Chapter 12
A young woman was cornered by two thugs.
The scene suddenly overlapped with a memory.
In high school, Hazel had been the campus beauty, pursued by countless admirers.
Once, a rejected hoodlum had cornered her in an alley with bad intentions.
Though Roman had arrived in time and Hazel hadn’t been physically harmed. But she’d been traumatized, crying for so long it nearly
broke his heart…
Alcohol had numbed his senses, blurring the line between memory and reality. Only one thought remained-protect Hazel, don’t let
her get hurt.
“Let her go!” Roman shouted furiously.
Without a second thought, he charged at the two thugs. But he’d had too much to drink and hadn’t properly rested in days, his body
already at its breaking point.
The thugs quickly gained the upper hand. One grabbed an iron rod from beside a trash can and brought it down on Roman’s head.
“You think you can mess with us? You got a death wish or something?!”
Blood streamed down Roman’s temple as one thug kicked him to the ground and spat on him.
“Playing hero when you’re nothing but trash…”
They took turns kicking him, venting their rage.
Just as he was about to lose consciousness, Bryce and the others rushed over. Seeing them, the thugs fled.
Finding Roman lying in a pool of blood, they quickly helped him up.
“Roman, hang in there! How are you feeling?”
“We need to get him to a hospital fast…”
Before they could finish, Roman pushed them away and staggered to the corner, embracing the huddled girl.
“Hazel, don’t be afraid. It’s okay now. They’re gone. I’m here…”
The girl raised her tear-stained face.
“Th-thank you for saving me! Thank you so much!”
Roman froze. He quickly stepped back, releasing the girl as his last hope crumbled.
His friends took him to the hospital, where doctors examined him and treated his wounds, recommending he stay overnight for observation. But Roman flatly refused.
“No, I need to find Hazel. I need to apologize to her properly…”
His friends exchanged worried glances before trying to reason with him.
“We still don’t have any leads on Hazel. If your health collapses too, how will you search for her?”
Chapter 12
“That’s right. Focus on recovery first. We’ve mobilized all our connections-if there’s any news, you’ll be the first to know!”
Roman covered his face in despair, his voice breaking.
“We’ve been searching for days without finding a single trace of her. She’s determined to leave me…”
Silence fell over the room.
After lengthy consideration, Bryce tentatively offered a suggestion.
“There is one person who might know. Before leaving, Hazel sold her shares to Dominic Lloyd. He probably has some information
about her. But given your hostile relationship, he’s unlikely to tell you willingly.”
With that, concern shadowed everyone’s faces.
They all knew Roman and Dominic had been business rivals for years. If Dominic truly knew Hazel’s whereabouts, he would never
easily reveal her.
Yet Roman showed no hesitation.
“As long as I can find out where Hazel is, I’ll do anything he asks-willingly!”
