Chapter 552 She Knows the Whole Truth!
Victor said, "It's my boss's ex-wife."
Owen asked, "Wait, how did she end up inside? We already evacuated everyone who wasn't supposed to be here."
"I have no idea. We need to get in touch with her first and then figure out our next move. That's why I came to you."
After checking the satellite info, Owen confirmed that Harper, just like Victor said, was indeed inside the building.
Two hours ago, the cops got a tip that Stanley, the guy responsible for multiple deaths, was hiding out in the Serene Haven Hotel. They immediately started monitoring the hotel, and luckily, everyone was evacuated without any issues; at least, that was what they had believed.
Initially, they wanted the informant, Francis, to get out too. But Francis told them it was too late, saying Stanley was after him this time, so he stayed to help with the capture.
Everything seemed set, but out of nowhere, Stanley managed to plant explosives in the hotel right under their noses. Now, with Francis's life on the line, the situation was super urgent.
After verifying Victor's identity, Owen didn't waste any time and said, "Make the call."
Victor dialed the satellite phone. Harper's phone was custom-made, so it could be tracked via satellite and make calls even with jammers around.
The phone rang for a long time, but no one picked up.
In the room, Harper was covering her ears, crouched in the corner between the bed and the wall. The recent explosion was so loud it felt like her eardrums would burst. Luckily, she had been sleeping, and the room and blankets provided some buffer. Otherwise, she might have been knocked out and in real danger.
After the aftershocks died down, the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder. Harper quickly realized it wasn't an earthquake.
Earlier in the afternoon, she had been watching TV in her room. When the scene switched to Keith's appearance, the broadcast suddenly cut off.
She slept until almost evening and was jolted awake by the explosion. Thinking it was an earthquake, she quickly ran to the corner for safety.
After the noise subsided, Harper got up and saw her phone vibrating on the bed. She answered the call just before it stopped ringing. "Hello?"
Victor's voice, sounding choked up, came through, "Ms. Murphy, you finally answered."
Harper recognized Victor's voice and asked, "Victor?"
Victor got straight to the point, "Mr. Getty is in trouble."
Harper was confused. Wasn't Francis getting married? How could he be in trouble?
Victor quickly filled her in, and Harper was in shock.
Francis had such a serious illness? And it was because he saved her and got injected by Chloe. What a crazy, unbelievable situation! Had Francis been silently suffering all this time?
For a moment, Harper was lost, filled with panic. So, when she had seen Francis looking hunched over before, it wasn't her imagination. He was really in too much pain to stand straight.
"Victor, are you saying he married Audrey to lure Stanley and his men and catch them all at once?"
"That's my guess," Victor replied honestly.
After all, Francis hadn't shared the plan with him, so he wasn't sure. But now it was pretty clear from Francis's behavior today and the evacuation of the guests. Francis never intended to have a real wedding; he was just using it as bait.
Victor added, "Ms. Murphy, you might not know this, but you're on Stanley's hit list. I think Mr. Getty did all this for you."
Suddenly, Harper's heart sank. She had suspected Francis's intentions before. But the thing she least wanted to happen had happened.
Victor said, "He did all this to eliminate future threats for you. He's afraid that if he's gone, you'll be harmed!"
Victor, being close to Francis, naturally understood his feelings. Francis had done so much alone without letting Harper know, which was too unfair. Victor felt wronged on behalf of Francis. At this moment, he didn't care if he would be punished by Francis for letting the cat out of the bag. If Francis could come back, Victor would be willing to accept any punishment, even if it meant losing his legs or his sight.
Harper's hand holding the phone froze!
How could this happen? She didn't want to believe it, but a voice inside her told her this was the real Francis, the Francis she knew.
For a long time, Harper didn't make a sound. Her mind felt like it had been ransacked, completely blank, and her ears and mouth were blocked by something.
So this was the truth behind it all. She had been so close to the truth before but chose to retreat in the face of Francis's cold indifference. Shock and sorrow overwhelmed Harper, making it hard for her to breathe.
Until Victor's anxious voice came through the phone, "Hello? Ms. Murphy?"
Harper snapped back to reality briefly, her voice a bit hoarse, "Victor, go on."
"Mr. Getty is still inside the building. We don't know the situation inside, including the type of explosives installed in the building, so we can't take any action."
"So, what do you want me to do?" Harper quickly responded, asking directly.
"One more thing," Harper asked, "Can you check if Ronald is inside?"
She remembered Ronald was in the next room. It was unusual that he hadn't come to find her for so long.
"Don't worry, Ronald's outside. He got evacuated when he went out to change the flight tickets. I've already reassured him and told him to wait for you."
Victor had run into Ronald, which was how he found out Harper's phone could make satellite calls. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to reach her.
