Chapter 72
‘She isn’t here?‘
Dominick was anxious. He reached out and violently tore a large gap in the rusted wire fence in front of him, leaping into the factory.
The abandoned chemical plant lay on Havencrest’s northern edge, bordered by dense woods to the east and a wide, dark river to the west
It was near 11 p.m., the night moonless, starless. The only light came from the full moon, and the river air chilled the night to the bone.
The abandoned factory covered about 10 thousand square feet, with a large workshop containing heavy, abandoned machinery, three large warehouses, two quality inspection rooms, and an office. The walls and windows were filthy and in ruins.
Jessica and the five thugs were in the large workshop, but Dominick couldn’t find Stephanie.
He suppressed his impatience and softened his footsteps as he walked through the dimly lit factory, searching each room….
Suddenly, a smell of blood hit his nose. Dominick paused, and his heart skipped a beat as he looked toward a small room on his right.
Clutching the gun in his hand, he pressed his body against the wall and moved swiftly toward the door. The aged mahogany door in front of him was unlocked. He gently pushed it open, peering inside sharply.
The weak moonlight filtering through the window allowed him to glimpse something inside….
The next second, his eyes widened in shock. He couldn’t hold back anymore and burst inside.
The office was a wreck, with papers strewn everywhere and a long wooden desk smeared with blood. The dark red blood trailed down the
desk leg, dripping to the floor and mixing with the grime. It was sickening.
Dominick’s face was grim. He pressed his lips, raised his gun, and called out softly. “Ste…”
But then, he paused, his gaze fixing on something unusual.
He couldn’t fire recklessly, not until he had found Stephanie. Alerting those inside without knowing her location would be very risky.
She had to be safe first
Suddenly, Dominick heard a faint sound of painful gasps emanating from the room, barely audible.
He walked cautiously to the back of the desk, surprised to find Isaac slumped unconscious. His eyes narrowed as if wondering something.
Isaac was the mastermind behind this, but now, he had passed out there.
The sharp tang of blood filled the air. Dominick’s agitation flared as he yanked Isaac up.
“Where is she?” Dominick wished he could just shoot him.
Isaac, jerked up harshly, was dazed and pale, gasping for air. His eyes opened to see Dominick’s grim face, his expression twisting, but he was too weak to struggle.
Dominick slammed Isaac’s face onto the desk and pressed down hard on the wound at the back of his head. His patience had worn thin.
“Stephanie! Where is she!”
As Dominick pressed on the wound, Isaac gasped in pain, trembling “L. I don’t know.__”
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“Mr. Wellington, Ms. Carter’s by the workshop…” A bodyguard, part of their undercover team, spotted Dominick and rushed over, speaking
urgently.
“Mr. Wellington, we got to go, now! This abandoned factory is packed with…”
“I’ve got a gift for you, Dominick!” Before the bodyguard could finish, Isaac burst into a manic laughter.
Blood stained his teeth as he roared, “You killed my father, and I’ll make you pay! You have more power than I can deal with, but today, we
will die together!”
Dominick was shocked upon hearing this.
With his last ounce of strength, Isaac pulled a remote from his pocket, its red light blinking continuously as he slammed his thumb onto the button.
Dominick’s expression turned icy as he reached out his hand, trying to snatch the remote from him, while the bodyguard also rushed forward to help subdue him.
The remote m
tumbled
It was still too late.
Isaac’s fingers. His foot slammed down, and a warehouse to the north exploded in a loud roar.
Chain explosions ripped through the sky, shaking houses to their foundations.
Soon, thick smoke billowed into the sky, and the flames erupted like wild beasts, their tongues of fire dancing against the darkness.
“Mr. Wellington, we have to leave, now! The whole place is going down!” a bodyguard shouted anxiously to Dominick.
Two more bodyguards approached. “Mr. Wellington, the criminals are under control, and Ms. Carter is safe. We need to go, now!”
veryone panicked as they watched the fire on the east side raged out of control.
Meanwhile, Vincent and his team, who had been positioned outside the chemical plant and waiting for their moment, stared at each other in horror at the sudden explosion and fire.
With no time to lose, they quickly shot at the large iron lock in front of them. Then, the police rushed past them to enter that building and
conduct a rescue.
The abandoned plant was now a blazing inferno.
The discarded materials ignited in an instant, exploding with loud bangs, sending shockwaves of fear through anyone nearby.
Flames roared, devouring the crumbling walls. Each hiss echoed like a death knell.
Vincent’s eyes widened in horror as he watched the main support pillar slowly tilt. He yelled in panic, “Dominick, get out! The building is going down!
“Grab that table!” Dominick barked. “Shield against the fire! Head for the exit!”
