Chapter 1044: Chapter 1043
But Jack still went over and gave him a kick, "Damn it, are you playing dead, huh? Dare to ignore me and see how I deal with you later!"
"Jack, just leave me." Tears welled up in Onion’s eyes; he didn’t want to be a burden to them.
But Jack crouched down, "Damn it, get your ass up. If you don’t want me dead, then make it quick!"
Jack wanted to carry him on his back.
"Jack, my leg’s broken." Onion could only tell the truth.
Actually, he didn’t want to stay there either; he wanted to continue fighting alongside Jack, to be there for the boss, but his leg hurt so much he couldn’t even stand.
Besides, Jack was already carrying one person on each shoulder, and because of the weight, his wounds were bleeding out.
Onion knew Jack couldn’t carry him.
If he insisted on taking him along, they’d likely both die there.
And it wasn’t just him. There were several others with tears in their eyes.
They were brothers whose limbs were broken and who were covered in blood.
After Chester took them down, they held their breath and played dead, this was how they had narrowly escaped death.
But what they hadn’t expected was for Serena to plant bombs in the church. The thought of finally meeting their ends here made them somewhat distressed.
"Jack!" A man lying not far away summoned all his strength and called out, "To be friends with you this life, I am content."
The others joined in, "Indeed."
Jack’s eyes instantly moistened. "What does life and death matter? Dying for the boss is an honor for me."
Dead or alive, they were determined to bring them all back.
"Ten, nine, eight."
Not long after everyone had run out, a thunderous explosion erupted. The whole church blew apart, flames shot into the sky, and smoke billowed high.
The whole world seemed to shake.
The massive blast sent everyone several meters forward.
The moment Romeo fell to the ground, he immediately ran to Rosemary. Despite his ears ringing and his vision being somewhat blurred, he accurately ran to the girl, held her in his arms, and covered her ears with his hands.
The sound of the explosion came in waves, deafening.
But Rosemary felt extraordinarily safe in Romeo’s arms, as if all the dangers of the world were kept at bay by his warm and strong embrace.
Shrapnel from the explosion scattered onto Romeo’s back, but he seemed impervious to the pain as he continued to shield the girl in his arms.
Debris flew towards others, striking some in the head, others splattering across their bodies.
It wasn’t until the fury of the explosion had subsided, and the thick smoke had cleared enough to see the path ahead, that Jones and the others began to help the injured to their feet.
Kenneth cradled Louisa in his arms, feeling an overwhelming joy of having survived the ordeal. Looking at his wife, her hair and face covered in dust, his eyes moistened with tears.
Knowing she was safe, Louisa finally let go of her fear and burst into tears.
Bernard and Cornelia, being elderly, were thrown several feet away by the blast. They hit the ground and lost consciousness.
"Boss!" Jones called out, informing her of the two elderly people who had fainted.
Rosemary stepped out of Romeo’s embrace to check her grandparents’ pulse, finding they were alright, and her heart settled.
"I’ll carry them to the car first," Romeo said as he lifted Bernard. Only then did Rosemary notice the injury on his back; his clothes torn, and blood seeping out.
Her eyes filled with a mix of gratitude and heartache. After he had picked up Bernard, he went to lift Cornelia.
Jones came running over to report to Rosemary, "Boss, when we came upon them, they were trying to flee, but we caught them."
Rosemary’s eyes turned cold as she looked at Serena, Nighthawk, Tyrannosaurus, and the others tied up not far away, "Take them back."
Serena knew nothing good awaited her upon return. She protested with sobs, only to be met with a fierce slap from Jack.
"Cry me a river, you’ll get what’s coming to you."
Jack’s slap was powerful; since Serena’s cheek had already been cut by the shrapnel from the explosion, the slap widened her wound, causing her to grimace in pain.
"It’s all right now," Rosemary succinctly briefed the situation to her brothers.
The brothers hadn’t expected Serena to be so heartless, you could say, she was completely insane.
Seeing the wounds on their sister, they urged her to get into the car and get back for treatment.
On the way, Rosemary asked Jack in the car, "Amos and Cookie."
"Don’t worry, boss, they’re already at our headquarters. When you’re available, all of us will accompany our fallen brothers on their final journey, to send them off in style," Jack assured her.
"Good," Rosemary nodded in approval, "Well done."
"Take a break, boss, you’re injured," Jack reminded her, knowing that the force of Chester’s blows was several times that of an average person, even a knife cut was deeper than usual.
Rosemary nodded. She couldn’t lean back in her chair because of the wound on her back; she had to lean slightly to the side instead, which finally allowed her to breathe a sigh of relief.
At that moment, thick black smoke billowed from Reflections Villa.
Numerous servants and bodyguards were battling the blaze. Thankfully, since Edith had taken over as housekeeper and convinced Louisa to purchase a batch of firefighting equipment, reasoning that a mansion of this size needed ample fire protection, they were well-prepared.
Little did they expect that their foresight would prove so timely.
Someone tried calling Kenneth and Louisa but got no answer, so they called Rosemary instead.
"Ms. Rose, the house is on fire. It’s the basement."
Fortunately, the basement and the main building were separate, and thanks to the sufficient firefighting equipment, the fire were quickly extinguished, leaving only thick smoke behind.
Upon returning home, Rosemary found that the family doctor had also arrived.
She was called in by Louisa.
Louisa thought that her precious daughter was injured and that tending to the wounds herself was too taxing. She thought it would be better to have professional help.
"My injuries are minor; please check on the others first," Rosemary instructed the doctor, wanting her to examine her grandparents and parents.
However, the entire family unanimously insisted that Dr. Anne treat her first.
Rosemary couldn’t win against them, and she had to let her tend to her wounds obediently.
Kenneth and Louisa had sustained minor scrapes, nothing serious, but Romeo’s back was quite severe.
After Dr. Anne had bandaged Rosemary’s wounds, she went to tend to Romeo.
"Boss, I’ll bring them to Reflections Villa right away," Tom said with a note of pride in his voice.
"Good job," Rosemary praised.
Ending the call, she tapped her phone, "I installed micro-cameras in the basement."
She projected the footage from the cameras onto the TV screen. At around ten that evening, a group of men in black masks and casual clothes had burst into the basement.
They were searching for something or someone, kicking open door after door, only to find each room empty. They didn’t find the person they were looking for and made a call, reporting, "Erik is not here. Every room is empty."
The voice on the other end seemed to order them to retreat. After the call, they set the basement ablaze and swiftly left the scene.
"They came for Erik." Louisa realized, "They thought Erik was still alive. That means the mastermind who forced Erik to take poison wants to take him back or kill him on the spot. It seems Erik must have something on that person!"