Before she had a chance to ask for the specific reason, the rope that bound her hands and feet was cut by Brandon with a knife.
Amelia thought Brandon would let her go, but she didn't expect him to suddenly turn the blade and point the sharp tip of the knife at her neck.
Then, a majestic voice came from above her head, "Ms. Garcia, your neck is very slender. If I make a cut, it should be able to sever it, right?"
As the cold blade sliced through her skin, Amelia's forehead broke out in a cold sweat that rolled down her face...
But she forced herself to remain calm and lifted her gaze to the middle-aged man above her.
"Mr. Moore, I don't know who he is. I really don't know. Even if you kill me, I won't be able to tell you. Why bother making things difficult for me?"
She spoke words of submission, but her eyes revealed a resolute expression.
No matter who it was, they couldn't pry the whereabouts of Mr. Shawn from her mouth.
She was determined to protect James and would not let him suffer any harm, even if she was threatened, she had no fear!
Brandon realized that she was still being stubborn, and knew that she must have guessed that he wouldn't kill her, which was why she refused to admit it.
It seemed that she needed to suffer a bit, after all, when people felt desperate, they would naturally choose to survive...
Brandon waved his hand and a man with a scar on his face immediately understood. He ordered someone to bring a huge water tank filled with water...
Before Amelia could react to what they were doing, someone held the back of her head and pushed her into the water tank.
The feeling of suffocation and lack of oxygen invaded her, making it difficult for her to breathe. In just a short minute, her face turned pale.
However, Brandon showed no intention of stopping, and was even interested, smoking a cigar and laughing as he watched her.
"Ms. Garcia, your lung capacity is not bad. You managed to hold on for so long. Impressive," said Brandon.
Amelia couldn't hear a word he said. All she saw in front of her were bubbles she couldn't exhale due to the lack of air...
As she struggled with all her might, her hands gradually lost strength. Before she lost consciousness, her life experiences flashed before her eyes...
The tragic, the joyous, the times she was loved, all of it passed quickly. She had no regrets, except for not being able to fulfill her promise to marry James...
Just as she was about to pass out from lack of oxygen, the door of the wooden hut was kicked open.
A man appeared outside the door, with a magnificent figure and a noble temperament, like an unreachable star.
However, the star was now shrouded in murderous rage. His breath alone was enough to devour bones and drink blood.
When he saw Amelia, who appeared lifeless and submerged in the water tank, his bloodthirsty eyes suddenly ignited with towering anger!
The person guarding the door, seeing him break in, raised an iron rod, intending to knock him out...
As the iron rod was about to strike, his wrist was caught. The sound of bones breaking immediately followed.
The next second, the iron rod in his hand was taken away by the man. With just one strike, the gatekeeper's eyes rolled back and he completely lost consciousness...
Others noticed and rushed over, but were knocked out one by one by the red-eyed and fierce-looking James!
In just a few tens of seconds, he ran from the entrance to the scar-faced man and broke the hand that was holding Amelia's head with a single strike.
He immediately reached out his long arm, pulling Amelia out of the water. When he felt her icy cold body, his heart trembled violently...
He raised his trembling fingers to check her breath, but saw her suddenly coughing and spitting out several mouthfuls of water...
James breathed a sigh of relief and hugged her tightly in his arms, kissing her forehead.
"Amelia, I'm here, you don't have to be afraid anymore..."
He would make those who hurt her pay a painful price!
Amelia held her chest, struggling to breathe as she looked up at James.
"You..."
Before she could finish her sentence, a man holding a knife rushed at James from behind.
"Be careful!"
With lightning-fast reflexes, James swung the iron rod in his hand and struck the man behind him hard!
The man, who was hit in the vital point of the abdomen, couldn't even hold onto his knife and fell to the ground in agony.
The others rushed at James, thinking they could overpower him, but they were no match for his quick and fluid movements!
He protected Amelia with one hand while unleashing the full force of his strength with the iron rod to take on as many attackers as came his way.
