The Puppet of His Will

Chapter2

William arrived even faster than the police. He carefully pulled Lily out of the car and wrapped her in his suit jacket, gently placing her into his car. She was trembling uncontrollably, and all William could do was hold her tightly, his lips brushing her ear as he comforted her, "It's okay now, Lily, it's okay. I'm here. The police will be here soon."

The police arrived quickly, their flashing lights filling the scene. They removed the skinny man's corpse from Lily's car, bagging it and taking it away. A female officer came over to check on Lily, trying to ask more questions about what had happened, but William held back his anger and said, "My girlfriend has been through severe trauma. She needs medical attention right now."

The officer was understanding and immediately arranged for Lily to be taken to the hospital, allowing William to stay by her side. Lily's body gradually calmed, though her voice remained hoarse. She nervously kept repeating to William, "Don't let my parents know, please."

William's eyes were redder than hers as he tightly gripped her hand, his voice soft and reassuring, "Don't worry, they won't know. Lily, I'm here. I’ll always be here."

It felt as though Lily's soul and energy had been drained entirely during that life-or-death struggle. What was left was a hollow shell, simply going through the motions—getting her body examined, having the wounds documented, receiving treatment, and even answering the officer's questions. Only when looking at William did her eyes regain a little life, and she would murmur, "William, was it all just a nightmare?"

William held her close, firmly reassuring her, "It was just a nightmare. It'll pass soon."

He never lied to her, and just as he said, things did get better, day by day. Every time he visited her, he brought good news. On the fifteenth day, he came back and told her, "The man who escaped, the one called ‘Boss’, has been caught. All three of them were notorious fugitives. You're safe now, Lily. You'll be fine."

She was stunned, and then she broke down into tears. The weight of fear that had been crushing her finally found release. "I'm so scared, William. I'm really scared. I'm afraid he'll come back for revenge. You didn't see the way he looked at me. He'll come back and kill me."

William held her tightly, speaking slowly and firmly, "He won't. He'll never hurt you again. He's going to get the death penalty. The lawyer said there's no way he'll escape it. Don't be scared, Lily. I'll be here with you. When this is all over, we'll get married. We'll buy a big house, have two kids, and maybe even get a dog and a cat. Our home will always be full of life."

Lily's gaze drifted into the distance as she slowly envisioned the scene he described.

"Don't be afraid, Lily. Time will heal everything. Little by little, you'll forget that nightmare," William whispered.

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Four years later, Serenwood.

Serenwood, nestled between mountains and rivers, had always been famous for its picturesque scenery. Lily's parents hadn't planned on leaving their hometown at such a late stage in life, but they loved the environment here. And since Lily had settled in the city with her husband, they decided to sell their old house and move to Serenwood with her.

They bought a house in the neighborhood close to Lily's house, and it takes less than 10 minutes to get there from her place. Even William couldn't help but tease her, "Now that your parents are so close, you'll have easy access to them, but I bet you'll be complaining to me in no time about how they're always checking up on you."

Lily shot him a sideways glance, curling her legs under her as she lazily flipped through a magazine. Drawing out her words playfully, she pouted, "Honey, I spent all my salary again this month. I don't even have enough to renew my beauty treatment membership."

William laughed helplessly, "Sweetheart, you have my supplementary card. Do you really need to ask me for money?"

"I still have to notify you, don't I?" She smiled mischievously, stretching out her leg to playfully kick William. "William, when are we going to the hospital for a check-up? People say both partners should get checked to make sure everything's okay. That way, we'll have a healthy baby!"

They had been married for two years, and after their blissful honeymoon period where they were inseparable, they were now preparing to start a family.

"Do you really think I have any problems?" William grabbed her playful foot, gently massaging it as he leaned in closer, teasing her.

Lily giggled, lightly kicking him. "If you don't go to the hospital, I won't either!"

William, as always, gave in to her whims. Within a few days, they went to the hospital for a check-up. Both of them were in excellent health, and the doctor only prescribed Lily some prenatal vitamins. By the time they left the hospital, it was nearly noon. After a quick lunch, William headed to work, while Lily leisurely strolled through the shopping mall before heading back to school.

The school where she worked wasn't large and had only recently been upgraded to a university. They had added a few new departments but didn't have enough office buildings, so they crammed all the staff into one building. As usual, Lily parked her car in the shade behind the main building. Just as she got out of her car, a black SUV pulled into the lot and parked right next to hers.

The car was unfamiliar, and it didn't seem to belong to anyone from the faculty. Lily's steps slowed, and she took an extra moment to glance at it.

The car door opened, and out stepped a tall, lean man wearing sunglasses, dressed in a shirt and jeans. He looked slender, but as someone who frequented the gym, Lily knew this type of build was deceiving—what appeared slim under clothes often concealed solid muscles. However, she wasn't interested. Deeply in love with William Cross, she had reached the point where she barely even noticed other men. To her, they all blurred together, and their appearance, whether handsome or plain, didn't matter.

The man, however, stood by the car door, looking at her, and asked unhurriedly, "Excuse me, miss, is the Foreign Language Department's office in this building?"

His voice was distinctive, deep and pleasant, with a certain coolness. In the heat of summer, it should have been soothing, but to Lily, it sent a shiver down her spine. That brief and distant nightmare, long buried in her memory, seemed to resurface in an instant.

