pain, I seemed to lose all my senses instantly. Everything spun around me, and I felt like I was being squeezed in a giant fist. Even breathing became difficult. All sounds disappeared except my own breathing, which became impossibly loud in my ears.
I wanted to speak. Oscar's face flashed through my mind. I wanted to call him for help, but as soon as I opened my mouth, I felt something sweet and metallic in my throat. It choked me so badly I could barely breathe. With violent coughing, blood spurted from my mouth.
I desperately tried to stay conscious and reached to unbuckle my seatbelt, but something was stuck. The belt wouldn't budge.
Through my blurred vision, I saw someone walking toward me. He took off his sunglasses, revealing a scar that snaked from the corner of his left eye to his ear. That face—I knew it all too well. Jeffrey.
He gripped a large wrench tightly in his right hand. None of the onlookers tried to stop him. Maybe they thought he was trying to rescue someone.
But I knew he wasn't. His eyes showed clear killing intent. He wanted me dead.
I couldn't die. Dying like this would be too pathetic. This was Lumaria—I bet he wouldn't dare kill someone in broad daylight.
Enduring the sharp pain in my left chest, my hand finally found the seatbelt buckle. The huge wrench came crashing down with a bang, and the windshield made a violent noise right by my ear.
My hand frantically pressed the button, trying to save myself.
The heavy wrench struck again. Fine cracks began spreading outward from the center of the windshield.
"Help—help—" I tried to shout, but my voice came out weak.
If I died like this, it would be too pathetic. I'd been too careless. I forced myself to stay calm and twisted the ring on my finger, pressing the switch. In the sunlight's reflection, the steel needle flashed briefly before I hid it in my palm. If he made a move, even if it meant dying, I'd make him pay a price—the bigger, the better.
His wrench struck the windshield hard again. The already cracked tempered glass instantly turned into a web of lines. Jeffrey's face was now separated from me by this spider-web-like glass.
I tried again with all my strength. At the last moment, the seatbelt finally released.
Enduring the pain in my waist, I struggled to get out of the driver's seat. But another violent impact came, and the glass finally gave way, shattering toward me.
I instinctively raised my arm to protect my head. Through the gaps, I saw Jeffrey standing on the hood, raising the wrench high above me.
So he really was here to kill me.
I forced myself up through the intense pain. As soon as he bent down to strike me, I'd stab the steel needle into his eye.
A loud bang—gunfire.
His raised wrench fell. The bullet tore through flesh, instantly turning his palm into a bloody mess. The man who'd been standing on the hood collapsed.
Oscar's anxious face appeared before me, his voice slightly trembling: "Emily, how are you? Are you okay?"
I opened my mouth, wanting to tell him I was fine, but before I could make a sound, that metallic sweetness came again, and blood spurted from my mouth.
My condition must have scared him. I actually saw him frantically tear away the entire windshield with his bare hands, ignoring the glass shards still attached, and leap to my side. He tried to pull me out of the car, but the severely deformed vehicle had my lower body trapped tight.
As soon as he moved, my groan made him immediately stop: "Emily, where does it hurt? Try to move and see."
I suppressed the urge to vomit and shook my head at him: "I think... I can't move."
He checked anxiously: "Wait, the ambulance should be here any minute."
"Call again and ask where they are. Tell them to hurry, get here as fast as possible." Oscar growled at someone outside.
Soon, someone replied, "Mr. Lopez, the ambulance says there's a traffic accident on the road. They're stuck in traffic and trying to find another route."
Oscar's face darkened. I'd never seen him this angry: "Then don't wait for the ambulance. Lift the car and get her out."
"Everyone's been secured. You figure out how to save her, I'll clear the road." I also heard Michael's voice.
Oscar nodded at him and looked at me gently: "Emily, hang in there. I'm here. I won't let anything happen to you."
I wanted to smile and tell him not to worry, that I was fine, but my eyelids grew heavier and heavier. I could vaguely feel his hand patting my cheek, anxiously calling my name, but I was just too tired. And like that, I passed out.