Twisted loyalty

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“Lisa, my love, don’t cry. I’m here. Nothing will happen to you. I will never let you go to him. Just don’t waste your tears on him. Please, get it together. Nothing is going to happen as long as I’m here. I promise.”

After he said that, Lisa felt a lot better.

He’s right. When I first faced him, I was alone. But now I have my Ray with me, his child, and friends who are ready to fight for me. So why am I crying over something Richard said? she thought.

“You’re right, love. We don’t have time to waste. He only gave us an hour. We have to think of a way to save those innocent people. I can’t let my past hurt people who know nothing about it. And I know Richard well. If I don’t show up, he will make sure they all die a painful death. That’s the kind of monster he is.”

“I understand you, my love, but I can’t send you into the lion’s den. I’ll think of something. For now, let’s all find a way out of here before the time limit is over,” Ray said.

Lisa smiled at him.

“I know Richard well. I was with him for a few years. He’s smart, I’ll give him that.”

Ray gently raised her face so she could look at him. He placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

“So this was the Richard you were talking about. He might be smart, but you know your husband well. I don’t joke about anything concerning my family. And don’t worry, I’m already thinking of something good.”

Lisa felt relieved and smiled.

She was about to say something when Kate interrupted her.

“Lily, love, please don’t forget you have me too.”

“And me!” Jason interrupted, making himself known.

Kate threw something at him.

“Don’t mind that fool. We are all here for you. I’ll do anything to make sure you get out of here safely. We’re in this together. Promise!”

Lisa felt even better.

She stood up, deeply motivated by the people she loved.

“Ray, Kate, Jason... I can’t believe I almost forgot I had you guys here with me. Thank you, and I’m sorry.”

She made an emotional face.

Raymond simply smiled at her and gave her a soft kiss on the lips.

Jason immediately turned his face away in embarrassment.

“Can these two people not make out in such a dangerous situation? You’re making me miss my wife.”

Kate made a hand gesture showing her support, silently talking about how cute they were and wishing she could find a love like theirs.

But Jason cleared his throat, bringing them out of their little world.

“Please, can we focus more on the matter at hand and less on the smooching, please, guys?”

Lisa became so embarrassed.

Raymond simply smiled at how cute she looked.

Then he turned to Jason. The smile disappeared from his face, and he became serious.

“Well, we all know what he wants, and I know I’m not giving in to his demands. But first, we need to move out of here and find somewhere safe from the cameras. He has eyes everywhere, and we need to be more cautious about who we can trust. We also need to avoid those crazy patients even more.”

He looked around.

“Let’s get moving. I’ll explain more about the plan when I know it’s safe. We have less than an hour.”

They all agreed.

Suddenly, they heard strange noises.

They immediately knew what was coming.

The zombie-like patients.

They moved quickly.

As they were making their way to a new location, they heard someone screaming for help.

They immediately moved toward the sound.

Ray turned to Lisa.

“Wait here. Jason and I will check it out. Kate, stay with Lisa and look after her.”

Lisa immediately understood.

Ray and Jason left to investigate.

They found several people about to be attacked by the drugged patients and immediately stepped in to save them.

Ray took out his sedative bullets and used them to knock the patients unconscious. He didn't want to kill them because they weren't in their right minds. The drug they had been injected with was supposed to wear off after 24 hours.

When they were done, they hid the unconscious patients somewhere safe so they could come back for them later.

Ray then turned toward the people they had saved.

His eyes widened.

Some of them were his colleagues and employees.

He immediately helped them to their feet.

There were two men and one woman.

“Dr. Joshua?” Raymond called out to the elderly man.

Dr. Joshua was one of the senior doctors who had worked with Raymond for years.

The moment he saw Raymond, he rushed toward him and hugged him.

“I thought you were dead, Dr. Raymond! I was so worried about you and Mrs. Lisa. How is she? Please tell me she’s fine.”

