Chapter 141
Upon hearing this, Victoria furrowed her brows. "Is it really that high–tech?"
Diana replied, "The leaked photos have already stirred up quite a buzz. My advice? Ignore it. Once the final shots are out, all this noise will die down."
Victoria sighed, "That's what I was thinking too, but right now, it seems like everyone's focused on the fact that I supposedly hurt Sophia."
Diana's tone turned serious and rational. "Don't worry about it. I'll get my hands on the studio's surveillance footage."
"Okay." Victoria nodded, feeling reassured by Diana's calm demeanor.
Without wasting another moment, she headed straight to Sophia's studio.
As soon as Victoria arrived, the receptionist rolled her eyes. "Sophia's not coming in today. With injuries that severe, she probably can't."
"Is it really that bad?" Victoria raised an eyebrow. "Is it serious enough that a late tweet could magically heal her?"
"How dare..." The receptionist was momentarily at a loss for words but managed to hold her tongue.
Victoria walked past the receptionist, determination in her stride. "I'll wait here until she arrives."
She made her way back to the meeting room.
Tina arrived soon after; worry etched on her face. "Neither her assistant nor her manager are answering their phones."
Victoria nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation.
The entire day passed, and true to form, Sophia didn't show.
Glancing at the clock, Victoria finally stood up. "Let's grab something to eat."
Tina looked anxious. "What if she doesn't show up? This whole thing could blow up even more."
In just one day, the situation had escalated to a terrifying level.
Sophia's fans were demanding an apology from Victoria, insisting she should quit photography altogether.
Even bystanders, clueless about the real story, chimed in, as if Victoria had committed some unspeakable crime against Sophia.
It was chaos, pure and simple.
Victoria remained composed. "It's okay. Her injuries will heal eventually."
Tina sighed softly, and the two women left the studio together.
They parked some distance away, near a small grove of trees. The streetlights were flickering, and as Victoria opened the back door of the car, she suddenly heard hurried footsteps approaching.
She instinctively turned, only to see a figure in a hat and mask charging at her with a stick.
"Ah!" Tina screamed.
Victoria barely dodged the attack, her face draining of color.
She turned and sprinted away, but to her horror, several more similarly dressed figures emerged from the grove.
"What do you want?!" Tina cried out, fear evident in her voice.
The initial attacker spat on the ground, his eyes blazing with fury. "You little bitch! You hurt Sophia, and I'm going to make you pay!"
They were Sophia's fans–specifically, the dangerously extreme ones.
Victoria's heart raced, panic flooding her veins. She fumbled in her bag, clutching a small bottle tightly, and stammered, "I didn't hurt her; please don't do anything rash!"
"Shut up! You won't apologize, and you still deny it? I'm going to teach you a lesson for Sophia today!"
The man with the stick charged at her, his anger palpable.
The others moved in as well, and Victoria realized there was no way out.
In a moment of desperation, she pulled out the small bottle, but just then, a figure darted forward.
"Ah!"
A scream pierced the air as the man closest to Victoria was kicked to the ground, his stick flying from his grasp as he fell. The newcomer seized the stick and turned it against the remaining attackers.
Victoria could only stare in shock, disbelief flooding her senses.
In the dim light, the man moved with an agility she had never seen before, striking with precision. Within moments, the assailants were on the ground, unable to rise.
He turned to her, one hand gripping the stick, and strode over. His handsome face was gloomy, eyes filled with a dangerous glint, exuding an aura of raw power.
Instinctively, Victoria took a step back, but he was already in front of her, his voice low and steady. "Are you hurt?"
The breeze tousled Victoria's hair, and with her pale face, shock coursed through her. She heard a scream nearby, and her heart, which had been lodged in her throat, plummeted back into her chest.
Shaking her head, she managed to whisper, "I'm not hurt."
They hadn't touched her before Henry showed up.
Henry casually tossed the stick aside, pulled out his phone, and dialed the police. Then he opened the car door and urged, "Get in. Let the police handle this."
Nodding, Victoria climbed inside. Tina, still crouched in the corner with her arms wrapped around her head, scrambled into the car, visibly shaken, her hands trembling.
"Oh my god, I can't believe that just happened! Who were those people?"
Tina's voice trembled, tinged with panic.
"Just wait for the cops to arrive," Victoria replied, staring out through the dimly lit window.
Outside, Henry stood tall, his back to her, the oversized blazer draped loosely over his broad shoulders. He rolled his sleeves up to his elbows and lit a cigarette, and the ember glowed brightly against the darkening sky.
"Mr. Harrison was incredible! He took them all down by himself. I wonder if he's trained or something?" Tina exclaimed, awe lacing her voice.
Victoria pressed her lips together, her face drained of color, not responding.
The earlier scene replayed in her mind, intertwining with a distant memory of a time long past, back when she was at Ava's house.
Ava lived on the outskirts of their small town, and Victoria had been studying endlessly about aromatherapy.
One day, overwhelmed, she stepped outside to get some fresh air and pick up groceries.
She was familiar with the area, knew the quickest paths, and chose a shortcut she had traveled many times without incident. But that afternoon, Victoria stumbled upon a group of thugs from the neighboring town. They were huddled together, plotting their next attack on someone else.
Desperate for an escape, she found herself cornered in a narrow alley.
Victoria yelled for help, but no one came to her aid.
The leader of the thugs reached toward her, and in a moment of fear, she slapped his hand away. This only enraged them, and they prepared to assault her.
Just then, Henry appeared at the alley entrance, hands casually tucked in his pockets, radiating a nonchalant confidence. "Hey!" he called out.
The thugs turned their focus toward him, their leader threatening him to mind his business.
Back then, he had been wearing a fitted black tee, his handsome face carrying an amused smile though his eyes held a dismissive glint. He pointed at them and said, "Come at me."
Incited by his challenge, the thugs charged, only to be met with a swift and brutal response.
He took them down one by one, just like he had tonight.
After dispatching the last of them, Henry strode toward her, a whirlwind of energy and rage. As he got closer, she instinctively took a step back, feeling both drawn to and intimidated by him.
When he was a few feet away, he stopped and said, "Let me walk you home."
Fear still gripped her, but Victoria followed him from the alley.
He led the way, the setting sun breaking through the trees and casting shards of light along their path. Even after her heart had raced from fear, it picked up pace again when she watched his strong silhouette before her.
The wail of sirens pulled Victoria back to the present. She closed her eyes and opened them again, steadying her racing thoughts, her expression calming as the noise of the chaotic faded into the background.