Under the moonlight, a man's gaze, sharp as a blade, swept across her face. His expression was cold and indifferent as he said, "Make it clean. "

She could never forget that voice for the rest of her life.

Lily felt like she had seen a ghost. The words "Help me" stuck in her throat, unable to come out. She could only stare at the man in terror, retreating step by step. In her panic, the heel of her shoe got caught in the cracks between the tiles, causing her to lose balance and crash heavily to the ground.

The man removed his sunglasses and walked toward her, asking, "Miss, are you alright?"

She frantically scooted backward, fearfully shouting, "Don't come any closer!!"

The man stopped, gave her a helpless smile, and explained, "Miss, I don't know why you're reacting like this, but I mean no harm. If I've scared you, I apologize, and I'll leave right now."

As he spoke, he took a few slow steps back, even leaning slightly as he asked kindly, "Are you sure you're okay on your own? Do you need me to call someone over?"

Lily didn't reply, only huddled further, staring at him with frightened, wary eyes.

"Okay, okay, I'm leaving," he said softly, trying to reassure her. He glanced at his watch and pointed at his car, adding, "I'll be back in about half an hour to pick up my car."

Without saying anything further, he strode away.

Though the sun shone brightly in the sky, Lily felt as if she had just crawled out of an icy cavern, shivering from the cold. Still sitting on the ground, her skirt covered in dust, her palms stung from scrapes, but she didn't care. Her trembling hand fumbled in her purse for her phone, dialing William.

"He's found me! He's found me!" She sounded like a frightened bird, repeating the same words over and over.

"Who?" William asked.

"It's him, I saw him! He's come back for me!"

Time seemed to rewind to those long-ago days when she would wake up crying from nightmares, telling him they had come for her. William fell silent for a moment before softly comforting her again, "Honey, it's okay. They're all dead. Those three men are dead. Don't be afraid. Tell me, where are you now?"

Whether it was his steady voice that soothed her or the strong summer sunlight slowly warming her up, Lily gradually calmed down and replied, "I'm at school, behind the main building."

"Is there anyone around you?" William asked again.

She glanced around. In the distance, people were walking by, and a student, noticing her, hesitated for a moment before starting to walk over.

"Some students are coming over," she answered.

William let out a gentle laugh, teasing her, "You better wipe your face, or the students will laugh at you. It's so hot today, maybe you're a bit heat-struck and just saw the wrong person."

It was a reasonable explanation. Lily gave a small, low hum of agreement. Before hanging up, the boy who had approached her asked, "Ms. Harris, are you alright?"

Lily recognized him as a third-year Economy major who often helped out in the office. "I'm fine," she answered quickly. After saying a brief goodbye to William, she explained to the student, "I just twisted my ankle while walking."

She smiled awkwardly and tried to stand on her own.

The student rushed to help her, asking, "Are you sure you can walk? Should we go to the hospital?"

Her heels weren't very high, so the sprain wasn't serious. She moved her ankle around and tried putting weight on it. Although it hurt a little, it wasn't too bad. She waved him off, politely declining his help, and slowly walked toward the office. Just as she entered the office, a colleague called out, "Ms. Harris, you're just in time. A parent is here to see you."

Lily looked up and immediately saw the man leaning against the window, hands in his pockets. He turned his head toward the door and looked at her. The moment his eyes landed on her, her first instinct was to flee, but it felt as if a predator had locked onto its prey, freezing her in place.

The man gave her a slight nod, politely greeting her, "Hello, Ms. Harris."

Her colleague didn't notice her odd reaction and introduced the situation, "This is the older brother of one of your students. He's here to handle her leave of absence."

Lily said nothing, staring straight at the man.

Two voices in her head were battling fiercely. One voice screamed that it was him, the same man as the criminal, they had the same voice, the same face!

But another, more rational voice told her: Lily, calm down. That man was executed, and William confirmed it. Dead people don't come back to life. This is just someone else who happens to look like him.

The man chuckled, a little helpless, and said, "Ms. Harris, I don't eat people. I'm Jane Pierce's uncle. My name is Alexander Pierce. Look, here's my ID." As he spoke, he actually took out his ID from his wallet and walked toward her, intending to hand it over.

Instinctively, Lily shrank back. He noticed and stopped halfway, leaning over to place the ID on the desk between them. He gestured to it, saying, "You can check it."

Her colleague was completely puzzled, glancing between Lily and the man, asking, "Ms. Harris, what's going on?"

Lily didn't respond, cautiously picking up the ID while keeping an eye on him. She looked at the ID: name, Alexander Pierce, male, 28 years old, with a local address. The man in the photo looked young, around his early twenties, with neat, short hair, an attractive face, and a gentle demeanor.

She carefully examined the back of the ID, noting the issue date, which matched when he would have been 20 years old.

Such a gentle, refined young man didn't resemble a ruthless criminal in the least.

Lily silently breathed a sigh of relief, steadying her emotions as she returned the ID. Apologetically, she said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Pierce. It was my mistake, and I may have caused some misunderstanding. I truly apologize."

Alexander smiled faintly and didn't ask what the misunderstanding was. Instead, he simply said, "Ms. Harris, Jane has been on medical leave for a while due to health reasons. We decided to have her take a full year off to recover abroad. Since her parents are from out of town, they asked me to handle the paperwork for her leave."