His movements were so fluid that he didn't even blink, and the aura of his power made the people around him tremble in fear...
Meanwhile, Brandon, who was being protected from a distance, calmly smoked his cigar as he watched James' innate strength.
In the past, Brandon would always regard James highly, and never dared to easily offend him.
But James abandoned his daughter for a cheap woman who looked like Emily, and even retaliated by acquiring Moore Group!
How could he still hold onto this backstabber, going from a full-fledged chairman to an executive director?
Brandon crushed the cigar he had just smoked underfoot, and looked up at James with cold hostility...
Since he couldn't find Mr. Shawn, he would first take care of James. After all, these people were all his enemies!
He squinted his dangerous eyes and raised his chin towards the scarred man. "Bring all the people outside in!"
Even though James was a lone wolf who was good at fighting, he couldn't possibly beat the group of professional bodyguards that Brandon had hired!
Amelia saw a new batch of bodyguards rushing into the cabin, and her worries and fears instantly surged.
The man who was fighting seemed to sense her unease, and subconsciously held her hand with a bit of force.
Amelia also tightened her grip on his hand and tried to keep
herself calm, not wanting to affect him.
He had already cleared a path and could have taken Amelia to escape, but they were surrounded by a constant influx of bodyguards.
Even though James was skilled in fighting, he couldn't withstand the overwhelming number of people. The longer the fight dragged on, the faster he became exhausted...
On top of that, his headaches had started to become uncontrollable, tearing through him with excruciating pain that made it difficult for him to focus.
To make matters worse, the bodyguards suddenly shifted their focus onto Amelia, constantly surrounding her and trying to harm her.
Seeing this, James had no time to worry about himself, he only protected Amelia, afraid that these people would hurt her in the slightest...
He had found this place based on his intuition, but in his haste, he forgot to notify Zack and the others, so there was no one coming to rescue them.
James' face, once unwavering, gradually became cold as he tried to quickly take care of the attackers, but more and more people kept coming in.
As he turned to swiftly kick away the bodyguard attacking Amelia, a metal rod hit him in the back...
Amelia, who was tightly held in his arms, trembled with worry as she saw him being hit with a stick. She held onto his hand tightly, her eyes full of concern.
"James, you have to go!" She would rather be killed by Brandon than let him get hurt for her sake!
But how could James, who loved her more than life, abandon her and leave alone? He gave her a reassuring look, then quickly turned around, his eyes revealing a murderous intent as he swung the stick towards the attacker's head!
Unfortunately, there were just too many people. As soon as he took care of one, another one picked up a metal bar and hit him hard on the back of the head!
At that moment, the world suddenly went quiet, and he could barely make out the scenery or colors before him. He even felt as if... he couldn't see anything at all.
In a moment of distraction, James was hit with consecutive
strikes to his back. Amelia was frightened and immediately let go of his hand, wanting to block the hits for him.
However, James regained his senses and grabbed her wrist,
circling her against the wooden door while using his body as a
shield against the attacks.
While he held her close, someone suddenly stabbed him in the
back with a sharp knife...
James groaned, and then a slender hand pressed against
Amelia's head, preventing her from looking up to see his
condition.
"Amelia, just wait a little longer, someone will come to save you
soon..."
Zack was highly efficient and he would definitely come quickly. As long as he protected Amelia, she could safely leave this place.
He said "save you," he didn't say "save us," which made Amelia's face turn pale and her whole body tremble.
She struggled to touch his back, but he held her tightly in his arms, his thick eyelashes hanging low with a deep affection for
her.
"Amelia, I'm fine. Don't worry..."
As soon as he finished speaking, another iron rod struck hard on his head. The sharp metal piercing through his forehead.
Blood quickly stained his hair, dripping down his forehead and rolling down his handsome cheeks.
The hot and bright blood dripping onto Amelia's head and face scared her to the point of losing her strength in her legs.
She used her fingers, which were imprisoned above her chest, to touch the blood that had soaked her face.
The warm blood seemed to stimulate her visual nerves, making her crazy, struggling to break free, and looking up at the man in front of her.
