Chapter 130
It's Henley.
Isabella noticed that the color around his abdomen seemed darker and wetter than the rest of his body, clinging tightly to his skin.
"What happened?" Isabella's voice trembled slightly as she reached out and touched the sticky liquid at his waist.
She jerked her hand back, looking at her fingers under the dim light. They were covered in a glaring dark red.
"Oh my God," she gasped, all traces of alcohol instantly fading from her system, replaced by overwhelming fear.
She covered her mouth to stop a scream from escaping her throat.
Henley leaned against the wall, breathing shallowly, his forehead covered in a thin layer of cold sweat. Seeing Isabella's expression and reaction, he knew he couldn't hide it anymore.
He gestured for her to stay quiet, his voice hoarse from pain, "Just a small injury. I'm fine."
"Small injury? Are you kidding me!" Isabella kept her voice extremely low, but it was filled with disbelief, fear, and urgency. She didn't dare touch him again, only staring at the faint outline of a dagger protruding from his abdomen, "You've been stabbed! Oh my God, we need to get out of here right now and get you to a hospital!"
She tried to stay calm, but the shaking in her voice betrayed her panic.
Vitale's most trusted bodyguard, Henley, who was always as strong and dependable as a shadow, was now seriously injured.
"No hospital," Henley gritted his teeth, shaking his head despite the intense pain. Cold sweat dripped down the side of his face, "The attackers are old enemies of our family. They know the boss isn't in Thalassia and want to take revenge while they can. I got caught when I went back for Laura. There were a lot of them, and I couldn't fully dodge this dagger."
"Okay, okay, I get it," Isabella forced herself to think quickly. Though her voice still trembled, it was much clearer now, "So what do we do next? What about Laura? Did you find her?"
"I found her. She's hiding well and should be okay," Henley's voice grew weaker, "But I can't go back to get her out. Ms. Lorraine, you have to find her yourself, take her with you, and we'll leave through the back alley. I know a safe place."
Find Laura on her own?
Isabella's heart tightened again.
But seeing Henley's face growing paler by the second, she knew he could collapse at any moment.
"Alright, I'll find Laura," she didn't hesitate anymore, nodding quickly with a determined look in her eyes, "Wait here for me. Hold on! I'll be back soon!"
Henley looked at her, seeming like he wanted to say something, but in the end, he just nodded, "I'm in a lot of pain. You'd better hurry."
Isabella took a deep breath, crouched behind a potted plant, and quickly but cautiously moved toward the main hall of the bar.
Haven Bar was now unrecognizable.
Several of the cozy lights had been smashed, making the place even darker and more chaotic.
Tables and chairs were overturned, and glass shards and spilled drinks littered the floor.
The once soothing jazz music had stopped, and the air was thick with the smell of alcohol, blood, and violence.
A few customers and staff who hadn't managed to escape cowered in corners, watching the scene in terror.
Five or six men in black jackets with fierce looks were roughly searching and destroying everything, cursing loudly as if looking for someone.
They held baseball bats or short knives, and one of them had fresh scratch marks on his face.
Isabella's heart pounded as she crouched behind an overturned sofa, her eyes anxiously scanning the messy hall.
Finally, in the far corner, under a booth table half-hidden by heavy curtains, she spotted a familiar figure.
Laura was curled up there, hands clutching her head, her body trembling uncontrollably.
Isabella waited for the moment when the thugs had their backs turned, clenched her teeth, and darted out from behind the sofa. She rushed to the booth as fast as she could and yanked the tablecloth aside.
"Laura!" she whispered urgently.
Laura flinched, startled, and looked up, her face streaked with tears and fear.
"Isabella, you're okay. I'm so scared."
"Don't be afraid. It's okay now. We have to get out of here!" Isabella didn't have time to comfort her. She grabbed Laura's arm firmly and pulled her out from under the table, "Follow me. Don't make a sound, and don't look back!"
Laura nodded, gripping Isabella's hand tightly.
The two of them crouched low, using the chaos of overturned furniture and dim lighting as cover, and quickly moved toward the emergency exit Henley had taken Isabella through earlier.
Luckily, the thugs seemed distracted by something else, or maybe they weren't looking for them at all.
The two made it through the mess without being noticed and dashed into the narrow hallway leading to the back.
When they reached the corner, Henley was barely conscious, his head hanging limply. But at the sound of footsteps, he instantly looked up alertly. Seeing Isabella with Laura, his tense expression relaxed just a little.
"Henley!" Laura saw the blood all over him and covered her mouth in shock, her face even paler than before.
