After slipping it on and feeling a little better, he shut the door, locked the car, and approached the people in the alleyway. Three men stood there: two holding knives, while the last, who looked like the leader, was busy going through the woman's bag.
"You don't have any money?" The man demanded. "How can you not have any money? You work four jobs, Eds."
"I know. They aren't enough to pay my bills and..." She began to babble.
"Blah blah blah. Excuses, excuses," The leader cut her off, tossing her bag to the ground. "You remember what I told you I'd do to your boys if you don't pay me my money?"
"Please, don't hurt them," She pleaded, dropping to her knees. "Give me a month."
"Because of my love for you, I gave you six months, Eds," The leader reminded her. "I don't do that and you know it."
"Please," She sobbed. "Please."
"How about this? You give me your body and I'll let you off the hook for now?"
"What?" She stared wide-eyed at him. "No!" She exclaimed.
"Really?" The leader chuckled darkly. "I'll take you by force then."
"What's going on here?" Sinjin demanded in a bored voice, causing the three men and the woman to stare at him in surprise.
"Who the fuck are you?" The leader questioned, drawing his gun from the waistband of his jeans. "You better not be a cop or you won't leave here alive."
Sinjin sauntered towards them, hands in his pockets. He glanced down at the woman still on her knees, but he couldn't see her face very well. It was covered in grime, and she wore a dirty baseball cap. He figured she'd be around his age, maybe two years younger.
"Why are they bothering you? Do you owe them money?" He asked her. It was quite obvious, judging from their earlier conversation but he was pretending to ignore the men.
"Ye... Yes, sir." Her voice shook. "I owe them... a lot of money."
He turned to face the men then. "That doesn't give you the right to treat her like this." He stated. "You're all assholes, you know?"
"What the..." The leader cocked his gun. "I give you five seconds to turn around and leave or I'll blow your brains out with this thing."
"I'll need just five seconds... Or a minute to finish you." Sinjin remarked, smirking smugly. "Don't hide behind your gun, asshole. If you're man enough, fight me with your fist."
"It's been twenty four hours since I killed somebody." The leader informed him. "I won't hesitate to use this. I don't give third chances."
"You see, I love rescuing damsels in distress so I can't leave." Sinjin cracked his knuckles and rotated his neck. "Which one of you assholes want to go down first?"
"Fine. I'll let them beat you up first before I put a bullet in you." The leader agreed.
Sinjin took exactly a minute to disarm the two men and left them unconscious before turning to face the last man without breaking a sweat. Thankfully, the woman, positioned behind the man with a gun, acted just in time; as Sinjin was about to be shot, she grabbed something from the ground and struck the armed man on the back of his head, causing him to fall unconscious, while a bullet discharged from the man's gun.
"Are you okay, sir?" The woman inquired.
"Uh... Yeah. Thanks for that," He gestured to the unconscious man. "I saw my life flashing before my eyes." He chuckled.
"Thank you for coming to save me," She said. "Um... We should leave before they wake up."
"Right," He sighed, and they walked away. "That's... My car." They halted approximately five feet away from his car, which, thankfully, remained untouched.
"Oh," She muttered. "That looks... expensive." She cleared her throat. "Thank you very much once again."
"They'll be back. You should report them to the police." He said.
"The police pay us no mind here in the badlands of Elderstone," She chuckled nervously. "They'll leave me alone when I pay them."
"How much do you owe them?" He asked.
"Um... About... Six hundred thousand dollars. Well, it wasn't up to that amount but every month I couldn't pay back, they increased the interest," She shrugged nonchalantly even as she took a deep shuddering breath.
"How about I help you pay them back?" He asked.
"Oh! I... What you did for me back there was enough," She protested. "You risked your life to save a stranger and you don't even live here. I don't want to owe you any more than I do now. I'll take care of it."
"I don't mind," He assured her.
"I do mind," She said. "Thank you for your help."
"Fine," He sighed. "Can I at least know your name? I'm..."