He was covered in blood, and his deep and clear eyes were fixed on her in his arms.
"Don't look, Amelia, it will scare you," he said.
But his back was stabbed again.
His face suddenly turned pale, as if his vital points had been hit, causing the hands that held her to tremble uncontrollably...
Amelia saw how James risked his life to protect her and her heart. skipped a beat. She started to feel teary, and tears streamed down her face...
"James, you can escape by yourself. Please, I beg you. Go, don't worry about me..." she pleaded.
But James shook his head and held her tightly in his arms, not letting anyone harm her.
Just when James was willing to sacrifice himself, the door of the wooden house suddenly burst open with a kick...
With a black gun in his hand, Aaron stepped in wearing his military boots with a steady stride.
He didn't hesitate to shoot at whoever was in front of him, not
even blinking his eyes. It seemed like he had done this kind of thing many times before.
Brandon, who had been watching the situation downstairs from
the second floor of the wooden house, frowned when he saw
someone with a gun comes in to save the day.
He was afraid that the person with the gun would catch the mastermind behind this, which was himself. Quickly retreating a few steps, he hid in an unnoticed corner.
James, who couldn't prioritize capturing Brandon first, heard the sound of the reinforcements and slowly turned his head to look...
Through his blurry vision, he saw Aaron rushing toward them, and immediately forced himself up, grasping the iron rod once again.
Aaron arrived at their location quickly, and after locking eyes with James for a second, he said coldly, "Too many people, not enough bullets. I can only take one of you with me..."
As soon as Amelia saw Aaron appear, she felt like she had found new hope. But now, upon hearing that he could only take one person, her heart sank.
After a moment of sadness, she made a quick decision.
"Take him with you!"
However, James made an even quicker decision, pushing her
towards Aaron.
He then used all his strength to hold back the group of people, clearing an escape route for Aaron.
Aaron, who had run out of bullets, quickly threw away his gun and grabbed Amelia's hand, pulling her out of the hut.
But Amelia couldn't leave James behind, even if it meant dying
together...
She desperately tried to break free from Aaron's grip to go back for James, but he lifted her over his shoulder and charged out of the hut.
In that split second, as they ran out, Amelia saw someone wielding an iron rod and viciously striking James' head. Before he fell, his bright eyes slowly met Amelia's gaze, as if confirming that she was safe...
"James... James..."
Amelia's heart-wrenching cries pierced through the silent forest and echoed through the wooden house, striking the
hearts of all who heard it.
However, the man lying on the ground, covered in blood, couldn't hear a thing. All that remained silent.
He was like a dying man, lifting his reddened eyes and gazing through the dense branches at the figure that was getting further and further away from him.
He parted his thin lips, wanting to call out strength and pleading with fear and desperation, "Aaron, let me go, let me save
him, please, let me save him!"
She couldn't imagine what she would become if she lost James.
All she knew was that she had to save him, even if she couldn't, she had to stay by his side.
She wanted to share the same bed with James, live and die together, and never be separated.
"I beg you, let me go find him, even if it means death, I want to be with him..."
She had never said "I love you" to him before. She wanted to go back to tell him.
Amelia was so agitated by his words that she went crazy, "If you don't want me to die, then help me to save him! Without him, I will die as well!"
Aaron carried Amelia and said nonchalantly, "I can't beat them..."
Besides, the previous generation of James' family had taken so much from the Johnson Family. Why should he save James?
He only rushed in earlier to take Amelia away. Otherwise, how could he, with that gun in his hand, bring only one person out?
He wanted James to die there and then.
This would not only avenge the Johnson family, but also allow him to seize Amelia's heart. How perfect.
He abruptly let go of Amelia, and in the moment she turned around to run back, he raised his hand and forcefully struck her neck with a palm!
Without any defense, Amelia didn't even have time to react. Her vision suddenly turned black, and her body went limp, falling straight to the ground...
"You forgot that your family is still in my hands?"
