Chapter 822: Separation

Hearing this, the two bodyguards agreed with his assessment. They stopped and turned to him. "Do you have a better plan?"

While one bodyguard awaited his answer, the other tried to contact their colleagues to figure out a solution.

The sudden power outage had plunged the entire villa into darkness. None of them could see the expressions on each other’s faces; only their rapid, ragged breathing betrayed their mounting panic. Darkness had a way of amplifying fear, especially when punctuated by the occasional agonizing scream from outside.

Preston Vance pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "We head for the garage and drive our way out. The power is cut, and if I’m not mistaken, the signal is definitely jammed as well. If we hide here, we’ll be found sooner or later. Making a run for it is our only fighting chance."

"But what if there’s an ambush at the garage?" Fiona Linton’s voice trembled.

"That’s why it’s a gamble," Preston replied. "I can’t guarantee a hundred percent success rate, either." He turned to Chloe Reed. "What do you think, Chloe?"

Chloe nodded in agreement. She figured Vera Holloway had meticulously planned this assault, determined to see her dead tonight. Therefore, she had to seize every possible chance of survival!

Seeing her consent, the bodyguard pointed. "The garage is that way."

Reaching it required traversing half the villa, and no one knew what they might encounter along the way. Nor did anyone know how many of those mysterious attackers had infiltrated the grounds. Whether they chose to make a run for it or stay put, danger lurked at every turn.

BANG, BANG!

Just then, a beam of light swept over them, immediately followed by a succession of gunshots. The silenced weapons produced a muffled thud, yet the sound was exceptionally clear in the silent Nyx.

Someone grabbed Chloe and pulled her directly into an adjacent room, separating her from Fiona and the two bodyguards who ended up on the other side of the corridor.

"Chloe..." Fiona’s urgent gasp echoed briefly before she slapped a hand over her own mouth, trailing closely behind the bodyguards.

"You go!" The two bodyguards immediately split up; one sprinted in Chloe’s direction, while the other quickly ushered Fiona off to find a hiding spot.

Flashlight beams constantly crisscrossed throughout the villa. The dense cluster of lights was deeply unnerving, as each beam represented an assailant.

Watching the flickering lights outside the window, Chloe’s heart sank like a stone. She guessed they must have deployed at least a few dozen men. Laughing self-deprecatingly, she wondered if she was truly that hard to kill in Vera Holloway’s eyes.

Preston watched her and whispered, "The fact that you can still smile at a time like this tells me you aren’t all that scared."

Chloe looked back at him and simply mouthed the words, "Aren’t you scared?"

Keeping his eyes fixed on her, Preston managed to decipher her question. He grasped her hand. "Can you feel that? I’m already terrified enough to be breaking out in a cold sweat. But what good does fear do?"

Chloe squeezed his hand, replying in the softest of whispers, "I’m sorry." She knew she had dragged him into this mess.

"Now isn’t the time for that," Preston said. "We’re going to get out of here safely, and when we do, you’ll have to make it up to me."

"Yeah." Chloe nodded. That was her plan, too.

The lights outside the window continued to dart around; the attackers had already begun a systematic sweep of the area. They couldn’t stay in this room forever. Sooner or later, they would be found.