"Just shut up! You already know that you're going to die, so why are you still being so stubborn?
There's no one coming to save you. When people finally find your dead bodies, no one will ever
suspect us. After all, a lot of people die from accidents every day. Don't you agree?"
"I... I swear that we didn't tell Jacob anything!"
The reporter pleaded to save his life, but the way he said Jacob's name seemed off to Darren's lead
henchman.
Because of this, he threatened the reporter even more. He then stood in front of the reporter with a
terrifying expression on his face and said, "It seems like you've already gotten in contact with Jacob.
Unfortunately, I'm going to have to kill you because of that. Just to avoid any trouble that might come
our way in the future, you know?" The moment the henchman finished speaking, he gave the reporter a
thunderous slap on the face. The reporter's battered and bruised cheeks grew even redder.
The reporter and the "victim" couldn't bear the torture anymore. They were beaten so badly that their
mouths profusely bled.
"Does it hurt? Don't worry, you won't feel a thing after we're done with you," the henchman teasingly
uttered with a sinister laugh.
"What do you want from us? Please, I don't want..."
The two of them were in complete despair. They believed that there was no longer any ray of sunshine
to look forward to. At that time, it seemed like all hope was lost for them. Suddenly, a feeling of regret
overcame them. They wouldn't have been in this position if they had simply cooperated with Jacob
earlier that morning.
One of Darren's men wiped his knife with a piece of cloth over and over again. And when he was done,
the blade was as reflective as a mirror.
Both the reporter and "the victim" had completely surrendered to the fact that they were going to die
that night, so they simply closed their eyes and waited for their last moments on earth. Suddenly, one
of the henchmen's phone rang. No one there knew what was being said on the call. A few people went
outside, for fear that it might be someone telling them that the police were coming. And the others also
left to light a cigarette or get some fresh air.
The reporter and the "victim", who had nearly passed out because of their supposed impending death,
could now somewhat breathe easily. Just a few seconds ago, they had thought that their lives would
end. But now, it was like they had been given a second chance. While everyone was outside, the two of
them began to think of a way to escape.
Their hands were tightly bound together, so the first thing they needed to do was to get rid of the ropes.
But it seemed that there was nothing in that room that could help them. Both of them could only
violently twist their bodies around in an attempt to get loose. Suddenly, a blade fell from the "victim's"
body.
It was like a new hope of life that fell from the sky. The "victim" quickly lowered his body to pick the
blade up. He managed to reach it and immediately cut the ropes inch by inch. But it was like torture
once again since their hands were already covered with bruises from the beatings earlier.
However, the "victim" was determined to live on. He worked through the pain and after a few seconds,
he was finally free. He sliced the ropes that bound the reporter, and the two of them immediately ran
outside before everyone could get back.
Once they were outside the room, the "victim" picked a stick up from the ground. Then, as if on cue,
both of them ran towards the gate. The reporter kicked the gate entrance wide open. Fortunately, it
wasn't locked. But his kick was heard by a man in black standing near the gate.
The man in black quickly approached them, but the "victim" knocked the man out with a single blow to
the back of the head with his wooden stick. The two got away successfully. But just when they thought
they were free, Darren's men came running after them after finding out that they had escaped.
The "victim" and the reporter ran as fast as they could. There was no way in hell that they were going
back there to die. But the henchmen were closely catching up with them.
Hence, when they saw a car parked by the sea, they climbed in without a single shred of hesitation.
Seeing a man sitting in the driver's seat of the car, the reporter exclaimed in a rush, "Hey, buddy, there
are people chasing us and they want to kill us. Please hurry up and start the car. Please get us out of
here right now!"
But the car that they had stumbled upon happened to be Sam's. . . There was also a beautiful woman
sitting in the front passenger seat.
The "victim" recognized that the man in the driver's seat was actually Sam, so he asked, "What are you
doing here?"
Sam took his arm off the woman's shoulders. He sneered and turned towards the two men in the back
seat of his car. He asked in a confused tone, "Shouldn't I be the one asking you that? Can't you see
that I'm on a date with my girlfriend here? So why on earth are you two in my car?"
"Please, just drive. We don't have much time," the reporter pleaded to Sam. He couldn't take it
anymore, so told Sam about everything that had happened. "Drive the car, or else Darren is going to
kill us." Upon hearing the reporter, the "victim" confirmed that his words were true. The fact that
Darren's men were right on their tails made him indifferent to everything else, even though they were
guilty of framing Emily. It seemed to him that Sam being there was just sheer luck, so he had to make
use of that.
Sam pretended to be surprised. He furrowed his eyebrows and kept quiet. Then, he started the car and
left the seaside.
After losing the people who were chasing them, Sam pretended to be startled and asked the two,
"Don't you work for Darren? Why in the world would he try to kill you?"
