Holly immediately grabbed a robe to cover herself. She jumped off the bed and turned on the lights.The bright lights illuminated everyone in the room.Holly's breaths were erratic. She took in the intruder who had assaulted her. It was a thug-like man.He had tan skin, a stocky build, and a genetically unfortunate face.Based on his clothes, he was a local.The man who was pointing a revolver at his head had tan skin and a buzz cut. He looked handsome in a mysterious sort of way. He had on a black coat, and his legs were slim and toned.It was Abelin.Holly hurriedly fastened her nightgown and smoothed out her hair.When she felt more presentable, she said, "Why are you here, Mr. Gabelman?""I was visiting a client of mine."Holly was bewildered. "Here?""Yes. I'm here to collect an ancient artifact," he said gently. Then, he pointed the revolver at the intruder's head and barked, "What's your name?"The intruder's hands shook slightly. Moving his cracked lips, he said wit

"Speak up! Who are you working for?" Abelin grabbed his neck, his voice thunderous.Blood covered Mason's entire face. It hurt so bad that his features were all twisted in pain.He choked out, "No… No one. I would have surrendered ages ago if I was working for someone. I can't tell you anything even if I die."Mason refused to give in no matter what Abelin did. If this went on, Abelin might just kill him. He ordered the policeman, "Check his phone calls and go through all the people he's been in contact with lately.""Yes, sir. We'll do that at once," the policeman said quickly. Then, he wondered why he was taking orders from this guy. Abelin was from a foreign special task force from a different country. They had nothing to do with each other.However, he dared not speak up.Abelin looked like he was someone influential. He looked like he was from a huge city, and had a powerful background. The policeman couldn't dream of offending him.Abelin looked at the clock on the wal

There was a thunderous slap.The bodyguard was slapped once again. He stumbled backward, nearly falling.The other side of his face swelled up. The red fingerprints matched the one on his right.Bryce's face was twisted in fury. He roared, "I told you to protect Holly, and this is how you do it? And, when something happened, you lied to me instead of telling me the truth! Shameless garbage, all of you!"He hadn't lost his temper like that in a very long time. The anger seemed to be seeping through his skin. His presence was terrifying.The entire room was silent. No one even dared to breathe too loudly.When the bodyguard came back to his senses, he immediately began smacking himself on the face.Those smacks were all that could be heard.As he slapped himself, he cried out, "I was wrong, Mr. Gabelman. I shouldn't have gone downstairs to buy those cigarettes. She was taken advantage of in those few minutes that I was gone. I shouldn't have lied because I was afraid of being pun

Holly's heart seemed to have softened a little.Bryce had come here all the way from the city just to see her because he was worried about her.The anger she felt from being misunderstood dissipated greatly.She leaned against him and said softly, "When he came in and tore at my clothes, I was so disgusted. All I thought was that if he raped me, I would kill him, then kill myself."Bryce's heart felt hollowed out. Then, it ached in anger. It felt like it was being ripped apart by a monster. It hurt so badly that it took him a while to regain his senses.He held Holly tightly, pressing her close to him. "Don't say such silly things."They'd been married for three years. He didn't want to hear things like this.Holly was quiet for a while. "Thank God that Abe…"She cut herself off. She wanted to say it was a good thing that Abelin had come here in the nick of time. However, she remembered that Bryce didn't like her being too friendly with Abelin. That was why she trailed off.Sh

Holly noted the old man's dazed and sorrowful look.She softly asked, "Who did you say that, sir?"The old man only came back to his senses then. He was stunned for a moment before he lightly shook his head.Holly no longer pressed on when she saw that he was reluctant to answer. She looked similar to Samantha. It wouldn't be surprising to her if she looked like someone he knew.Barry saw what happened and walked over.He introduced the old man to Holly and said, "This is Trevor Habel, the leading figure in the field of ceramic restoration in our country."Holly had heard of Trevor. His reputation preceded his name—no less than Winston's—in the cultural relics restoration field.She greeted him respectfully, "Hello, Mr. Habel.""Hello," Trevor replied with reddening eyes as he nodded.Barry then said, "This is Holly Sinclair, Winston's granddaughter. She's a gifted restorer."Trevor's eyes lit up with interest as he looked at Holly.Barry continued, "She was the one who did