Chapter 51 Reunion
A dull pain continued to linger in the back of her neck. Irene's vision was hazy and she could only make out a rough outline. It was as if her brain had been beaten into a paste by the slap just now. Even the most basic thinking seemed difficult.
The back of her neck must be blue.
Irene gasped and subconsciously wanted to raise her hand to cover the back of her neck.
As soon as I moved, my arms felt sore and swollen as if they had been pressed under my body all night, and the slightest touch would cause cramps and numbness.
Not to mention the pain, she couldn't even control her hands. Irene blinked hard, but her vision was still blurry, like a camera that couldn't focus.
It seemed that his wrists were tied behind his back with ropes and he couldn't move them, the back of his neck was sore and painful, and his nose was filled with a disgusting and stench.
Irene's stomach, which had not eaten for a long time, was so tense that it twitched violently, and the acid in her stomach rushed straight to her throat.
Wait...was she kidnapped?
Was she kidnapped in the 19th century?
Before Irene could reflect on who she had offended during her time off the boat, a familiar female voice filled with impatience suddenly rang in her ears.
"Stop pretending now that you're awake. Where is your money? Why don't you have a penny on you? Didn't you just come back from abroad? Where is your money?"
Although she couldn't see clearly, she could still recognize the familiar voice and general outline.
Irene closed her eyes tightly. She finally realized who she had offended. This was the woman who had just shown her the way.
She asked why she was the only normal-looking person within a two-kilometer radius, and it turned out that she was the robber waiting near the dock.
"I'm asking you a question, where's the money?"
The woman's voice became more and more violent, her eyes were abnormally red, and she pulled out a dagger and pressed it against Irene's face.
"Where did you hide the money?"
The blade pressed into the skin, and warm liquid flowed down the cheek.
Irene swallowed hard. The hormones secreted due to extreme tension numbed her sense of pain. There was only one thought left in her mind - if she couldn't come up with the money, she might be stabbed to death on this stool in the next second.
But according to Irene's experience of watching CCTV12's "Today's Statement" program countless times in the past few years, if she had money on her, she might not even have the chance to open her eyes now.
Irene began to tremble all over, and the acid in her stomach was churning more and more violently. She took a deep breath. The more times like this, the more she needed to calm down.
She can only rely on herself now.
A faint smell of blood spread between Irene's lips and teeth, and her voice trembled violently, "The money... the money is all in the bank."
She was breathing heavily and shrinking back desperately, trying to distance herself from the woman's knife. Her face was as pale as a piece of white paper, making the dark red mark that had just solidified even clearer.
So what if she is a rich girl? The woman sneered, and now she is still trembling like a mouse under her hands.
A twisted sense of pleasure surged in her heart. Irene's frightened look greatly pleased the woman. She tapped Irene's cheek with the tip of the knife, as if she was teasing a kitten or puppy.
"Don't bullshit me. How could you go out alone without any cash? You rich people are very thieves. Last time, I found money in a man's butt crack."
"Guess how I found it."
The woman held the tip of the knife and slid it from Irene's face to her neck, leaving a long red mark.
"He howled like a dog for almost two hours."
Irene suddenly felt as if she had fallen into an icy cave, and her mind went blank.
She had thought that the world might be in chaos during the post-war reconstruction period, but she had never imagined it would be so chaotic. Murder and robbery would be fine, but there was also brutality.
Is this still a normal human being? Irene looked at the woman in disbelief.
"As long as you behave yourself and hand over all the money, I will make you suffer," the woman smiled and enjoyed Irene's fear. The corners of her lips were raised high, and her originally kind face became extremely ferocious at this moment.
"Or else," she grinned even more happily, like a psychopathic murderer, "guess how many pieces I can cut you into."
At this time, she had to stick to what she had said before.
Irene was trembling, tears streaming down her face. "Really? I swear every word I said is true. I have put all my money in the bank. I really don't have any cash on me."
"Nonsense, what did you eat and drink on the boat without money? Where did you hide the money? Tell me."
The woman flew into a rage and mercilessly kicked Irene hard in the waist and abdomen. She curled up in pain and vomited a large mouthful of sour water with a wow.
When she was terrified to the extreme, Irene became strangely calm.
The longer she waits at this time, the greater her chance of survival. If the robbers have spent enough effort on her, they will never kill her easily before getting the money.
Irene curled up, protecting her head and face tightly, crying and shouting at the top of her lungs:
"My money is really all in the bank. I have saved a lot of gold. I don't bring money with me when I go out because I ran away secretly. My parents wanted to marry me off to a rich man, but I didn't want to marry an old man, so I stole the gold and ran away."
With such a big commotion, the woman didn't even cover her mouth.
The sound that had finally been transmitted returned to Irene's ears. Judging from the noise, she was most likely taken to the wilderness while unconscious.
It's not hard to imagine why they took the trouble to bring her to such a remote place. It was just to make it easier to dispose of her body.
Irene's heart sank, and the stench that filled her nose became clearer and clearer, as if the source of the stench was near her.
It was clear where the pungent stench around them came from. Irene bit her trembling lower lip. After all, their skillful behavior couldn't possibly be the first time they had done such a thing.
"Gold?"
The woman suddenly squatted down, pinched Irene's jaw and forced her to look up, her eyes flashing with ferocity, "How much gold do you have in your account?"