"No time. Support his other side!" Isabella ordered, her voice leaving no room for argument.
She and Laura positioned themselves on either side of Henley, supporting his heavy body.
Henley let out a muffled groan, nearly putting all his weight on them, but his will to survive kept him from completely passing out.
"Back alley, left side… third black van… keys are… above the left front tire…" Henley gave instructions in broken gasps, every word seeming to be forced through gritted teeth.
Isabella and Laura used every ounce of their strength, half-dragging and half-carrying Henley as they stumbled out the back door into the cold, dark alley.
The biting wind sharpened their senses and cleared some of the bloody smell from the air.
Following Henley's directions, they indeed found an unremarkable old black van.
Isabella felt for the magnetic key box above the left front tire and quickly opened the door.
They shoved the nearly unconscious Henley into the back seat. Isabella jumped into the driver's seat while Laura sat in the passenger seat, clutching a torn strip of fabric from Henley's jacket. She tried to apply pressure to stop the bleeding, but seeing the dagger deeply embedded and the blood still gushing out, her hands shook badly.
"The address!" Isabella started the car, the engine letting out a low roar.
She had never been so grateful that Vitale had forced her to learn how to drive—and drive well.
"Old Jack Clinic, it's in the GPS…" Henley's voice was so faint it was barely audible.
Isabella didn't waste time, quickly entering the name into the car's GPS.
A remote address popped up.
She floored the gas pedal, and the van sped out of the dark alley, merging into the sparse late-night traffic of Thalassia.
On the way, Isabella drove fast but steady, constantly checking on Henley through the rearview mirror.
His breathing grew shallower, and his face looked ghostly pale under the flickering streetlights.
Laura sobbed quietly beside her, her hands covered in blood.
"Hold on, Henley, we're almost there!"
Following the GPS, they arrived at a rundown area in the west district, a mix of abandoned industrial zones and old residential buildings.
Isabella and Laura supported Henley again, rushing toward an iron door.
Isabella gathered all her strength and kicked it hard!
The door wasn't locked and swung open with a bang.
The sight inside made both women freeze.
Rather than a clinic, it looked more like a chaotic private hideout and an illegal medical spot.
Basic medical equipment was scattered around, and in the center of the open space, a middle-aged man in a wrinkled white coat with greasy hair was playing poker at a small table with three barely dressed young women.
The doctor's coat hung open, revealing a floral shirt underneath, and one of the women was sitting on his lap.
The door being kicked open cut off the laughter inside abruptly.
The women let out sharp screams, scrambling to grab their scattered clothes and rushing into a small partitioned room.
The doctor, startled at first, saw the unconscious Henley being supported inside. Instead of panic, his greasy face showed no surprise. He slowly pushed the woman off his lap, stood up, buttoned his coat, and wore an expression that seemed almost amused, as if he'd seen this kind of thing before.
Laura, looking at her blood-covered hands and then at the filthy, chaotic environment and the unreliable-looking doctor, was too scared to move. She clung tightly to Isabella's arm.
Isabella forced herself to stay calm.
She had seen the chaos of hospitals when her mother was sick and had glimpsed the shady side of things when Vitale dealt with trouble.
Right now, saving Henley's life was more important than anything else.
"Help him, now!" Isabella and Laura carefully placed Henley on the only relatively clean cot in the room.
The doctor didn't check the injury right away. Instead, he looked Isabella and Laura up and down, especially Isabella, whose face, though smeared with blood, couldn't hide her beauty. A sleazy smirk crept across his lips.
"Save him? Sure, I can do that," he dragged out his words, his gaze shamelessly lingering on Isabella, "But I've got a rule here. I don't take money. Money's too boring."
"You," he pointed at Isabella, "spend one night with me. If you make me happy, I guarantee I'll save your friend's life. How's that? Fair deal."
Isabella's brows furrowed tightly, her stomach churning.
She looked at the creepy man in front of her, then at Henley, who was barely clinging to life on the cot. A mix of anger and cold resolve surged within her.
"Isabella, don't agree to it," a weak, agitated voice came from the cot.
Henley struggled to turn his head, "He's… a liar… don't trust him…"
Isabella froze, a complicated mix of warmth and pain swelling in her chest.
The sleazy grin on the doctor's face stiffened instantly.
He looked at Isabella in disbelief, his trembling finger pointing at her, his voice changing pitch, "What did you just call her? Isabella?"
He looked as if he'd seen a ghost, his eyes darting to Henley and back to Isabella. The color drained from his face, replaced by genuine terror, "Damn it, you're the Isabella that Vitale likes?"