"Uh... No thanks," She cut him off. "I don't want to put you in trouble. They'll definitely ask me about you and I can't lie to save myself."
Sinjin chuckled. "I have the means to protect myself. You saw how I took those men down, didn't you?" He asked.
"It was impressive, but Taron and his men are not the only ones. He has someone more powerful backing them up. That man, Tiger, doesn't give any chances." She said.
"Then you're the one in danger," He said. "You live here, don't you? I don't, and they can hardly come to beat me up in my house. Let me help you."
"You're a wonderful person, sir," She sent him a smile. "I just... I'm sorry, but I have to go." She took two steps back. "I'll never forget this." She turned and fled.
Sinjin watched her go until she disappeared from view. With a sigh, he shrugged and unlocked his car, opening the door and sliding in behind the wheel. Fastening his seatbelt, he started the car, reversed, and drove back the way he came.
He had many things to worry about, but none of that mattered. All he could hope for was that the woman would be safe, along with her boys.
Miracle or Deceit: Paralyzed Billionaire Sinjin Santillan Walks Out of His Party After His Girlfriend Rejects Him."In an astonishing turn of events at the extravagant birthday celebration of billionaire mogul Sinjin Santillan, attendees were left stunned as Santillan, who has been paralyzed from the waist down for years, reportedly rose from his wheelchair and walked out of the party after a public rejection by his girlfriend.The opulent affair, held at the Santillan family estate, was attended by high-profile guests from the business, entertainment, and political spheres. The event was meant to mark Santillan's 31st birthday and was anticipated to be a lavish affair befitting his status as one of the wealthiest individuals in the country.However, the evening took an unexpected turn when Santillan's girlfriend, Mallucia Goldstein aka the nation's fairy, reportedly declined a marriage proposal from the billionaire in front of the gathered guests. Witnesses described the scene as tens
"Sir, you have a visitor." His secretary, Adella Simmons, announced. "Who is it?" Sinjin wasn't up for visitors. He'd not been in the mood to talk to anyone for over a week and they'd given him his space. He figured the time for peace and quiet was over and either his mother or father was here to get some information out of him by force.He hadn't told anyone about his physical therapy, preferring it to be a surprise on his birthday. After vacationing at his family's European island resort until he recovered, he returned home. Despite outwardly maintaining the facade of being injured, he secretly exercised his legs in the privacy of his home and underwent a medical examination to ensure he could father a child of his own.Upon receiving positive test results, he became even more resolved to propose to Mallucia, unaware of her hidden agenda. He had been merely a pawn in her and Lucas's scheme, leveraging his name for their own gains in their acting careers, a fact they conveniently ov
Sinjin, pacing the length of his hotel room, checked his wristwatch every five minutes, wondering where his date was. The party had started ten minutes ago, and he found it funny that he wasn't there, considering it was thrown in his honor.He was going to receive the “Entrepreneur of the Year” award and didn't want to attend the event alone, so he hired an escort. He regretted not suggesting to Adella to hire a professional escort from one of those agencies instead of choosing her friend. He hoped her friend didn't look too bad, as it would be a waste of both their time.Just as he retrieved his phone from his pocket to call Williams, the doorbell rang, and he heaved a sigh. Stowing his phone, he walked over to the door and swung it open, ready to rake Williams over the coals for being late. However, it wasn't Williams who was at the door.Before him stood a stunning woman with emerald green eyes, donning an equally striking sleeveless emerald green lace maxi dress. The sweetheart ne
