Chapter 381 Did You Save Her?
"Come in," the man waved his hand and turned back to go down the stairs to the top floor.
Tristan lit his last cigarette, striking the lighter twice before it caught.
He pulled out his phone from his pocket and saw a message from Emory sent three seconds ago, causing his pupils to contract suddenly.
The message contained detailed information about the man, whose real name was Duke Hagen. He had the blood of several countries' underworld forces running through his veins, and his ancestors had been inherently evil for generations.
Generations of accumulated evil had created the powerful and arrogant Duke of today.
Tristan put away his phone and walked slowly into the chemical plant.
Duke had already come down from upstairs, surrounded by many men in black. Without looking, it was clear that these men were armed.
Duke smiled at Tristan and extended his hand as he approached, "Nice to meet you."
"Cut the crap," Tristan scanned the area but didn't see Evie and Sophia. His gaze returned to Duke, "Before we discuss terms, I need to ensure their safety."
Duke looked quite surprised. "How did you know I have terms to discuss with you?"
"You wouldn't have gone to the trouble of capturing them if you didn't have terms." Tristan's deep eyes met his.
The man in front of him had several intersecting scars on his face and a noticeable wound on his throat.
He was somewhat intimidating, and even though he kept smiling, he couldn't hide the hostility emanating from him.
Over the years, Tristan was the first person to dare to meet his gaze, making Duke even more excited.
"What do you think, should I recruit him?" He asked his subordinates.
"Mr. Hagen, it's up to you," one of the men in black replied.
Duke was just talking. He patted Tristan on the shoulder, "You came here alone, are you prepared to die? Have you thought about what will happen to your wife if you die? Can she survive?"
Tristan brushed Duke's hand away, "If you wanted my life, there are plenty of ways to get it. No need to trick me here, so let's get straight to the point."
"Alright," Duke was straightforward. He took out a small vial of medicine from his pocket, a clear liquid that looked like water.
Holding it in his hand, it was inexplicably repulsive.
"This is a new drug I've developed. I'm not sure if it works. How about you try it for me? Don't worry, it won't kill you."
Tristan's hawk-like eyes stared at the vial in Duke's hand for a long time. He then unbuttoned his sleeve one by one, "Bring them out, send them down the mountain, and hand them over to my people. I'll do it myself."
"I'm a man of my word," Duke raised an eyebrow, "I believe you are too."
He waved his hand, and a door on the second floor opened.
Sophia, with messy hair, was holding a frightened Evie, who was still twitching in her sleep.
Sophia's clothes were dirty, her feet covered in weeds, and she had lost one shoe.
But Evie, in her arms, was unharmed, her pink clothes clean, and her face spotless.
Seeing Tristan standing below, Sophia's throat tightened, and she only managed to call out, "Tristan, Evie is here..."
"Mom," Tristan's gaze fell on Evie in her arms, only able to see a blurry figure, not her face.
But his tense mood eased significantly, "Take her down the mountain. They will escort you."
Sophia panicked and quickly asked, "What about you? What are you going to do?"
"I'll be fine," Tristan reassured Sophia. "Besides, Evie is more important. You take her and go first."
Hearing this, Sophia's heart was in turmoil.
She had finally saved Evie and could explain to Katniss.
But Tristan staying here... wasn't he the most important person to Katniss?
In her hesitation, she looked at the countless men in black outside and Tristan alone, understanding the situation.
Either they all died here, or she saved Evie... Tristan, she couldn't help him!
"Let's go," a black man said, came over and pulled her away.
Throughout, Tristan's gaze followed Evie in Sophia's arms until they left the abandoned factory and disappeared into the forest.
It was only about half an hour's journey, and Tristan had to wait for news.
Duke kept in touch with his men, projecting their progress on a simple screen, showing where they were taking Sophia.
"You've had it rough," he chatted with Tristan while watching, "Those cops, none of them want to help you. They all want to use you to catch me."
Tristan remained silent, watching Sophia descend the mountain on the screen. Despite her age, she walked unsteadily, but she always held Evie tightly. Half an hour later, a group of professionals appeared on the screen. Seeing the black man bringing Sophia and a child down, they quickly raised their guns.
"Mr. Forbes, let's begin," Duke said, handing Tristan a disposable syringe. "Once you inject it, the gun aimed at your daughter will be aimed at his own heart, and your daughter will be safe."
If Tristan didn't fulfill his promise, Evie would remain in danger.
He lowered his eyelids, took the syringe from Duke, opened the package, and drew out the white liquid from the small vial.
As the needle dripped a few drops of liquid, he seemed to see Katniss's every expression in the reflection.
Then he looked at Evie and inserted the needle into his vein, slowly injecting it.
The pungent smell of disinfectant constantly stimulated Katniss, as if she had returned to a few years ago when Sophia was seriously ill.
The feeling of helplessness and heartache constantly eroded her heart.
The pain made her forehead sweat in her sleep.
Her hand unconsciously gripped the white sheet tightly, and she cried out, "Tristan!"
She suddenly sat up, waking from her dream, but the pain in her heart lingered.
She was momentarily dazed, slowly recalling what had happened. Was this a hospital?
Tristan had knocked her out and gone up the mountain alone?
She quickly threw off the covers and got out of bed, not even bothering to put on shoes as she ran out.
"Why aren't you wearing shoes?" Tristan, holding a dinner tray, opened the door to see the panicked Katniss and frowned as he approached.
"Where's Evie?" Katniss took two steps back, creating distance between them, "Why didn't you let me go up the mountain? Did you save her? Where is she?"
Tristan placed the dinner on the table, turned around, and pulled the nearly collapsing Katniss into his arms, gently comforting her, "Evie is fine. She's in pediatrics, a bit scared, and Mom is with her."
"I want to see her," Katniss pushed him away and tried to leave.
Her wrist tightened as Tristan pulled her back and forced her to sit on the bed. "Katniss, calm down. If you go like this..."
His words trailed off.
He knelt and put her shoes on, "If you go like this, you'll scare Evie. Put your shoes on first, and I'll take you to see her, okay?"
He spoke to her like a child.
The sudden comfort gradually calmed Katniss. She realized, "Did you save Evie? How did you save her? What did they do to you? What did you promise them?"
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