After reminding him, Brandon glanced at the other thugs who were all bowing their heads, unable to meet his gaze. He couldn't help but sneer.
These professional thugs were not only working for money, but also for their families, or else they wouldn't have risked
their lives earlier.
Brandon looked towards the several dead people on the ground who were killed by gunshots, and uttered firmly, "I will give them a decent burial and provide their families with several times
the compensation. At the same time, I'll order their family members to be released. However..."
As the gunshot echoed, a sea of people rushed into the wooden house from outside...
Gunshots rang out one after another. In just a few tens of seconds, the people inside the wooden house were so frightened that they scattered in all directions, trying to protect
Brandon.
"Take care of them all, leave no one behind!"
With his gun in hand, Zack aimed at Brandon's thigh and fired a precise shot before issuing a cold command.
The others obediently replied "yes" and quickly chased after the fleeing people.
He quickly stopped the bleeding, knelt in front of James, checked the time on his wrist, and frowned and waited...
After the bleeding on his back stopped, Zack reached out and pushed James' shoulder.
"Mr. Evans..."
He called out several times in a row, but James still didn't respond. Zack's expression became dull all of a sudden.
Mr. James had suffered much more serious injuries before but recovered quickly, yet now, there was no response.
Could he have injured his brain?
Zack, who was usually calm, stared at the blood on James' forehead, and his deep and clear eyes gradually filled with worry.
The car quickly stopped at the entrance of the hospital where Stella worked. Mr. Brulee, was shocked when he saw James, who was covered in blood.
He quickly calmed down and commanded the medical staff to take James to the emergency room. He then turned to Zack,
who was closely following behind him, and asked, "Where is he injured?"
Zack, clenching his fists and keeping his voice steady, replied, "He has two knife wounds on his back, and his head was hit."
"Notify the surgical doctors to come and handle the knife wounds immediately, and contact the brain specialists to come to the emergency room!"
A group of doctors hurriedly pushed James into the emergency room after receiving orders.
"Mr. Evans' injuries are very serious, fortunately the injuries on his body have not penetrated his organs, timely hemostasis
and treatment is good."
"The brainstem is a fatal injury, and it is necessary to quickly deal with the congestion and perform surgery as soon as possible!"
"The other areas are bruised, and cleaning the wounds of germs will suffice. The impact is relatively small!"
"But multiple surgeries must be performed simultaneously, which is very risky!"
After the surgeons and brain specialists completed their examinations, they quickly reported to Mr. Brulee, letting him make a decision on whether to immediately proceed with the synchronous surgery.
Mr. Brulee thought of James' instructions and hesitated. The off-site guiding Washington dean, however, decisively said,
"Operate the skull immediately!"
Although James had previously instructed not to perform a craniotomy, in this situation, it was necessary to save his life.
As Washington's chief doctor, only he had the authority to make the decision, and Mr. Brulee had to follow his lead and
immediately order the doctors to perform the surgery.
Outside the operating room, Zack clenched his fists and stared at the red light, suddenly remembering that James had
gone to save Amelia.
But when they rushed in, they didn't see her anywhere. If James woke up and realized he hadn't found Amelia...
Zack thought of this and quickly took out his phone, intending to send someone to look for her.
But he saw James' most trusted bodyguards approaching.
The leader of the bodyguards stood before Zack and asked anxiously, "Mr. Zack, how is Mr. Evans now?"
After a brief explanation, Zack asked the Meader of the bodyguards about what had happened. When he learned that they had failed to protect both James and Amelia, he became furious.
"What's wrong with you guys? You lost Ms. Garcia and let Mr. Evans goes on his own. Don't you know that many people want to kill him?"
The leader of the bodyguards hung his head in shame and apologized, "I'm sorry. Mr. Evans asked us to find Ms. Garcia as soon as possible, so I sent all the personnel out. I didn't expect him to go to the coast alone, and he got seriously injured. It was my fault."
Zack scolded the bodyguard furiously and gritted his teeth, "Why are you here if you're not going to find Ms. Garcia? Hurry up and look for her! If Mr. Evans wakes up and doesn't see her, then you will have truly failed!"
