Chapter 35: You're Just Scared
These words struck Emma like a bolt from the blue, freezing her in place as she prepared to feign repentance to gain forgiveness. All her calculations and pretense crumbled in that instant.
She knew very well that she couldn't continue playing the victim this time, since both Ted and Megan had spent more time with Rango than she had.
Even with the familial connection, Rango wouldn't blindly trust her.
So she thought about it all night and decided to directly apologize to Rango, telling him that she had done these foolish things because she was jealous of Ted and Megan's relationship with her uncle.
Based on their interactions over the past few days, she believed that her doting uncle wouldn't do anything to her.
At most, he would scold her and make her apologize.
But what she saw before her left her stunned.
Rango's heavy steps approached her, his once gentle eyes now as cold as frost.
Thinking of what Ted had said on the phone last night, Rango sighed inwardly and asked coldly, "How did your father die?"
"I...I don't know!"
Emma cried out urgently. "I woke up that day and found Dad dead in the house, holding a gun. I really don't know. Maybe a burglar did it, maybe some other bad guy, but it really wasn't me, Uncle."
Rango remained unmoved. He gently raised his hand, his fingertips lightly touching Emma's chin, interrupting her, while carefully wiping the dirt from her face.
Then, looking directly into Emma's eyes, he asked, word by word, "Emma, I'll ask one last time."
"How exactly did your father die?"
Emma felt unprecedented pressure. The coldness and seriousness in her uncle's eyes were something she had never seen before.
Her body trembled involuntarily. Finally, after a moment of silence, she nodded slightly, her voice barely audible: "It was just an accident."
Slap!
The next second, Rango slapped her across the face, throwing her onto the sofa beside him.
Emma clutched her rapidly swelling cheek, her eyes wide with disbelief, as if she were looking at a complete stranger.
Rango gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, "This slap is for your mother!"
"You don't deserve to be her child! You don't deserve to be part of this family!"
He then grabbed Emma's collar, ignoring the terror and despair in her eyes, and continued to press, "Where are your former nanny, classmates, and teachers?!"
Emma touched her left cheek, which was already swollen, and glared hatefully at her uncle, whom she had once loved most these past few days. She shrieked, "Why are you asking so many questions! You want to kill me, don't you? Hurry up and do it! When I die and see my mother, I'll say you killed me!"
Slap!
Before she could finish speaking, Rango, enraged, slapped her again!
His eyes blazed with fury, and he practically roared, "Believe me, if your mother knew you'd become like this, she'd send you to jail herself!"
"So what?!"
Emma completely abandoned all pretense, screaming hysterically, "Either kill me now, or I'll keep doing this! Go ahead and do it!"
Rango froze, staring at the malicious girl before him. He couldn't believe this was his sister's child.
After a long silence, Rango slowly loosened his clenched fists.
His gaze shifted from Emma to a framed photograph sitting quietly on the mantelpiece.
The photo showed a happy family of five: the middle-aged couple smiling broadly, their two children nestled beside them, the little boy clutching a teddy bear—a warm and loving scene.
This was Rango's only family photo; in it, he sat happily in his sister's lap, gazing joyfully at the camera.
Looking at the smiling faces of his parents and sister in the photo, and then thinking of Emma's current state, Rango felt an indescribable pang of sorrow.
His eyes reddened slightly, a mixture of frustration and helplessness culminating in a heavy curse.
"Fuck!"
Then, Rango whirled around, his gaze fixed intently on Emma, and said coldly, "You like killing, don't you?"
Emma was startled, and before she could understand, Rango instructed Megan, "Call her teacher and tell them she's taking a personal day."
"..."
In a small town on the outskirts of Queens.
A pickup truck sped along the road and stopped in front of a rundown house.
Inside the car, Rango's expression was grave. He quickly checked two handguns, then glanced at Emma, who still looked bewildered, and tossed one of the guns onto her lap without any room for argument.
"This is where a notorious gang leader from Queens lives. This guy not only deals drugs, but also traffics women and children, responsible for dozens of deaths."
Rango said seriously, "Go ahead, there are at least a dozen people inside. Take them all out, and none of them will be innocent. If you're really so brave, go in now and wipe them all out!"
"You—"
Emma stared at him in disbelief, her voice trembling, "Are you crazy? They are—"
"The bullets from your gun are just as deadly as bullets from an adult's gun!"
Rango coldly interrupted her, his tone resolute and unquestionable. "Get out of the car, or I'll just throw you in!"
Emma glared at him angrily and desperately, then picked up the gun in a huff, pushed open the door, and jumped out of the car.
Watching her thin figure move toward the house, Ted couldn't bear it and said, "What are you doing, Rango? That house is full of dangerous criminals. Even if you want to punish Emma, you shouldn't do it this way."
Rango didn't answer him. Instead, he picked up another pistol and got out of the car without a word.
Meanwhile, Emma stood in front of the house, her ears filled with deafening music and raised voices from inside. She was so nervous she could hardly breathe.
She couldn't help but turn her head to look, but Rango was still standing motionless in front of the car door, coldly staring at her.
With nowhere to retreat, Emma gritted her teeth and rang the doorbell.
A few seconds later, the door opened a crack, and a man wearing a tank top glanced warily outside.
After seeing Emma, he looked her up and down for a moment, then opened the door with a grin. "Hey, kid, you lost or something?"
"I..." Emma's palms were sweating, her hand gripping the pistol behind her back tightly, her voice trembling with fear.
"Come on! What's wrong?"
The man reached out, trying to grab Emma's shoulder.
Seeing the grimy fingers getting closer, Emma closed her eyes, drew her gun, and pulled the trigger.
However, due to excessive tension, the shot missed, hitting the wall next to the door.
"What the—?!"
The man immediately darted back into the house, while Emma remained standing there, stunned, unsure what to do.
A few seconds later, the man rushed out, weapon in hand, ready to retaliate, when a bullet flew from a short distance, hitting him squarely.
Rango quickly appeared behind Emma, asking disdainfully, "Is this all you've got? Huh?"
The remaining gang members inside reacted, grabbing their weapons and firing wildly towards the doorway.
Rango, his arm wrapped around Emma's chest, pulled her close, then darted behind cover.
Seeing the panicked Emma, Rango sneered and charged inside with her!
He pressed himself against the wall, dodging gunfire while precisely returning fire. Thanks to his training and combat experience in Africa, he quickly subdued these criminals with poor marksmanship who were only firing blindly.
Almost every bullet hit its mark accurately.
After the conflict, Rango pulled Emma into the middle of the scene and asked in a deep voice, "Look, how come you didn't even hit a single person?!"
Emma looked down at her blood-stained clothes. Her former stubbornness and defiance had vanished. She just sat there blankly, her eyes empty.
When her gaze met Rango's, her lips trembled, her face full of pleading.
"I...I know I was wrong, Uncle."
Rango lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and slowly shook his head. "You don't know you were wrong, you're just scared..."
He frowned as he looked at Emma, needing to think of a good way to handle her.
(End of Chapter)
Author's Note ✍️
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