The reporter and the "victim" exchanged glances. They hesitated to speak for quite some time, but
after a while of thinking about the situation, the "victim" finally told the truth. "Alas, I'll tell you
everything. Darren is the mastermind behind all of this. He was the one who planned to frame Ms.
Emily."
At the mention of Darren's name, the reporter clenched his fists in anger. He hadn't expected that
Darren would kill them just to keep their mouths shut. Unfortunately, his mother was still being watched
by Darren, and her life was probably in danger as well. So, he thought it was best to cooperate with
Jacob.
The "victim" also thought that cooperating with Jacob was the only choice they had, so he said, "Take
us to Jacob. We'll tell him everything he wants to know." The reporter had no complaints. With their
lives on the line, it seemed like it was the only wise decision. . . . . . . .
After some time, they arrived at the Gu Consortium headquarters and went directly to Jacob's office.
Sam knocked on the door and said, "Mr. Gu, there are people here that would like to speak with you."
He opened the door and led the two inside.
Jacob sat in his chair with his back facing everyone.
"Mr. Gu, we want to cooperate with you." The two of them were no longer as arrogant as they had been
in the morning. The fear of losing their lives had caused them to change their ways.
Now, they felt like they were stuck in a deep well, but Jacob had thrown down a rope to them. Only by
grasping this rope tightly could they have a chance of survival.
"Oh?" Jacob uttered as he slowly turned around to face them. He stared at them directly with an
unconcerned look on his face. "Why should I cooperate with you? How can I be sure that I can trust
you?"
The two were in shock as to how quickly Jacob had changed his attitude towards them. A sudden
feeling of panic overcame them. It caused the reporter to kneel down all of a sudden. The "victim" also
knelt down and begged Jacob, "Mr. Gu, we'll do anything that you want from us. We're also willing to
tell the truth about Mrs. Gu to everyone."
Jacob stood up and looked down on them with a condescending expression on his face. He didn't utter
a single word in response.
Being met with silence, the reporter quickly took his mobile phone out and played a voice recording. It
was a recording of the conversation between him and Darren when they had made the deal in the first
place. He had secretly recorded the conversation in case he got caught in the future. He then said, "I
beg of you. Please forgive us. We didn't know we were messing with you in particular."
"Yes, Mr. Gu. We were also forced to do it. Darren has our mothers in custody,"
the "victim" added. They bowed down in front of Jacob once more. While the two had their heads
facing the floor, Sam and Jacob had grins on their faces like they had just won the lottery.
Finally, Jacob agreed to their plea. Immediately, he sent a few of his men to save their mothers.
The "victim" cooperated by having his face examined for wounds that might have come from Emily. The
examination result proved that there was no injury on his face. His wounds had all come from beatings
caused by random individuals. None of them were from Emily.
The reporter also handed the voice recording to Sam.
All of the evidence they needed were finally in their hands.
Once Jacob was satisfied, he ordered the two to leave and find some place to lie low. . . . . .
"Mr. Gu, everything went according to plan. You're such a genius." Sam couldn't help bursting into
laughter the moment the two men left.
Jacob casually played with the wine glass in his hand and flashed a complacent smile.
Everything was falling into place just as he had planned. . . . . . .
Early the next day, dawn had not yet broken the sky when Emily woke up.
She felt weak, since her insomnia had rendered her unable to sleep properly.
The comfort she sought out in Jacob wasn't available either. The entire day, she was worried sick, and
thoughts of her bad public image circled in her head.
When Jacob finally came back home at about two o'clock that night, he had good news to share with
Emily. He told her that she didn't need to worry about anything anymore since all of the evidence that
they needed had been found.
All the heavy burden that Emily felt on her shoulders was suddenly lifted. All the thoughts that had
contributed to her anxiety dissipated and were replaced with happiness. . .
The next day, Jacob planned to hold a conference in the meeting room of a hotel.
Being the most luxurious hotel in the city, it was equipped with the best facilities. The conference room
on the third floor could accommodate 500 people. It was not only a hot spot for large-scale banquets
and meetings, but had also been chosen as the venue for many press conferences in the past.
That day, another press conference was going to be held there, and it would be the biggest one yet.
The venue had been prepared according to Jacob's requirements. On the stage, there was a row of
seats, and behind them was a big curtain which was so huge that it looked like it was hanging from the
sky. Finally, a projector in the center of the meeting room was ready in place.
Being the most luxurious hotel in the city, it was equipped with the best facilities. The conference room
on the third floor could accommodate 500 people. It was not only a hot spot for large-scale banquets
and meetings, but had also been chosen as the venue for many press conferences in the past.
That day, another press conference was going to be held there, and it would be the biggest one yet.
The venue had been prepared according to Jacob's requirements. On the stage, there was a row of
seats, and behind them was a big curtain which was so huge that it looked like it was hanging from the
sky. Finally, a projector in the center of the meeting room was ready in place.
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