"You son of…" Without thinking, the mercenary gripped his phone tighter and reached for the gun at his waist.
By the time he raised his eyes to aim, Dante had vanished from his line of sight.
Startled, he looked around wildly for a few seconds but Dante was nowhere to be found.
Assuming he bolted, the man turned to rush toward his colleagues…
But an arm snaked around his neck from behind, knocking off the gun and dragging him back.
"You know who I am and you still point your weapon at me?"
Choking, the mercenary gnashed his teeth, "Damn you! You're just a disgraced Commander with no men to command!"
Dante's brows furrowed, "What?"
"You should've done yourself a favor and stayed hidden! Everyone knows what you did. Kill me or don't, I don't care. But just know I won't be the last one coming after you. From what I also hear, even your own men won't be…" The mercenary was still talking when a…
Bang!
His body went limp as a bloody hole instantly formed on his temple.
Dante's eyes immediately flicked forward, catching the faint red glint of a sniper scope three rooftops away.
The shooter realized he'd been spotted and quickly packed up, disappearing into the night.
Moments later, the two mercenaries woke up. When they saw the situation, they hurriedly bit their tongues and died on the spot.
Laying down the body in his arms, Dante bent over to pick the dropped phone, raising it to his eyes to see the call was still ongoing, but the number was blocked.
"Run all you want, Dante Wynn. When I find you… I'll deliver your head to those who want proof that you're dead." A voice he didn't recognize boomed before hanging up.
Shrugging, he tossed the phone down and raised his foot.
He crushed it under his boot, making sure there was nothing left attached together before hopping off the rooftop.
He'd deal with this later.
For now…
He didn't trust the Ward family with his wife.
With no money to board a taxi, he sprinted all the way to the Ward family mansion.
As he did, inside the Ward family's mansion, the middle-aged couple wheeled their daughter into the living room where a youbg man and woman around the same age as Selene, sat beside Alaric.
Not seeing Dante anywhere, the young man's face darkened and he stomped over to grab Selene by the collar.
Ignoring the pain flashing in her eyes, he jabbed a finger in her face.
"Hide that bastard all you want. But when I find him, I'll beat him to a pulp for ignoring grandfather and costing us a contract with Gordon Heffley!"
"Why did you bring this jinx back here?" The girl hissrd, her eyes lowered as she filed her nails.
Fidgeting nervously with her finger, the middle-aged woman stepped forward to apologize.
"Ian, Megan, your cousin made a mistake and her father and I have brought her back to apologize for what she did."
At this, Megan Ward stopped her filing and raised her eyes to look Selene over then huffed in disdain.
"I've always known you to be an attention seeker, but jumping in front of a knife is too dramatic, Selene. Besides, how could you lose that much blood and still not die?"
Ian Ward clicked his tongue irritably as he leered at the couple in disgust, "Tsk! This is all Barbara and Benjamin's fault. Because she failed to raise her daughter properly, the Ward family will suffer this setback for months."
Barbara Ward swallowed and lowered her eyes apologetically, "You're right, Ian. I should've done better."
At this, Benjamin Ward threw a cold glance Selene's way and stepped forward to probe, "Don't just lie there, get up and get on your knees! Beg your grandfather for forgiveness!"
Megan dropped the file beside her and sat properly, turning to point a finger at Selene with a ludicrous smile.
"Sigh… I gotta hand it to you, Selene. Grandfather ignored you for months, and you pull a stunt like this to get his attention? "
Selene, however, shifted weakly, grappling with the bed frame as she tried to sit up properly with Ian's hand still on her collar.
Alaric Ward's eyes followed her every move, his expression unreadable.
A minute passed… and she still couldn't get up.
Panicking, Barbara Ward moved her foot and overturned the bed, sending her daughter tumbling hard onto the floor.
Then she rushed forward, jerked her up and forced her onto her knees.
"Don't be insolent! Apologize to the entire family for causing such a scene today!"
But the rough treatment from the hospital to here had torn Selene's stitches and pain seared through her body, temporarily impairing her hearing.
Sweat broke out on her face as she clutched her abdomen in pain. "M-Mother… it hurts."
"Why should we care about that? No one asked you to get in front of a knife, you bitch!" Ian hissed, storming forward and shoving her down on her face.
Then he began stepping all over her aggressively.
"You caused a scene and still didn't die? You can't even do one thing right. How pathetic can you be?!"
Selene winced, shielding her face with both arms as the blows came from numerous directions.
Thirty seconds later, he noticed she was no longer squirming under his feet and knelt to yank her up.
Almost immediately, the door behind him suddenly burst open.
Everyone looked over to find Dante by the doorway, breathing heavily as he caught his breath.
"Hahaha… Ian, you're so strong. Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Out of habit, the laughter and rage baiting words were out of his mouth before he could stop himself.
"You fucking idiot. Are you challenging me?"
As expected, Ian laughed and straightened up to heard toward him.
Used to Ian beating up Dante and Selene, the entire family waited lazily for him to get his fill.
Ian reached Dante and casually leapt into the air, his right leg stretched forward, aiming a kick at his head.
When Dante didn't budge, he smirked, thinking he had moved too fast for Dante's eyes to follow.
But just as his foot landed on his shoulder…
The corners of Dante's lips suddenly quirked into a grin.