He Quit for Me, I Came Back to Him

Chapter 7

Half an hour later, the off-road vehicle rumbled over the gravel at the dock.

The moment the rusted warehouse door swung open, a thick wave of blood hit them square in the face.

In the corner, Chad Hale was chained to an iron frame. The police uniform on his body was shredded beyond recognition, soaked in dried bloodstains.

Vivian's heart clenched like a fist around it. Tears instantly blurred her vision.

"Vivian, hurry! We're running out of time!" Jay stood facing the entrance, covering the door.

Vivian wiped her tears away, swiftly smashed the iron chains, and hauled Chad up by the arm.

Chad let out a low groan, pain ripping through him.

Suddenly, the harsh screech of tires rang out from outside. Blinding beams of light cut through the darkness, making it impossible to see.

Dozens of men in black surrounded the place, every gun barrel aimed straight at the warehouse.

Jay yanked them both behind cover, his brows knitted tight. "Damn it, we're surrounded!"

The lead bodyguard fired a warning shot into the air. "Drop your weapons and surrender! Or you will be shot dead on the spot!"

Jay's hand flew to the gun at his waist, but Vivian grabbed his wrist.

"Don't be reckless." She sized up the situation and spoke calmly. "They've got the numbers. A shootout will only put us at a disadvantage. Let me go out and see what's happening first."

Jay had no choice but to relent. "Fine. I'll cover you."

Vivian stepped out of the warehouse. The sea wind lashed her face, thick with salt and brine.

She scanned the crowd quickly. The guards parted on their own, and Silas and Gwen stepped forward.

"Vivian, we meet again." Gwen spoke first, her tone mocking. "Or should I address you properly... Officer Hale?"

The fierce wind whipped at Silas's coat, revealing a face dark and grim beyond words.

He looked up, past her, at the wounded Chad being supported behind her, then brought his gaze back to Vivian. When he spoke, there was a faint, almost imperceptible trace of disbelief in his voice.

"Is everything Gwen said true? You've really been an undercover cop all along?!"

Gwen let out a soft laugh and stepped forward, signaling her men to ambush them from behind. They seized Jay and Chad separately.

She pressed the muzzle of her gun against Chad's temple. "Silas, do you believe me now?"

Looking at the brother and sister, so alike in the face, Silas understood everything.

And yet he still couldn't bring himself to believe it. If Vivian would just deny it, he'd rather believe every word Gwen said was a lie—that she'd gotten close to him not for some mission, but because she had no other choice.

But the next second, Vivian's ice-cold words plunged him into an abyss.

"That's right. I'm a police officer.

"Silas, tell her to let my brother go and let us leave. If we die here today, the Payne family is finished."

Vivian's gun hand was slick with sweat, but she forced herself to keep calm.

Every single word she spoke drove into Silas's heart like the blade of a knife.

He staggered back a step, his face ashen as paper.

"How naive you are, Officer Hale." Gwen smiled cruelly. "You've sabotaged our business time and time again. Today is the perfect chance to wipe all of you out in one sweep!"

With that, she fired a shot straight at Chad.

"Chad!" Vivian cried out in alarm, bolting toward him—only to watch helplessly as Gwen pulled the trigger again and again. Gunshots tore across the entire dock.

Chad's body jolted violently. Fresh blood burst forth in an instant.

"Chad—!"

Vivian's scream was raw, ripped from the very core of her being. She threw herself forward and caught her brother's body in her arms, but she was still too late.

His body was rapidly turning cold. Blood kept gushing from the wound in his chest, dyeing everything in her sight a deep, blinding red.

"Scary, isn't it? Does it hurt?

"Anything I set my sights on—whether it's things or people—no one has ever dared to touch.

"But you kept getting in my way, again and again. And you still refused to cut ties with Silas. So go ahead and prepare yourself... to die!"

Gwen reloaded her pistol and aimed it straight at Vivian.

Bang!

She fired a shot straight at Vivian's heart.

Vivian dodged just in time. The bullet only grazed her arm.

"Gwen, I'll make you pay with your life!"

When Vivian looked up again, her eyes were blazing red. She raised her gun and pulled the trigger without a shred of hesitation.

But in that split second, Silas stepped in front of Gwen. The bullet tore straight through his shoulder.

He let out a muffled groan. He tried to speak, but the moment his mouth opened, blood poured out, unstoppable.

Gwen ground her teeth, her own eyes burning with hatred. "Vivian, go to hell!"

She ordered her men to light the fuses coiled below like venomous snakes, then drove off without so much as a backward glance.

Jay forced himself up and grabbed Vivian tight. "It's bombs! Run! There's no time left!"

Vivian was on the verge of breaking down. She couldn't hold back the tears anymore. "Let go of me! I have to take my brother with me! He's my last family—I can't abandon him again..."

Boom—!

A deafening blast shook the very ground beneath them. The scorching shockwave sent everyone flying.

The warehouse was leveled to the ground. Everything was reduced to ashes.