After the bodyguards apologized and left the hospital to continue searching for Amelia, Zack called Andrew on the phone.
"Mr. Evans is in trouble, you need to come back!"
He couldn't stay there for too long due to his identity, otherwise, he might be exposed..
As he was about to rush into Erin's villa to fight again, Andrew's face changed drastically when he heard about James' situation.
"I'll be back right away!"
He could not care about Stella at this moment. He threw away his weapon and quickly got into the car, telling the driver to hurry to Imperial Capital's Airport!
When Andrew arrived at the hospital, the surgery had been going on for several hours.
Zack, who had been hiding in the shadows, briefed him on what happened and quickly returned to the cabin to deal with Brandon and his gang who had hurt James.
Andrew took Zack's place and anxiously guarded the door of the operating room while calling Paul on the phone.
Paul, who was in Finland setting up the proposal scene, dropped the bouquet of flowers in his hand when he received
Andrew's call.
Eva saw it and thought he was not working seriously. Just as she was about to reprimand him, she saw his handsome face
turn pale.
Eva put down the flower wreath and stood up, asking Paul, "What happened?"
Paul grabbed Eva's hand and uttered anxiously, "James is seriously injured, the proposal is off. Let's head back as soon as possible!"
Eva's heart skipped a beat and asked, "What happened? Why did he suddenly get injured?"
Paul led her quickly towards the airport and replied, "I don't know yet. Let's go back first..."
Before boarding the plane, Paul intercepted each of the Evans family members who were on their way to Finland, and asked them to hurry to the hospital to check on James' condition.
At Arcadia Hospital, the Evans family who had come in succession and stood on both sides of the operating room in silence, waiting.
As a large family that had weathered various storms, almost everyone remained calm in the face of the unpredictable world,
no matter glory or ruin.
However, from their posture and their focused gaze on the door of the operating room, it was clear that the members of the Evans family was worried about James' safety.
As carts filled with various medicines and blood plasma entered and exited the operating room over the course of several
hours, the family members silently made way for them, not saying a word and standing as still as statues.
At 8 pm, six hours after the surgery began, Mr. Brulee and the chief surgeon walked out of the operating room looking exhausted.
They removed their masks and spoke softly, but everyone could hear them clearly.
"Mr. Evans has two knife wounds on his back, but they're not very serious. The main issue is with his brain. He has suffered three impacts from an external force. Although we cleaned the blood clots in a timely manner, he is still in critical condition. If he doesn't wake up within the next 48 hours, you should be prepared for the possibility of him falling into a deep coma..."
Upon hearing this, Rebecca was in disbelief. The implication of severe coma meant that James would probably be in a
vegetative state!
As the head of the family, if James were to be in a vegetative state, who would take control of the powerful Evans Family?
How could their grandfather, who was recuperating in Italy, bear the news that the family heir he had nurtured had become like
this?
Rebecca looked at Mr. Brulee incredulously, but he dared not look her in the eye. She had a sense that something was amiss.
Rebecca stepped forward in her high heels, and with a commanding presence, she pressed Mr. Brulee, "Are you hiding something from us?"
Mr. Brulee remembered James' instructions and shook his head hastily. Rebecca, however, was not convinced, and in a cold voice, she demanded, "Either you tell me now, or I'll send someone to investigate. But if you choose the latter, your career will end here and now!"
Under the pressure of Rebecca's forceful voice, Mr. Brulee's gloved hand began to tremble uncontrollably.
So many doctors and nurses had participated in the surgery, it was unlikely that the truth could be hidden for long.
After a moment of thought, Mr. Brulee finally chose to tell them the truth.
"I previously examined Mr. Evans and found that he had a brain disease, a deep-seated intracranial tumor. Surgery would carry the risk of coma and hemiplegia, but Mr. Evans refused to undergo surgery and opted for conservative treatment. He also forbade me from telling anyone."