Raymond immediately replied, “She’s fine. Let’s go and meet with her now. She must be worried.”

He paused.

“But I thought you were already out of here. You were on your way to the helicopter and were already supposed to be far away from this place. What happened?”

Before Dr. Joshua could reply, the young woman beside him answered.

“Sir, we were about to enter, but the helicopter was already full, so we had to wait for it to come back for us.”

She began trembling.

“Then suddenly, the helicopter exploded, and we had to run for our lives. It was so terrible. I saw so many people die...”

She couldn't continue.

Tears streamed down her face as she collapsed.

The other man immediately caught her and tried to console her.

Raymond stared at them in shock.

He was even more concerned about the situation.

How could someone be this cruel?

He felt a surge of anger.

He was going to make Richard—and anyone else involved in this—pay.

“Ray, love.”

A soft voice brought him back to reality.

“There you are. I was starting to get worried.”

Lisa had finally reached them.

She hugged him.

Raymond hadn't even realized how far they had walked. The moment he felt her in his arms, his anger began to fade.

God, he loved her.

Someone coughed, bringing them back to reality.

It was Dr. Joshua.

Lisa smiled when she saw him and immediately left Raymond's embrace to hug him.

Raymond felt his heart tighten slightly.

He was getting jealous.

But then he noticed that Lisa was still holding his hand.

He couldn't help but fall in love with her even more.

“Dr. Joshua! Thank God you’re okay. I thought I lost you.”

She then noticed Damion, who was already looking at her.

She waved at him, and he greeted her with a hug.

Damion was like a big brother to Lisa. He had been one of her best friends in high school.

She was surprised when she later discovered that he had attended the same military camp as her husband. They immediately recognized each other, they lost contact after they left high school.

“Lily! I’m so happy you’re alive. I knew that with that block-headed man around, nothing could happen to you.”

He looked at Raymond.

“And I’m so grateful nothing happened to you.”

“Of course she’ll be fine. I’m her husband for a reason,” Raymond said, emphasizing the word husband.

Lisa gave him a bombastic side-eye.

“Well, I know that,” Damion said with a laugh. “And I already introduced you to Anna, my fiancée. Chill, man. We have more important things to worry about.”

Raymond simply smiled.

“That’s true. We need to get away from this place first. Then we can discuss this. There’s a whole lot of s**t going on, especially with obsessive exes.”

“Ray!” Lisa called out.

He immediately stopped and gave her an apologetic look.

“Sorry about him,” Lisa said to Damion. “It’s just been a stressful day for all of us. So, can we go find somewhere safe to talk?”

They all agreed and continued their journey.

When they finally found a place with no cameras, they immediately locked the door behind them.

Raymond first made sure Lisa had somewhere to lie down.

Fortunately, the room was used to examine patients, so there were several beds inside.

He helped Lisa lie down and adjusted the bed until she was comfortable.

When Lisa told him to get some rest too, he ignored her and instead made sure she ate something.

Then he explained everything that had happened to the others, including Richard's return.

Damion and Dr. Joshua were shocked.

“No way!”

They both said it at the same time.

Dr. Joshua shook his head.

“How can someone be this cruel? And he even wants her to come alone? Never! Dr. Raymond, you must put something in that head of yours and find a way to save Mrs. Lisa.”

He called her Mrs. Lisa to show his respect for her, even though she had repeatedly asked him to simply call her Lily.

“Don’t worry,” Raymond said. “I don’t plan to let that bastard have my beloved wife.”

He looked around the room.

“We still have some time, and I have a plan. We need to make Richard believe we are going to obey his demands, but I need everyone’s cooperation.”

His expression became serious.

“And please understand that this isn’t only about my wife. Other innocent people's lives are at stake too. Our own lives are at stake.”

Raymond explained his plan to them.

Then he turned toward Lisa.

“My love, are you ready?”

Lisa looked at him.

“Yes.”

She took a deep breath.

“Let’s end this.”