Chapter 721 Psychological Shadow
Madeline walked over and the three ladies headed out together.
Their private room was on the second floor. Joanna helped Nancy walk while Madeline led the way.
"Madeline, watch your step, Nancy cautioned.
Suddenly, a group of young people came bustling down the stairs, and they stepped aside to wait.
As the ladies moved past them, Madeline lost her footing and tumbled down the stairs, screaming as she fell.
She landed on the first floor, and her fall halted. Her once-white dress turned red, stained by the blood that flowed under her legs.
Nancy felt her legs give way beneath her, nearly collapsing, but Joanna was there to support her
Joanna, in shock, could only stare with wide eyes at Madeline, now lying in a pool of blood
She released Nancy's hand, her lips trembling.
"Call an ambulance here. I'll go inform Jaxson
"Okay" said Nancy, her voice shaking.
During the night, Norah defended herself against her pursuers, incapacitating them one by one. She didn't kill them but left them severely injured.
These men were not killers from some sort of organization.
She interrogated Hanley, who was still conscious, to understand the situation. It turned out someone had hired them to restrict her freedom.
She was aware that Hanley and his crew were connected to Silverdale's largest underground network, which not only dealt with various illegal activities but also ventured into Bras smuggling.
Norah pondered briefly and concluded that the mastermind behind it had to be that fool, Hank. Besides him, she couldn't think of anyone else with such a cruel plan
Clearing aside bushes and weeds at the cave's entrance, she suddenly remembered the group of people after her eyes. She still hadrit identified who they were working for.
Looking inside the cave, she saw Marlin on the ground, curled up and trembling.
Rushing over, she gently tapped him. "Marlin, are you okay?"
Marlin lay motionless, sweat beading his forehead, unresponsive to Norahs concem.
Norah pinched him sharply, causing him to abruptly open his eyes.
In the next moment, she found herself wrapped in his arms.
Norah quickly pushed him away. She leaned in close, her gaze fixed on his dark eyes.
"Marlin, what are you doing?"
Marlin hugged himself and buried his head in his knees, mumbling a few words.
"I'm afraid"
What was he afraid of? The darkness? Norah wondered.
They had lost Marlin's backpack while running. Norah stood up, gathered some branches from outside, and lit them with her lighter
The soft yellow glow filled the cave.
Perhaps it was the light, and Norah's presence, that calmed Marlin and stopped his shivering.
"I'm scared of the dark. I'm scared of this place."
Upon awakening from his coma and finding himself in total darkness, he had attempted to rise, yearning for escape, yet his legs proved too feeble.
It reminded him of being kidnapped. The unending darkness, his gnawing hunger, rats and cockroaches skittering about, and the stench of rotting food.
He was terrified.
Then Norah appeared. Feeling her warmth, he suddenly opened his eyes.
With a radiant aura surrounding her, Norah burst into his world once more and rescued him.
He had hugged her briefly before she pushed him away.
He checked his emotions and said, "Just now, I thought you wouldn't come back
Once more, it was Norah who had protected him. He felt like a burden to her
Norah's heart softened. Even though Marlin was now a business magnate in Silverdale and came from a wealthy family, that didn't matter to her. She saw only the young boy who had gazed up at her with hopeful eyes in the dim cellar.