"In order to prevent everyone from worrying, he chose to go to Washington for treatment. We just communicated with the Washington hospital director and decided to perform a tumor resection surgery for Mr. Evans while handling the hematoma. Currently, the surgery has achieved the expected results, but due to his severe injuries, it may be difficult to wake up..."
The words "brain disease" reminded the members of the Evans family of their eldest brother, Simon, who passed away years ago due to a brain disease.
They never thought that after all these years, James would also be diagnosed with a brain disease, specifically an intracranial
tumor.
What was worse, he chose to hide his condition and refused to undergo surgery.
If it weren't for this accident, the Evans family would have remained ignorant of the situation.
Upon hearing all of this, the usually composed and mature Rebecca was filled with anger.
"This is simply ridiculous!" she exclaimed.
She furrowed her brows and asked Mr. Brulee, "Are you saying that because he has a brain tumor and was hit by an external force, he can't wake up?"
Mr. Brulee lowered his head and honestly replied, "Medical judgment suggests that if he doesn't wake up within 48 hours, it's highly likely he's as good as dead. Even if he wakes up, there's a high chance of recurrence..."
Rebecca's heart sank, fear gradually invading her exquisite and elegant face, but she quickly steadied herself, "My little brother has been through injuries since childhood and he has always pulled through, it's just a tumor, it'll be okay!"
After she calmly finished speaking, she turned to look at Andrew, who was standing outside the operating room, his face full of worry. "Where's Ms. Garcia?"
Her younger brother loved Amelia like his own life, and with her around, he can definitely pull through.
Andrew explained to Rebecca how Brandon had sent people to abduct Amelia, and how James had been injured while trying to
rescue her.
"Our bodyguards are still searching for Ms. Garcia, but we don't know exactly where she was taken," Andrew explained.
Rebecca was quick to react and asked Andrew, "Why did Brandon abduct Ms. Garcia?"
Though he was a little nervous in front of Rebecca, he remained calm and analyzed the situation.
"Mr. Moore probably did it as revenge for Mr. Evans' acquisition of Moore Group."
He didn't tell Rebecca that Brandon kidnapped Amelia to locate Mr. Shawn. He just explained it as revenge.
The members of the Evans family were unaware of James' other identity and the fact that he was groomed by Organization
S since childhood. Thus, Andrew kept it hidden.
The reason he knew the true purpose behind Brandon's kidnapping of Amelia was that James had previously instructed him to modify some information and had mentioned that the scarred man was inquiring Mr. Shawn's whereabouts.
When Zack mentioned the scarred man again, Andrew had guessed that this group of people kidnapped Amelia to locate Mr. Shawn. However, he didn't expect that the mastermind behind it all was Brandon.
Andrew speculated that Brandon probably discovered Mr. Shawn's whereabouts through investigating the disappearance of Emily.
Andrew understood the cause and effect of the situation clearly, but he didn't mention anything and only gave a simple answer, leaving everything else to Rebecca's deductions.
After hearing it, Rebecca's eyes flashed with a hint of fierceness.
Then, she quickly turned around and looked at the members of the Evans family who were guarding outside the operating room.
"Christopher, send all the relatives of Brandon who works in Moore Group to the police station on charges of bribery!"
"Sebastian, immediately block the news of the injuries of James. Don't let anyone or the media know about it!"
"Liam, no matter whether Grandfather can handle it or not, notify him as soon as possible and let him come back quickly!"
First of all, whoever dared to bully the Evans family must weigh the consequences!
Secondly, since James took over, he had offended too many people with his ruthless methods, and outsiders should not know his situation.
Thirdly, Simon had also suffered from a sudden brain disease and fell into a coma. Everyone was afraid that their grandfather would worry, so they deliberately kept it from him, resulting in him not being able to even see Simon for the last time.
Although Mr. Brulee said that James was 100% in a coma, who could guarantee that there would be no sudden changes? Just like Simon, who woke up from a coma, but eventually passed away all of a sudden.
Once Rebecca gave the order, her younger brothers followed her instructions without hesitation.