Francis's phone also had a satellite connection, but Stanley's jammers were so advanced they even blocked satellite phones. Luckily, the jammers had a limited range, allowing them to contact Harper.
Hearing that Ronald was safe, Harper felt a bit more at ease.
Just then, a different voice came through the phone. The person introduced himself, "Ms. Murphy, I'm Owen Hall, the leader of this operation."
"Detective Hall, what do I need to do?"
Owen appreciated Harper's quick thinking and said, "We need to know how many people are inside and the type of explosives. This task is tough, and there are too many residents and staff around here to evacuate. We need to estimate the bomb's power and blast radius based on its specific type to implement a more effective evacuation plan."
When the phone went silent again, Owen knew he was asking a lot. If they weren't afraid that breaking in would cause the criminals to detonate the explosives prematurely, they wouldn't have asked Harper to do this.
But Owen still wanted to give Harper the choice.
Owen said, "If you find the task too hard for you, you can refuse and find a way to get to the location we tell you. We will definitely rescue you..."
Before Owen could finish, Harper answered resolutely, "I accept!"
Harper knew this place was densely populated, making evacuation difficult. If the amount of explosives was unclear, it could put innocent civilians' lives at risk.
Owen said, "Thank you. Stanley is an international criminal and has been breaking the law for years. This time, we will stop him and capture him for good."
Harper nodded, "I believe in you."
"I'll send you a map now. Follow the marked locations with the highlighter to find the bombs."
"Okay."
After hanging up, Harper took a phone pouch and hung it around her neck. At the door, she reached out to pull it, but it was locked. She tried a few more times but still couldn't open it.
She looked for something to open the door and, upon seeing the pipes in the bathroom, a thought formed in her mind.
Harper lay on the floor and tapped on the pipes. This was a secret code that Francis had taught her, so Harper wasn't afraid of others hearing it. It meant, "Is anyone there?"
Even if someone heard it, they wouldn't understand what it meant; only Francis would.
Unfortunately, there was no response from the pipes.
Harper didn't give up and tried again. After a long time, there was still no response. Disappointed, she pushed herself up to leave.
Suddenly, two short, muffled taps came through. Harper immediately crouched down and waited a few seconds. Sure enough, there were two more short, muffled taps. It meant, "I'm here."
Harper was so excited she almost cried and quickly tapped back.
Harper: [How many of them are there?]
Francis: [Three.]
Before she could ask more, the pipes tapped back again.
Francis: [Don't take risks.]
Harper: [Okay.]
Francis: [Take care of yourself.]
Hearing this, Harper's eyes reddened and became moist again.
She hated herself. She had been so close to the truth before. Why did she retreat? Why couldn't she take one more step? If she had taken one more step, she would have known the suffering Francis endured. But there were no "ifs" in life.
Just as Harper wiped her tears and prepared to respond, she suddenly heard footsteps upstairs. Ever since she got pregnant, her hearing had become particularly sensitive. She immediately became alert.
Harper remembered Victor saying that everyone else in the building had been evacuated. The only ones left were her, Audrey, Francis, and Stanley and his men. And the sound of those footsteps, like short boots, was likely from Stanley's men.
Harper became tense. After looking around, she went to the balcony and found that the window of the adjacent balcony was open. The distance between was only four to five hand spans, something an adult could easily cross.
Without wasting time, Harper climbed up the rail. But then she remembered her luggage and turned back to hastily stuff everything into her suitcase. She then pushed the suitcase to the balcony and lifted it over to the other side.
She didn't have much to carry, so it went smoothly. Fortunately, there was a blanket on the other balcony, which muffled the sound.
After climbing into the adjacent room, the footsteps seemed to be right outside. Harper quietly hid her suitcase and looked around for a place to hide. But the hotel room was open-plan, with nowhere to hide.
Soon, Stanley arrived at room 8019, the room Harper had stayed before. He kicked the door open and entered the room, but finding it empty, he assumed Audrey had lied to him. But then he saw the wrinkled bed sheets.
In a high-end hotel room, the sheets wouldn't have a single wrinkle if no one had stayed there. But it was also possible that someone else, just not Harper, was staying in the room.
After checking every corner, Stanley stepped onto the balcony. He noticed that the balcony window of room 8019 was open, but the window of the adjacent room, 8020, was closed.
Immediately, a strong sense of alertness made Stanley feel a thrill. He whistled and left for room 8020.
He used the same violent method of kicking the door open, and his footsteps were heavy and deliberate, as if stepping on Harper's heart.
"Hello..." Stanley walked along whistling, looking very pleased with himself. "Baby, don't hide. I miss you."
Stanley's gentle tone hid an unknown terror.
The spacious room remained silent. Stanley searched until he stood confidently in front of the wardrobe, convinced someone was inside. Because this was the only wardrobe that wasn't fully closed.
Stanley reached out and yanked the door open, "Baby, we meet again..."
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