"Less than $10,000 in gold," Irene said timidly.
"How can I get it out?" The woman kicked her again, as if she was not satisfied. "You bastard from a rich family, it's all because of you that I'm doing something that will send me to hell."
Irene gritted her teeth, too frightened to speak clearly, "I have to go and open the safe myself with the key."
The woman skillfully took out a bunch of keys from her waist and asked, "Which one?"
“The bronze one.”
"I will go to the bank with you to withdraw the gold in person later. If I find out that you have the guts to cheat me," the woman narrowed her eyes and sneered sharply.
"Old Third," the woman turned her head and shouted, "Old Third, come in."
There was silence outside the door.
"Where are the people? The second brother?"
Still no one cares.
"Isn't it possible that these damned guys are going off to play cards again?" the woman muttered. After checking the knots that were tightly tied around Irene's body again, she turned around and walked out.
"You guys run to--"
"Bang bang bang bang -"
The woman's questioning voice and the sound of gunfire rang out at the same time, and a white liquid mixed with blood sprayed all over the ground.
The gunshots were so fast that Irene didn't even hear how many times they were fired. The woman who had just threatened her was already shot to pieces.
Irene stared blankly at the woman's body collapsing on the ground like soft noodles. Her head felt dizzy and everything in front of her eyes went black.
Is it the police? Or the military?
Who came to rescue her?
The dizziness became more and more intense, and Irene felt like she was thrown into a washing machine with the start button pressed.
The sound of thick-soled leather boots stepping on the wooden floor was a little heavy.
Irene held on to the last glimmer of hope and struggled to open her eyelids. The first thing that came into view was a pair of shiny black leather boots and riding pants wrapped around slender thighs. Then, moving her eyes upwards, she saw broad shoulders, a narrow waist, a slender neck, and a pair of deep dark blue pupils looking coldly at her.
Like expensive, rare gems at a jewelry show—beautiful, cold, and inhumanly expensive.
It's Leo!
Irene swallowed, and unspeakable longing and grievances rushed into her throat. Many words were stuck in her mouth. Irene opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
"You've taken such bad care of yourself." The man lowered his head and looked at Irene as if he were a pet, his expression unable to tell whether he was happy or angry. "If I hadn't come, you would have died here today."
The tone of his voice was also indifferent, as cold and stiff as if he was standing in a lecture hall presenting a theoretical document.
Leo stood five meters away from her, his hair neatly combed back, wearing a neat and clean suit, even a royal blue brooch that matched the color of his pupils, and a pair of flawless white gloves on his hands.
It seemed that Leo had been doing pretty well in the years she had been away.
And what about her?
Irene suddenly felt a tingling sensation in her heart. She unconsciously shrank back, feeling inexplicably embarrassed.
She glanced at the man who was looking down at her from above, then quickly looked away, feeling helpless and bewildered.
This man was not the Leo she remembered.
Irene felt an indescribable bitterness in her heart. She swallowed down her grievances and blinked hard, trying to drive away the strange shadow in front of her.
This man is not her boy.
Irene's eyes were all red.
This person is definitely not her boy.
Her Leo would rush over to hug her when he saw her, and would never look at her like an indifferent robot.
There were more and more overlapping black shadows in front of her eyes, sometimes black and sometimes white. A few strangers ran in from the door, speaking something to Leo in an accent she couldn't understand.
The man turned his head and listened to them carefully, not even bothering to glance at her.
Even Leo didn't untie her.
It was a young Slavic boy who untied the knot for her. Irene thanked him softly and managed to stand up from the stool.
Immediately afterwards, she felt an overwhelming dizziness. Irene shook her head, trying to wake herself up, but the black shadows in front of her eyes kept getting bigger and bigger.
Why did she travel to 1865?
Why did she see Leo five years later?
Irene fought back the urge to burst into tears.
What about her boy? Will she never see the boy she loves again?
The more Irene thought about it, the more desperate and heartbroken she became. Every breath of oxygen mixed with blood that she inhaled into her lungs brought excruciating pain. In a trance, Irene seemed to see the colorful bubbles she had blown out with hope floating in the air, but suddenly a pair of hands reached out from somewhere and quickly and accurately popped the bubbles.
Only the faint scent of soapy water remained in the air.
Irene's vision went completely dark, the continuous buzzing sound in her ears stopped, and her body fell straight down like a kite with a broken string.
Leo turned around and hugged Irene's limp body tightly, his pupils suddenly shrinking. Only then did he realize that Irene's face was as pale as a wax figure, and there were clear footprints on her clothes.
The heart-wrenching pain swept through his body. He had no time to regret. The corners of Leo's eyes quickly became red and his voice became extremely hoarse.
"Where's the doctor? Where's the Lowes—"
*
On the carriage back to the city.
James bumped into William beside him and whispered:
"Where did the boss get this outfit today? I've never seen him dressed so well before. He always wears that washed and rotten white shirt that's a size too small."
William glanced at Leo, who was hugging Irene tightly and using his expensive custom-made suit as a cushion for Irene. Then he looked back and saw that James was only concerned about Leo's new clothes like a stupid dog. A nameless anger rose in his heart, and he hit James's head hard.
"You are the one who cares about what the boss wears. Go find a girlfriend when you have time. You just hang around under my nose every day."
"bother!"
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