A week laterSande inquired of Eds, who she was working alongside in the convenience store's storage room, "Aren't you going to call Mr. Santillan?""No," Eds replied."Why not?" Sande asked, surprised. "Give me one good reason.""He's out of my league. I don't belong in his world," She listed off her reasons on her fingers. "I lied about my identity, and I have kids.""His world isn't vastly different from ours, you know." Sande countered. "It's just more glamorous, filled with wealthy people and stuff. Did you know it was because of him that his family became wealthy again?""What do you mean?" Eds frowned."His grandfather squandered their wealth gambling, and they became poor. Sinjin Santillan was a high school genius; he created a game called Warlords of Chaos, which he sold for a million dollars. Then, he developed unhackable software, which he used to start his company.” “Now, he's the richest man in the world," Sande explained with a hint of pride in her voice. "I read somewh
Sinjin scoffed in disbelief at the notion of Edselyn being a single mother. "You're kidding," He remarked. The stunning woman he'd been with last Friday could've passed off for a model if she wanted. She'd not looked like someone who'd given birth to one, much less two kids."I'm not, sir," Adella assured him. "She has two nine-year-old boys who are in elementary school, and she works four jobs to support herself and her sons.""Four jobs?" Sinjin was stunned. "How's that possible?" It was already challenging for some individuals to maintain just one job, yet Eds managed four. He considered himself quite gifted, attributing his success to his abilities.As the CEO of a massive multinational corporation with millions of employees and numerous subsidiaries, he often delegated tasks. Despite occasionally needing breaks himself, he couldn't fathom Eds finding any time for one for herself.Adella shrugged. "All I know from my best friend Sande is that Edselyn didn't go to college, so she c
As Sinjin drove to Dapplewood, all he could think about was the potential aneurysm his father would have if he knew what he was up to and about to do: risking his life to save a stranger's kids. Despite the danger he knew he was going to be in, he wasn't scared of dying himself, though he hadn't planned on it. However, he couldn't say the same for the men who had kidnapped Eds' sons.Pulling up at the curb in front of Sande's apartment building, he dialed Eds but received no response from her, so he quickly dialed Sande, who answered on the first ring, as if she'd been waiting by the phone. Worried that Eds might have acted impulsively by trying to save her sons alone, his fears heightened when Sande came downstairs, got into his car, and tearfully revealed Eds' absence.She recounted how Eds had slipped away when she waited for him, and when he didn't show up, she asked Sande for a cup of water. Sande blamed herself for not anticipating Eds' actions, but thankfully knew where Eds had
"What happened to her?" The attending doctor asked Sinjin as Eds was wheeled into the hospital."Uh... She was shot," He replied anxiously. "She's barely breathing. She's lost a lot of blood. Please save her.""We'll do our best, sir," The doctor assured him, hurrying after the gurney through the operating room doors.Anxiously, Sinjin ran his fingers through his hair, praying fervently for Eds' recovery. He knew he'd never forgive himself if anything happened to her. If only he had reached her friend's apartment sooner, she wouldn't have felt compelled to rescue her sons alone.She likely believed she couldn't truly rely on a stranger, especially a billionaire, to abandon everything and rush to her aid. After all, just a week earlier, she had been his escort, and he hadn't even known her real name or anything else about her until now.Speaking of sons... Sinjin spun around and spotted the boys standing outside the hospital doors, clinging to each other. He sighed heavily. He had done
"Okay, your pizza will be here in ten minutes," He informed them. "Another ten minutes?" They whined. "Yes, that's the fastest the delivery person can get here," He explained. "Bummer," They grumbled. "Shame on you, boys," Sande scolded them as she approached. "What are you supposed to say?" "Aunt Sande!" The boys ran to hug her. "We thought we'd never see you again." Sande sighed as she pulled them close. "Me too," she said, pulling back to look at their faces. "You have bruises." "We tried to be heroes," Tristan explained. "You should never fight a man with a gun," Sinjin admonished them. "You did. You were cool," Troy smiled. "You used your words, but... It was cool." "Now, did you thank Mr. Santillan for saving you?" Sande queried. "Or did you just prank him as a way of saying thanks?" "Sorry," the boys looked duly chastised. "Thank you for saving us and for the pizza, sir." "It's okay," Sinjin said.The Lobster Shack's delivery guy arrived, and Sinjin paid for the ord