Chapter 150: Please get me out of this
Karlo stood near the center of the office, his sharp eyes following Clara’s every move.
The longer he watched...
The darker his expression became.
His guards outnumbered her.
Most of them were larger, heavier, and far stronger than she was.
Yet none of that seemed to matter.
Clara refused to stay in one place.
She ducked beneath a swinging fist, grabbed the attacker’s wrist, and used his own momentum to send him crashing into another guard.
The two groaned as they collapsed into a heap.
"I swear she’s slippery like an eel!" one of them complained while rubbing his head.
Clara laughed.
"That’s the nicest thing anyone has called me today."
Another guard lunged at her.
She snatched a thick office file from the desk and threw it straight at his face.
The papers exploded into the air.
"I can’t see!"
"Then use your ears!" another guard shouted.
"You hit me!"
"I didn’t even touch you!"
"You just stepped on my foot!"
"I stepped on someone’s foot!"
Watching his men stumble over one another, Karlo’s patience wore thinner by the second.
"Enough!"
His voice silenced everyone.
"Stop fighting her one at a time!"
Before they could reorganize, Don charged in.
Unlike the others, he didn’t rush blindly.
He studied Clara’s movements before throwing a straight punch toward her shoulder.
Clara barely managed to avoid it.
The fist smashed into the wall instead.
Crack!
A spiderweb of fractures spread across the concrete.
Clara’s eyebrows shot up.
"Okay..."
"That would’ve hurt."
Don didn’t reply.
He swung again.
Then again.
Each punch forced Clara farther back.
Unlike the others, Don gave her almost no opening to counterattack.
"Nowhere to run," he said calmly.
"We’ll see about that."
Clara reached into her pocket.
Don frowned.
"What are you—"
Psshhh!
A cloud of pepper spray burst straight into his face.
"Argh!"
Don instantly covered his eyes.
"My eyes!"
He stumbled backward, coughing violently.
"It burns!"
The guards nearest him weren’t spared either.
"My eyes!"
"Who sprayed that?"
"I can’t see anything!"
"I’m crying!"
Clara quickly stepped away from the cloud, waving the air in front of her face.
"Sorry."
She winced.
"Occupational hazard."
Several guards crashed into desks while blindly trying to escape the burning sensation.
One tripped over a chair.
Another walked straight into a wall.
The office dissolved into chaos once again.
Karlo stared at the scene in disbelief.
His elite guards...
Reduced to stumbling around because of a tiny can of pepper spray.
A vein bulged on his forehead.
"...Enough."
His voice was frighteningly quiet.
He had reached his limit.
Without another word, Karlo grabbed a heavy iron rod that had fallen near a damaged cabinet.
His grip tightened.
In two long strides, he closed the distance between himself and Clara.
She had just turned after avoiding another guard when she sensed movement behind her.
Too late.
Karlo swung the iron rod with all his strength.
"This ends now!"
The rod cut through the air toward the back of her head.
Bang!
A gunshot echoed through the office.
Karlo’s body froze.
The iron rod slipped from his hand and clattered onto the floor.
He looked down in disbelief.
Blood slowly spread across his thigh.
His leg gave way.
With a heavy thud, Karlo dropped to one knee.
The entire room fell silent.
Even the guards forgot about their burning eyes as they turned toward the source of the gunshot.
Heavy footsteps echoed through the corridor as a squad of armed police officers stormed into the office, weapons raised.
"Police!"
"Nobody move!"
"Drop your weapons!"
The remaining guards instinctively reached for their guns, only to freeze when dozens of rifles were pointed directly at them.
One guard slowly raised both hands.
"I suddenly feel like cooperating."
Another quickly dropped his knife.
"I’ve always respected the law."
Clara couldn’t help staring at him.
"...You said that a little too fast."
"I adapt quickly."
Despite the joke, Clara’s attention wasn’t on the officers.
It was on the man walking through them.
The crowd instinctively parted, making way for him.
Every step he took was steady.Unhurried. Confident.
His sharp eyes swept across the room only once, yet the temperature seemed to drop several degrees.
An invisible pressure settled over everyone.
Even Karlo, clutching his wounded leg, narrowed his eyes cautiously.
Clara’s smile slowly disappeared as her body stiffened. For the first time since entering the Crimson Crest...she felt genuinely nervous.
That presence...No...it can’t be...
The man finally stepped into the light seizing Clara’s attention
A perfectly custome made suite with cold, unreadable features. Eyes that carried the authority of someone who never needed to raise his voice to command a room.
Clara’s pupils shrank.
"...Dominic." The name slipped from her lips before she could stop herself.
He didn’t answer immediately, however his gaze slowly settled on her.
[I leave her for a day and she goes out inviting trouble]
Clara heard his thoughts clearly and her jaw dropped.
He wasn’t supposed to be here. He was to come after two days. How can he just-
As Clara thought panicked the culprits finally sneaked from behind.
Mark you trailor. I am going to kill you
While Mark was hiding getting scene by Clara Dominic looked around the room.
The broken furniture.
The unconscious guards.
The pepper spray hanging in the air.
Finally...his eyes returned to Clara one eyebrow lifted almost imperceptibly.
"...Should I even ask?"
Clara gave an awkward smile and scratched her cheek.
"In my defense..." She glanced at the destroyed office. "...it looked much cleaner before I got here."
One of the officers coughed to hide a laugh.
Dominic closed his eyes for a brief second.
He didn’t need anyone to explain what had happened.Somehow...he could already imagine exactly who was responsible.
"I leave you alone for a few hours..." His gaze settled on Clara."...and somehow you manage to start a war."
Clara smiled sheepishly. "Hehe Dom I can explain."
"I’m sure you can."
Just then, hurried footsteps echoed from the corridor.
"Madam!"
Gen rushed into the room, slightly out of breath after chasing Thomas through the building.
She was about to report that Thomas had escaped when her voice caught in her throat.
Her steps came to an abrupt halt and her eyes widened.
Standing in the middle of the devastated office was Clara...smiling awkwardly.
’???’
However the second her eyes fell on the person standing before her, she blinked
Then looked back at Clara.
The smile on Clara’s face looked perfectly normal to everyone else.But Gen knew her well enough to read between the lines.
Help me...Please get me out of this.