Chapter 201 Smash This ce


    Maria understood then; Judy was behind this.


    And Ronald didn''t even know that he was being used as a pawn.


    Her hunch was correct; it was indeed Judy.


    Judy knew Ronald was impulsive and self-righteous, and paid no attention to the possible


    consequences of his actions. He would never let Maria go.


    And so, Judy had orchestrated an "idental" meeting with him, wherein she asked about her


    sister with false concern. "How is Alina? Is she all right? Did she end up going to Maria Song?"


    "Why would my sister go to that woman?" Ronald asked in confusion.


    "Wasn''t Alina angry with Maria for ruining her engagement ceremony? Weren''t you informed about


    it?"


    At that time, Ronald really didn''t know.


    He had never imagined that Maria had something to do with it.


    He and Judy parted ways not long after.


    He discovered that Maria was often in her coffee shop, so he bought a group of men here.


    Since Maria now knew who was behind this, she decided to face him head on. "So, what are you


    doing here?"


    An evil smile spread on the man''s face. He gestured to his men. "Smash this ce! I will reward the


    person who wreaks the most damage!" "Yes, Mr. Tang!"


    Just as they were about to make their move, Maria jumped to her feet and pounded on the table


    beside her. "Who dares?" she snapped.


    Ronald took two steps toward her. "Wow, you''re still acting so high and mighty, huh? My dear


    cousin, I would love to see just how long you can keep acting tough! Smash this ce, now!"


    What followed was the chaotic sound of sses breaking and furniture getting banged up. The


    shop employees were all detained at the bar counter. Some of Ronald''s men were guarding them


    closely so as to keep them from calling the police.


    Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.


    As the ruckus ensued, Maria strode to the nearest man and pulled him over. Then she proceeded to


    break his arm, topple him over, and kick him to the floor in one fluid motion.


    She found another man and did the same thing. Before she could teach a third one the same


    lesson, however, she felt something cold pressed against her temple.


    The staff back at the bar screamed at the sight of the gun against her head.


    Maria slowly stopped what she was doing. She knew it was a gun, of course. So this was why


    Ronald had been so confident.


    "Well, weren''t you bragging just a while ago? Come on then! Keep at it!" Ronald cocked the


    hammer and put his finger on the trigger.


    People from rich families were always like this, weren''t they? Living in mansions worth hundreds of


    millions and doing whatever the hell they wanted with the weapons at their disposal.


    Maria said nothing.


    Ronald took note of her silence andughed wildly. "Come on! Tie her up!" He was wary of this


    woman''s fighting skills. She didn''t seem fazed by his gun at all. It would be better to tie her up


    before it was toote.


    "Yes, Mr. Tang!"


    Soon enough, Maria''s wrists and ankles were bound tightly.


    So Ronald could actually be smart, too, sometimes. If she had not been tied up, she would have


    definitely kicked his weapon off his hand.


    She said nothing and began to think of a way to get out of this.


    The only option was to ask for help from others.


    She nced at the shop assistant who was the only one standing, winking at him.


    Unfortunately, the man was still badly shaken up by the presence of a gun in the picture. He held his


    head in his hands, trembling and panting in fear.


    "Maria Song, I bet you never expected that a day like this would evere to your life." Ronald


    toyed with his gun as he spoke.


    It really was a handy trinket to carry around. Sure he had to spend a boat load of money to get it,


    but it turned out to be worth every single cent anyway.


    "What the hell do you want to do?"


    "You should be asking what I want you to do. I want you to apologize to Alina and James and swear


    that you''ll never seduce him again."


    Maria narrowed her eyes and kept her mouth shut.


    "Who do you think you are, huh? Are you really going to keep acting like this? I swear, I will make


    you weep!"


    She didn''t seem daunted at all, and it grated at Ronald''s fury.


    Still, Maria didn''t respond.


    Pak! He hit her face.


    Her head was thrown back, and her vision blurred. It took her a moment to return to her senses.


    Ronald was feeling excited now. It was as if all of his evil streaks had been turned on by that one


    act of physical violence.


    "Take this woman away! I will be taking my time torturing her." He wanted to degrade her as much


    as possible.


    Maria shot him a disdainful re. "You''d better make sure you kill me today, Ronald, or you will be


    the one to die!"


    "Don''t worry, Maria. I will fulfill your wish. This will be yourst day alive. Take her to the factory!"


    James was Alina''s fiance; there was nothing in the world that man could not cover up, let alone one


    measly murder.


    "Yes, Mr. Tang."


    As they pulled her to her feet, Maria looked at Mike who was standing behind the bar counter. "Call


    the police and tell James," she mouthed.


    Mike was still rather stunned. He couldn''t figure out what Maria mouthed, but he could tell she


    mentioned James.


    He knew that man was Maria''s good friend anyway, so informing James was probably the right thing


    to do.


    Maria was dragged into a minibus that quickly swept her away from the ce.


    When they were gone, Mike immediately made a run for to HL Group across the road, hell-bent on


    seeing James.


    But he was just another ordinary person. Even if he had known that his target was inside this


    building, it didn''t mean that he could just meet him out of the blue.


    He circled around the gate anxiously for several minutes until a security guard approached him and


    made an inquiry. "Excuse me, sir. Do you have some business here?"


    Mike pounced on this opportunity. "Sir, I work at the coffee shop across the street. Something


    happened to our boss and I need to inform Mr. Xi right away. Is there any way you could let me in?"


    The security staff hesitated for a moment. "You can''t just walk in there, that''s for sure. Wait here for


    a moment, I''ll go ask the receptionist."


    The guard was aware that Maria often came to HL Group, so he wasn''t quick to dismiss Mike, no


    matter how unusual the situation was.


    "Thank you! Thank you so much!" Mike followed him back to the lobby.


    The security staff made a phone call and was eventually transferred to Lorenzo''s line. "Mr. Lan,


    here''s the thing. The boss of the coffee shop across the street has had an ident and her


    employee wants to see Mr. Xi."


    ''Something happened to Maria?'' Lorenzo was quite d to hear that, so he answered calmly, "Mr.


    Xi is busy. He''s not free at this moment."


    "Okay, I see."


    The security personnel hung up and turned to the fidgeting Mike. "Mr. Xi is busy at present. You''d


    better call the police as soon as possible instead."


    Well, someone had already called the police, given the state the shop was in. So there was nothing


    Mike could do at this point.


    He gave his thanks to the security staff, then turned and walked back to the coffee shop.


    He was barely at the door when he ran into a girl eyeing the shop from outside. "Sorry, miss, we''re


    closed today," he said in a disheartened tone.


    The girl looked at him curiously. "Why?"


    "We''re cleaning up the shop. We apologize for the inconvenience."


    "Is Maria here?"