Chapter 197: Nothing Happened
It was now 7:50 pm, and it was getting quite dark outside. Eve was becoming frantic because she still had not received any word at all from Scarlett. She grew increasingly worried and began sweating profusely. After a second thought, she decided to call Francis because she feared that something bad had really happened to Scarlett. What if she lost the race? The earlier she called Francis, the better Scarlett’s chances of surviving this dangerous deal. She cursed herself for having let Scarlett cut this stupid deal to begin with.
It’s Eve, Francis. I’m calling you because Scarlett is in trouble. Or at least I think she might be….”
Upon hearing that, Francis instantly sat up and asked worriedly, “What happened? Is she okay? Tell me what’s going on. I need to know all the details. Don’t leave anything out.”
Eve took a look at the watch on her wrist. Two more minutes had passed.
“Well, this gangster dude, Elijah Cotton, asked Scarlett to race cars for him. We decided that if she didn’t call me by 8 pm to let me know that she’s safe, I would call you up and let you know what’s been going on. I have a bad feeling about it, Francis, I don’t think she’s safe. I think Scarlett is…” Before Eve could finish her sentence, her phone was snatched away. It was, to her utter surprise, none other than Scarlett.
When Eve saw her safe, she just gave her a warm and big hug and reproached her, “You fucking tease, you scared me to death!”
Scarlett smiled brightly and then grabbed the phone and said, “Francis, I’m fine. Nothing happened!”
On the other end of the line, there was a loud crash. It sounded like a car crash.
“Francis, Francis, what happened? Answer me!” Scarlett yelled into the phone and trembled with shock.
“What’s up?” Eve asked worriedly.
No matter how loudly she kept shouting, she still heard no response from the other side. Only muffled noises. It seemed as though the phone had been dropped to the ground.
Scarlett covered her mouth with her hand and didn’t hang up the phone; she was trying to hold back her tears, but she panicked in the worst way.
“Edith, please do me a favor. Could you use your cellphone to book a flight ticket for my return to America? Can you do it as soon as possible?” Scarlett said.
Scarlett was so panicked that she started talking incoherently. It was as if the entire universe was conspiring against her. She felt as though God was playing a massive trick on her.
Even though she was skilled behind the wheel, she couldn’t save her beloved. She was confronting death, and all the bad memories from her past came rushing back at once.
Scarlett dared not to think anymore. Dwelling in her mind were dark thoughts about life and its ultimate end. She felt as if she were underwater or in a vacuum. She felt breathless, and her tears would not stop.
“Scarlett, calm down. We don’t know what happened. We can’t jump to conclusions.” Eve comforted her as she held her hands.
“I have booked the ticket. The flight leaves in two hours.” Edith said.
Eve rushed to take her handbag from the counter and pulled Scarlett to walk toward the outside. “I’ll drive you to the airport!”
Edith and Glen followed close behind them; Glen drove the car.
Eve took her phone from Edith and dialed Damon’s number. After she made three successive calls, Damon finally picked up.
When he picked up the phone, she instantly yelled at the top of her voice, “What took you so long to pick up the phone? Damn it, Francis had what sounded like a car accident while Scarlett was talking to him on the phone earlier, and we haven’t been able to get in touch with him. Something’s not right. Scarlett and I are on the way to the airport right now, but obviously, we’re gonna take a while to get there. So you’d better go and check on him as soon as you can! Go, find out what happened and report back to me as soon as possible.”
And for the first time, Damon didn’t argue with her. He hung up and rushed to find Francis.
Eve had her arm around Scarlett’s shoulder and didn’t know how to comfort her right then, so she just said, “Don’t worry! He’s gonna be okay. You’re gonna be okay, too. You gotta be strong, Scarlett!”
However, Scarlett was in shock. She prayed that Francis would come back to her safe and sound.
***
As soon as the flight landed, Eve received a call from Damon. She answered the call in a hurry and asked worriedly, “How’s everything? Was he hurt badly? What information do you have so far?”
Meanwhile, Scarlett was focused squarely on the expressions on Eve’s face. It seemed as though Eve had received some sort of good news because her face was relaxed, and she breathed a deep sigh of relief.NôvelDrama.Org: text © owner.
“He is fine! He just broke his leg! At least that’s what we know so far.” Eve said after she disconnected the call. Eve had a headache from being too nervous and looked at Scarlett and said, “The car is waiting for you outside. They can’t get in contact with you because your phone is off. So you’d better hurry up!”
After that, Eve pushed Scarlett to move along a little faster. But Scarlett had to sort something else out first. She turned around and asked Eve indignantly, “Are you sure? You’re not lying to me, are you? Is that really all that’s happened to Francis?”
“Hey, Scarlett, you are just so ridiculous! Why would I lie to you? Aren’t you glad to hear that he is fine? Don’t be a fool!” Eve rolled her eyes at her.
Scarlett screamed out with excitement. After that, she hurried out of the airport. She had no luggage in her hands, so she ran quickly, sprinting across the wide halls towards the arrivals exit.
“Hey, wait for me!” Eve shouted out from behind. After the long plane trip, Eve was exhausted. She had no energy to sprint, so she was left behind as Scarlett ran without pausing.