Chapter 244: On call with Heartless

Trying to mask his mounting fear with arrogance, Kevin glared at Zoyar. "You dare point a gun at us? It looks like you don’t know who I am or who my dad is. If anything happens to me, you will end up dead in a ditch. So you better lower your gun right now. I had seen many low-life trash like you when I was a child. People like you wag their tails in front of my family!"

Zoyar just tilted his head slightly while his expression changed into something closer to excitement. "Alright. I’ll lower it."

He lowered the barrel of the gun slightly and, without a moment’s hesitation, squeezed the trigger. The gunshot echoed like thunder. In an instant, the bullet tore through Kevin’s left kneecap, and a sharp explosion of pain erupted through his throat, as well as shock that seemed to freeze time for everyone present.

Two screams echoed across the empty stadium simultaneously. Kevin released Lily instantly, his hands flying to his shattered leg as he lost his balance and crashed to the concrete, howling in agony.

The second scream came from Silviya. "Kev!" she howled, rushing forward and dropping to the ground to hold him. She looked up at Zoyar with her face contorted with rage and panic. "You Bastard! Who do you think you are? Just wait until I call my dad! He is the Commissioner of Demond City! I will make you rot in jail!"

Trembling with fear, Silviya snatched her phone out of her jeans pocket. But the second her thumb moved to dial, another shot rang out.

The bullet struck the phone dead centre, shattering the device into plastic and glass shrapnel right in her palm. Silviya screamed in unadulterated terror, dropping the ruined pieces and throwing her hands up over her head.

"I don’t remember asking any of you to move," Zoyar stated in a calm voice, "or giving you permission to speak.... Do it again, and the next bullet goes in your head."

Without wasting another second, Cixi and Lily sprinted away from the writhing bullies, rushing over to stand safely behind Zoyar’s broad back.

Lily crossed her arms with Cixi and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Cixi. She lifted her chin proudly. "Thank you for coming," she said to Zoyar, trying to sound completely unbothered. "But, for the record, we had everything totally under control."

Despite her bold, sassy statement, Cixi could feel Lily trembling beside her. No matter how tough Lily acted in front of Zoyar, they both knew she had been absolutely terrified that those rascals were going to beat them to death.

Zoyar barely shifted his head, his eyes lingering at the corner. "I know you both could have handled this just fine. But it seems my gun had a mind of its own today—it was feeling a bit restless," he said, a teasing lilt in his voice. "So, forgive my intrusion while I take over this little scuffle. After all, what’s a little excitement without some firepower?"

Lily nodded her head in acceptance of Zoyar’s apology, even though he couldn’t see her as she stood behind him. "It’s alright. I understand. Fire is good!" replied Lily in low voice, while trying to take a steady breath.

Returning his grim attention to the three morons, Zoyar let the gun hang casually from one hand. With a sly smile, he crooked a finger at Kevin, gesturing for him to come hither.

"You bastard, you just shot me!" Kevin screamed, clutching his shattered leg. "How am I supposed to walk?"

"Either you drag yourself over here, or I shoot your other knee," Zoyar warned smoothly.

Kevin clenched his teeth in agony. Behind him, Ronny stayed rooted to the spot, his mind racing. His father was a criminal defence lawyer, famous for getting killers off the hook. Ronny silently vowed that the second he got out of this mess, he was going straight to his father to press a hundred different charges against this maniac with a gun, and those two bitches, Lily and Cixi.

Unable to refuse the threat, Silviya wrapped Kevin’s arm around her shoulder, supporting his weight as he hobbled toward Zoyar. Kevin’s face contorted with excruciating pain with every step, and his blood left a dark trail on the earth.

Angry and humiliating tears had filled Silviya’s eyes.

All she had wanted to do was punish Cixi for daring to avoid her calls. In her twisted mind, she was convinced Cixi was just a whore who slept with powerful men to get them to protect her. Look at this man who came to help Stinky Cixi.

Just wait, Silviya thought maliciously. Once I’m out of here, I’ll use my father’s connections to throw Cixi behind bars, and then I’ll sell her off to the man just like I promised him.

Once Kevin and Silviya finally stood before Zoyar, Silviya couldn’t hold her venom back. "You should be ashamed of yourself, pointing a gun and shooting a college student!" she hissed. "You are just like those psycho mass murderers who go to schools to kill children!"

A wide, chilling grin spread across Zoyar’s face instead of feeling offended. "How considerate of you, Commissioner’sdaughter. But I don’t think you should lecture anyone on morality when your own hands are completely muddied. You stood there and happily watched two grown men, who are much stronger than those two women, prepare to beat them.... On second thought, are you the one who ordered these idiots to go after Cixi and Lily?"

"This is between Cixi and me!" Silviya snapped defensively. "Lily was supposed to leave, but she decided to poke her nose in unnecessarily! And who are you even trying to protect here? Cixi? Or Lily? Or are you just banging both of—"

A loud SMACK echoed across the stadium ground.

Silviya’s head whipped to the side, her hair falling wildly over her face from the sheer force of the blow.

"Despicable words from a depraved mind," Cixi hissed, her hand still smarting from the impact of the slap she had just delivered to Silviya’s cheek. "You are nothing but a toxic poison to the environment."

Zoyar only smirked at the display. Calmly, he pulled his phone from his pocket. The screen showed an active call. The line had been open the entire time. He pressed the phone to his ear.

"What do you want me to do with them, Cassian?" Zoyar asked.

Cixi’s eyes widened in horror at hearing the name Cassian, her head snapping toward Zoyar.

’Why did he just say Cassian? Who was he talking to?’

"Mark will come to collect them," Cassian’s deep, distorted voice replied clearly from the phone’s speaker.

"Who are you talking to?!" Cixi demanded, feeling dread, stepping out from behind Zoyar before he could say another word.

"Your fiancé," Zoyar replied nonchalantly.

Without warning, Cixi snatched the phone right out of Zoyar’s hand and pressed it to her ear. "Cassian?"

"Hmmm," Cassian simply hummed in response.

Something didn’t feel right. His tone was entirely too flat, and her heart immediately started racing; nervousness jumped against her ribs. "What... what were you talking to Zoyar about?" she questioned, gulping hard.

"I am inviting the three people who just assaulted you over a cup of tea," Cassian replied, his voice dripping with dark sarcasm.

"Why? Why do you want to have a cup of tea with them? And why are you talking to me so dryly?" Cixi whispered, her stomach twisting into knots. "Are you angry with me?"

For a long moment, Cassian didn’t reply. Cixi felt like she was going to faint from the heavy silence.

"Hello?" she prompted desperately, just to know if he was still there.

"What exactly do you want me to say, Cixi?"

Cixi? Not Cig? He was definitely angry with her. But why?

"That you love me," Cixi blurted out, trying to sound cute and defuse his anger. Then soon realised her mistake the second the words left her mouth. Cassian had explicitly warned her before never to ask him about love. She regretted it instantly, anxiety flaring in her chest. "I—I’m sorry, it was a mistake. I shouldn’t have—"

"I want to put them in boiling water and feed their body parts to lions and tigers," Cassian interrupted, purposely ignoring her slip-up.

And on the other side, a pang of hurt rose in Cixi’s chest. "Oh! So you are not angry with the word love." When Cassian said nothing, the stinging rejection disappointed Cixi far more than hearing his gruesome, torturous plans for the three leeches currently ready to bleed her out.