"Enough! Stop talking nonsense and bring her here!" Du Ying, who had been silent, finally spoke.
The man (Erik) clearly wasn't the betraying type. What was wrong with Du Ming? Couldn't he see Du Ying was bleeding out?
Hearing this, Du Ming had no choice but to relent. Du Ying had founded the Eagle Gang; Du Ming couldn't disregard his life.
"Bring her over," Du Ming conceded.
Soon, two men brought Madalyn forward. Her condition wasn't good. Seeing her, Janelle's heart ached.
"Janelle!" Madalyn saw her daughter too.
She tried to run forward, but one of the men grabbed her arm tightly, preventing any movement.
"What are you doing? Let me go!" Madalyn struggled.
The man held onto Madalyn's arm with an iron grip, not allowing her to break free.
"Mom, I'll take you home soon. Be good for me, okay?" Janelle's gun snapped towards the man holding Madalyn. "Don't touch her!"
Erik hauled the bleeding Du Ying up from the ground and kicked him hard. It was revenge for the disrespect shown to Madalyn. That was just how he was: settling scores immediately, never waiting for tomorrow.
"What are you doing?! Ms. Gu is our honored guest! Who told you to treat her like that?" Du Ming strode over and kicked the subordinate himself.
The man didn't dare utter a word. That was the Eagle Gang's rule: whatever those above said or did was right.
"Miss Rovella, our underlings are ignorant. Please don't take it to heart," Du Ming quickly stated his position. He escorted Madalyn to Janelle's side.
Seeing Janelle, Madalyn threw her arms around her daughter. "Janelle! Where did you go? I missed you, so I came out to find you... but then I got lost. I couldn't find my way back... I thought I'd never see you again!"
Janelle's eyes instantly welled up with tears. Madalyn must have had an awful day.
Seeing her daughter tear up, Madalyn grew frantic. "Janelle! What's wrong?! Don't cry! Mommy knows she was wrong. Mommy won't wander off again. Really, I promise I'll never wander off again!"
Janelle hugged her mother tightly. "Okay, Mom. Didn't you want to go back to Graham City? I'll take you back," she promised.
"Yes!"
"Janelle, what is this place? These people are so scary. I'm so afraid." The people here were fierce and unfriendly. "Did they hurt you?" Janelle's voice turned icy.
"Yes. I don't like it here. I want to go back to Graham City. I never want to stay here again!"
"Okay."
Hearing Madalyn's words, Du Ying felt his life might truly be in danger.
"Miss Rovella, it was entirely our underlings' ignorance. Please don't hold it against us. Name your demands! Whatever you want, we'll agree!" Du Ying was genuinely terrified. This girl seemed young, but her marksmanship was superb, and she struck ruthlessly. He was truly afraid he'd die by her hand.
Erik took off his bulletproof vest and handed it to Janelle. "For your mother."
"Erik..."
"It's fine. I'm hard to kill. No one can hurt me." Over the earpiece, Bryan reported backup was imminent. They could leave soon.
Janelle helped her mother into the vest. Madalyn resisted; she found it uncomfortable. Janelle coaxed her into it, and she finally complied.
With Du Ying in Erik's grasp, Du Ming and his men didn't dare move. Time ticked by.
Du Ming's phone rang. It was Westin.
"Answer it," Janelle commanded when Du Ming hesitated.
The moment the call connected, Westin's impatient voice came through. "Well? Has Janelle agreed? If not, just make sure she dies there at the border. I'll triple the price!"
Westin truly couldn't accept ending up with nothing. If Janelle and Madalyn's deaths were the price for his peace, he didn't care at all. He was about to have a son; Janelle was just a troublesome daughter.
"Westin, you never fail to disappoint me," Janelle's voice cut in, laced with scorn.
Hearing Janelle, Westin paused, then assumed Du Ming had captured her. "Janelle, whatever else, you are my daughter. I naturally don't wish to go that far. Just give up Blue Whale Co., Ltd., and I'll spare your life."
Westin felt he was being magnanimous. She should be falling to her knees in gratitude.
Even Du Ming, listening beside them, thought Westin was being idiotic. Didn't he know what kind of person his own daughter was?
Du Ming wanted to warn Westin to stop digging his own grave, but Erik's gun swung towards him. Du Ming didn't dare say another word. He'd seen firsthand what happened to his brother. He didn't want to be riddled with bullets.
"Westin, I won't give up Blue Whale Co., Ltd. I've recorded everything you've done today. You just wait." Once she was back, she'd settle the score.
Westin was completely unprepared for this answer. He frowned. "Janelle, you—"
The shareholders' meeting was about to start... but even if Janelle didn't give up, if she wasn't physically present, she couldn't control anything, could she?
Janelle hung up the phone and threw it back at Du Ming.
Just then, a helicopter appeared above the Eagle Gang stronghold. It descended, kicking up fierce winds.
Madalyn nearly got blown away. Janelle grabbed her hand and held her tightly.
The helicopter found a landing spot and touched down. Bryan was on board.
"Erik! Janelle! I'm here!"
Erik told Janelle to retreat with Madalyn. He would stay behind. "Go! Your mother's been through a lot; she must be exhausted." Now that they had her, he was relieved.
Janelle didn't delay. This wasn't the time for talk; they had to leave immediately. After all, this was still the Eagle Gang's stronghold, filled with their men.
Janelle retreated with Madalyn. Bryan helped her get Madalyn onto the helicopter.
"Erik, your turn! Don't worry, there are snipers on the chopper!" Bryan had planned for everything. He knew Du Ying and Du Ming were dangerous; he'd come fully prepared.
However, Erik didn't plan to leave Du Ying behind. Who knew if Du Ming had laid an ambush? He needed to guarantee their safety.