“No way! The fire is too strong at the front door! We can’t hold it!”
At that critical moment, panic surged and chaos erupted all around.
The fire roared, scorching their skin. Blinding light seared their eyes
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Chapter 72
“Out the back door, now! Hurry!” someone screamed in terror.
“Mr. Wellington, there’s no time!”
The two bodyguards ahead saw Dominick’s furrowed brows and his hesitation in the room. In urgency, they grabbed his arm and dragged him towards the exit.
“You go first…” Dominick shook them off stubbornly, his voice hoarse from the thick smoke.
“Where is Stephanie? Where could she be?” His mind raced with thoughts.
The bodyguards‘ eyes widened in shock as Dominick started running back towards the blaze. They no longer cared about respect, immediately grabbing Dominick’s arm and pulling him back with force.
But didn’t need to stop him. The massive stone column ahead suddenly crashed down.
The dust kicked up, blinding them, with flames roaring close by, their skin scorching hot…..
“What do
do we do now?” one of the bodyguards asked, panicked and out of ideas.
They were trapped in the midst of the blazing inferno with no way out.
All they could do was wait for the end.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment. Explosions boomed. Screams pierced the air. And then….
A thud camel
A small metal scalpel clattered to the ground, its sharp sound softly cutting through the chaos.
“Help me…” A woman’s frail voice emanated from a small room. “I’m here. Help me….”
Amidst the flames, Dominick seemed to sense something. He abruptly turned around….
The massive factory collapsed with a thunderous crash.
In the early morning, the deafening roar of the collapsing building spread far and wide, casting a plume of black dust into the sky, sweeping across miles.
The violent shockwave forced those outside the factory to immediately drop to the ground, their hearts racing.
Silence hung heavy in the air, eerily profound.
“Dominick!” Clutching his nose, Vincent scrambled up from the ground and looked around frantically. The abandoned factory before him had been reduced to ruins.
Scattered flames still burned, and they could barely see in the pitch–dark night.
“Turn on all
[the car lights!”
No sooner had Vincent spoken than he noticed some movement by the river to the west.
Police and others quickly ran towards it. “Where’s Dominick?”
Figures in the dark river swam towards the shore, the survivors desperately grasping at the riverside weeds, gasping for breath.
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They had thought they were surely going to die just moments before.
“Mr. Wellington is behind us… the bodyguard caught his breath and responded immediately.
They had been encircled by flames, with no way out. The windows had shattered from the blasts. Dominick had led them through the fire, jumping directly towards the river from the windows on the west side.
They had barely escaped.
Ruthless and aloof he might be, but his men followed because Dominick never left them behind. His skill brought them out of chaos time and time again.
“Dominick, are you alright?”
Vincent saw Dominick finally swim back to shore, his gaze intensely fixed on the ruins before him, his expression grim.
Dominick didn’t respond. He climbed up from the bank, soaking wet, yet his eyes remained fixed on the ruins, his hands clenched into fists.
“Did you see Stephanie?” His voice was hoarse- from swallowed river water or choked emotion, it was hard to tell.
Vincent’s face froze, unsure how to begin.
The accident had left no casualties. Even the abductors and Isaac had been brought out by them, but…
Stephanie was missing.
“Where is she??
Dominick turned around and grabbed Isaac by his shirt, his anger boiling over as he hoisted him up.
The small room they were in showed clear signs of a struggle. Isaac had been attacked, but there was no sight of Stephanie.
“Dominick…” Suddenly, a woman called out with a fragile, trembling voice.
Jessica seemed terrified as she ran forward, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist, clutching him. “I knew you would come to save me, I
was so scared…”
Her clothes were disheveled as she sobbed uncontrollably.
Just then, several cars hurriedly approached from behind.
“Mr. Wellington, are you alright? Are you injured?” Brad hurried out of one of the cars, concerned.
From a black Maybach, Kevin also rushed over anxiously.
“Dominick, where’s Steffi?”
When he saw Jessica, Kevin bit his lip and scornfully said, “All you care about is saving your lover! It’s always because of you, ruthless ways to deal with people put her in danger…”
Dominick! Your
Kevin looked around. When he noticed the guilt on Vincent’s face, he was furious. He raised his fist and swung hard at Dominick’s cheek. “Where is Stephanie? You disregard her life, and abandoned her!”
‘Where is she…!
Chapter 72
Dominick’s expression was complex, even bewildered. He didn’t dodge. His cheek was bruised from the blow.
He had just been in a fire, and he thought he saw a man and a woman…
“So he came to rescue Jessica…” From a distance, a woman floating in the river stared intently at the shore.
“Babe, you can’t stay in the river too long.”
In the dark waters, a man forcefully pulled her in another direction, swimming further out…
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