Chapter 240: Chapter 238: Tackled to the Ground

Just as she was about to agree, Mia Grant suddenly froze.

She stood rooted to the spot.

It was the System’s voice—

[Host, don’t go up!]

[Stop!]

The System’s usually icy voice seemed to have a trace of fluctuation today.

’Wow. That’s a rare sight.’

After that brief thought, Mia Grant swallowed hard, her nervous palms starting to sweat.

"What’s going on?" she asked the System.

"Is the old man... going to kill me?"

[System analysis indicates that if the Host goes upstairs, there is a twelve percent chance of being kidnapped and confined, and a sixteen percent chance of being stabbed through the heart.]

"What about the other seventy-two percent?"

[A two percent chance of survival.]

[And a seventy percent chance... of being shot in the head.]

!!!

Mia Grant remained calm on the surface, but inside, she was screaming frantically.

She glanced at Simon Adler beside her, pleading for help with her eyes.

Then she said to the bodyguard in front of her, "Excuse me, could I use the restroom first?"

"I’m afraid not, Miss Grant. Please head upstairs." His tone was cold and absolute, leaving no room for negotiation.

Mia Grant suddenly felt like crying.

She couldn’t figure out how things had escalated to this point.

It was so sudden.

She was completely unprepared.

It seemed the recent peace and quiet was just a tranquil illusion before the storm.

’She had thought... the old man had given up on killing her.’

’Lately, she had been obediently doing everything according to his arrangements.’

’What could have possibly gone wrong?’

There was no time to think about it now.

Simon Adler stepped in. "She’s on her period and wasn’t feeling well on the way back. Just let her use the restroom. It’ll only take a few minutes."

The bodyguard hesitated for a moment. "Miss Grant, please be quick."

"Ten minutes."

Mia Grant agreed with a smile and went upstairs, bag in hand.

But Simon Adler was stopped downstairs.

The bodyguard followed her upstairs, finally stopping outside the door.

Mia Grant immediately locked the door from the inside. She pulled out her phone to call Silas Grant, only to find there was no signal at all.

Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to calm down.

She quickly activated the watch on her wrist, pressing one of the buttons just as Zelo had taught her.

Almost instantly, she heard a soft chime, as if the connection was successful.

Before she could speak, Zelo’s voice came through. "Miss Grant, are you in danger?"

He had shrewdly lowered his voice, afraid he might endanger Mia Grant.

"Yes! Help me! I don’t have much time, less than ten minutes!"

"I think they’re going to kill me!"

"Don’t be afraid. Get your gun ready." Zelo checked her location. "You’re in your room? Good. Now, go to the bathroom window."

Mia Grant quickly pulled the gun from her bag and ran to the bathroom.

The bathroom window wasn’t large, but it was a bit high. Mia Grant moved a chair over, stood on it, and pushed it open with all her might.

She looked down and vaguely saw a dark figure.

Thinking it was a patrol, she immediately pulled her head back.

"There’s someone down there!"

"Miss Grant, that’s Zero." At this critical moment, Zelo remained calm and composed, soothing Mia Grant’s nerves while checking the route.

Zero had already climbed up.

"Miss, come on."

"How do I get down?"

"There’s a ledge here. Stand here, and I’ll carry you down on my back. Don’t worry, the rope is very strong. I’ll tie you to me."

Mia Grant did as he said.

The pencil skirt she was wearing as part of her business attire was incredibly restrictive. Gritting her teeth, she tore it further along the slit.

Thankfully, she was wearing safety shorts underneath, so she wasn’t exposed.

Two minutes later, Zero landed them safely on the ground.

"Which way do we go?"

"Don’t worry, we planned the route long ago."

"Have you been at the Hughes Family’s estate this whole time?"

"Yes." Zero explained that he had been hiding in a cabinet in the wine cellar in the Hughes Family’s backyard.

He had been hiding there for as long as Mia Grant had been living at the estate.

It was all to handle a sudden situation like today’s, allowing him and Zelo to coordinate from the inside and out.

Mia Grant was utterly amazed.

"I-I’m sorry."

Zero chuckled. "Miss, you apologizing to me is more than I can bear. Our training and combat missions were much tougher than this. Compared to that, this is child’s play. It’s like a vacation in a quiet spot."

"When I get out of here alive, I’ll definitely tell Kian Keller to give you a raise!"

"Then I won’t be shy about accepting it, because I am absolutely getting you out of here tonight, Miss."

"Really? But they..."

"Don’t worry. I’ll die before I let anything happen to you, Miss."

"If I get hit, Miss, you run as fast as you can toward the greenhouse. Keep running. Zelo will be there to meet you."

"No, no, no." Mia Grant said, "I don’t want anyone to die for me."

"I’d feel guilty for the rest of my life and end up dying of depression! And then Kian Keller would definitely dig you up and whip your corpse!"

Zero choked, and then he pulled her along, running even faster.

Mia Grant didn’t find it too difficult to run; thankfully, she was used to being chased by Felix Sinclair and the others.

But she couldn’t breathe properly through her nose, so she had to open her mouth, letting the cold wind rush in. Every gasp felt like a small knife scraping her throat.

After running for what felt like an eternity, it seemed someone was catching up from behind.

The backyard had only been lit by dim, yellow streetlights. The moment a light source shone from behind them, their surroundings became as bright as day.

Mia Grant really wanted to scream.

But she held it in.

Zero let go of her arm. "Miss, run! I’ll cover you from behind."

Mia Grant had no energy to speak and just ran headlong.

Zero pulled out his handgun and aimed behind him.

A few short, strange sounds rang out. Probably because of a silencer, Mia Grant couldn’t even identify the sound at first.

Not until someone returned fire.

Startled by the gunshots, Mia Grant screamed. This time, she really let it out.

She covered her ears and ran frantically. Suddenly, a force from behind tackled her to the ground.

Mia Grant was about to scream again when she realized it was Ian Sinclair.

He pulled her up, and they took cover behind the side of the greenhouse.

"Y-y-y-you! How did you get in?!"

Ian Sinclair, panting heavily, ran his hands all over the disheveled girl in front of him. "Babe, are you hurt?"

Instantly, Mia Grant’s eyes welled up. "How did you get in?!"

"Drove in through the front gate, of course," he was still smiling.

Following his gaze, Mia Grant saw a massive fire burning in the distance, probably right where she had gotten out of the car earlier.

It was a severely crashed Land Rover.

Her breath caught in her throat.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

"So what? If I die, you’ll remember me for a lifetime. You probably won’t be able to forget me in your next life, either."

His tone was light, as if he had no idea what kind of situation they were about to face.

"I’m sorry." Mia Grant’s head was throbbing. She shook it hard. "I..."

"You don’t have to apologize, babe. You did nothing wrong."

"They’re the ones with black hearts."

"But..."

The noise from helicopter rotors drowned out the rest of Mia Grant’s words.

She looked up in a daze and saw a helicopter landing, a familiar figure coming into view.

On the verge of a breakdown, she screamed, "Kian Keller!"