Chapter 73
The ambusher moved too fast, so Winnie couldn't dodge the attack in time.
While she tried to avoid the attack agilely and protected her head, her left shoulder still suffered a powerful hit.C0ntent © 2024 (N/ô)velDrama.Org.
Despite the pain, she remained silent. Her opponent spoke up first. "What are you trying to do? Why are you following us?"
"What am I trying to do?" Winnie rubbed her shoulder. "I should be the one asking you two this question. How dare you two go into someone's house and kidnap a person in broad daylight!"
"A woman!" The middle-aged man's eyes reddened. "Based on your accent, I don't think you're someone from the island. Since you're an outsider, don't stick your nose into this matter. It won't do you any good."
Just as the man finished speaking, the younger man beside him urged, "Quickly, Dad! Stop wasting time talking with this woman! If we don't move now, I'm afraid Sis' illness is going to act up! It'll be bad if people from the Briggs family catch us."
Winnie turned to the young man when she heard him speaking.
It was then she saw the woman they kidnapped was biting the young man's arm.
Based on how hard he was wincing, she knew the woman's bite must be powerful. However, the young man didn't make a sound. An average person would've hit the woman to stop the biting, but he didn't, probably because he didn't want to hurt the woman.
Additionally, the young man just called the kidnapped woman "Sis."
It was then Winnie connected the dots. "She was kidnapped to the island and sold here, right?"
"Yes!" The middle-aged man turned back to look at his daughter, whose illness was on the verge of acting up. There was immense pain in his eyes.
Without warning, he kneeled in front of Winnie. "I beg you, please don't shout and let us go. There's something wrong with my daughter's brain. When she vanished, my son and I ran around the state before we found her. The Briggs family refused to let her go, so my son and I had no other choice but to do this. As they say, a bad environment breeds bad people. These islanders don't fear the police at all. We have no other choice! If you don't believe me, we can show you a picture."
Then he pulled out a photo from his pocket.
It was an old photo with no signs of being photoshopped. Indeed, the image depicted all of them as a family.
"I beg you; please let us go. We're running out of time. Her illness is about to act up, so we need to take her to a big hospital as soon as possible to get her medicine!" The middle-aged man even lowered his head to the ground as he cried.
Seeing that, Winnie suddenly recalled her mother from years ago.
Back then, her mother did the same thing, asking for people's help while kneeling on the ground for her daughter's sake.
"Please, stand up." She was touched by the father's story and returned the picture to him.
"Thank you! Your kindness will one day be rewarded by the universe!" The moment the middle-aged man finished speaking, he rapidly grabbed his children before running to the dock.
As for Winnie, she went back the way she came. Now that the woman has been rescued, people from the Briggs family will definitely find out about it. I should go back there and cause a mess.
Sadly, she underestimated the islander's solidarity. Soon after she began her return journey, she saw a group of people heading her way.
So, she quickly chased after the middle-aged man. "They're about to catch up. I saw tens of people heading this way. It won't be easy dealing with them. How are you all going to leave? Do you have a boat?"
The man replied, "I do! However, my daughter's illness is about to act up. If no one keeps an eye on her, she'll bite her own tongue off. My son needs to watch her, and I alone can't push the boat."
"No problem. I can help you push it!"
"Okay, then follow me."
Once their conversation concluded, the two of them went to the shore to push the boat.
It wasn't a small vessel, but it wasn't a big one, either. It was only big enough for three people.
The middle-aged man was worried Winnie would be in trouble after his family left, so he asked, "You aren't an islander, right? Do you want to come with us?"
"No. Your boat isn't big enough for four people. If I get on your boat, it will probably sink. It's not worth the risk."
"Take care then!" Frankly, it was already quite cramped with three people on the boat, so it definitely wouldn't be moving as fast as when there were only two people on it.
So, the middle-aged man started throwing stuff from the boat into the sea.
After the ship departed for a while, he noticed a bag in his daughter's embrace. It was probably filled with stuff that she liked back when she was at the Briggs residence. The thought of the Briggs family pissed the man off, so he grabbed the bag and threw it out.
The bag landed on the beach and was pushed toward Winnie by a wave.
Right after Winnie pushed the boat, the clothes she had tied back together were in shambles again. When she saw the bag next to her leg, she pulled out the clothes inside. However, the clothing was quite... unique.
It was big and red, as though it was a wedding attire from the last century.
If it weren't because she was naked, she definitely wouldn't have worn that piece of clothing.
After wearing that lame clothing, she was still unsatisfied, so she tried looking for other clothes inside the bag.
However, aside from a few socks with cartoon images on them, a handful of sweets, a comb, and a mirror, there was nothing else inside.
Those were probably the disabled woman's treasured items, which was why she hugged them when she slept. Even as she was dragged out of the building by her father and brother, she didn't let it go.
Winnie lifted the mirror and took a look at herself with it.
If she hadn't, she wouldn't have realized her special makeup had been pretty much destroyed.
The silica gel on her face was already coming apart piece by piece. She looked as though someone had poured acid on her and disfigured her face.
Winnie was very disgusted by how she looked, so she decided to remove all the makeup.
At that moment, the islanders and the Briggs family behind had caught up to her.
Because she was wearing the disabled woman's marriage attire, the Briggs family thought she was that disabled woman.
"My wife! That's my wife! I've found my wife!" Hayden Briggs shouted behind Winnie before running toward her with a limp.
The shouting made her feel quite speechless. It's fine. I've already taken off my makeup. Once I show them my true face, they'll realize they had gotten the wrong person. However, just as she turned back, she saw the fifty-odd-year-old man of the Briggs family squinting at her.
Based on the ectropion of his eyeballs, she instantly knew he was terribly short-sighted.
So, even if Winnie had restored her original face, the man still wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
He grabbed her hand and immediately dragged her backward. "Come home with me! I'm going to lock you up this time. I'll see if you still have the guts to run away!" At that moment, she was wondering if she should kick the old man or drag him into the sea.
Just as she was hesitating, she saw a familiar face among the crowd.
He was too tall, so he stood out like a flamingo when standing next to the islanders. They were all, on average, shorter than one hundred and seventy centimeters.
It's Xavier. I didn't expect him to follow the crowd. I bet he's here because he was tracking the mentally challenged woman. Since I'm wearing my own face, and the woman had successfully left the island should I pretend that I was sold here? He did say he would take good care of me for the rest of my life, even if I'm mentally disabled. I think I should use this opportunity to see if he's trustworthy. After Winnie had made up her mind, she played along with Hayden and staggered like a feeble idiot.
Just as she was prepared to call Xavier "Handsome," she saw him striding toward her.
One of his legs was broken, and there was still a wooden board attached to his calf. He wasn't holding a crutch either, yet he still moved toward her quickly.
It was as though he didn't hesitate to and wasn't afraid of overcoming the obstacles that stood between them.