Chapter 266 Self-protection


    A man aimed his weapon at Maria, and she held up her hands calmly. The man approached until he


    was close enough to press his gun against her head. "If you move an inch, I''ll shoot you," he hissed.


    There was a man in the center of the store; he seemed to be the leader. Walking up to the group of


    trembling women, he demanded, "Who is Judy Lan? And who is Alina Tang?"


    The two women, at the mention of their names, trembled in fear. ine pointed a shaky finger at


    Judy. "She''s Judy Lan."


    The manughed, sending shivers down their spines. "Now that I have Mr. Xi''s mother and fiancee,


    I''ll ask the Xi family to give me two billion dors."


    Maria watched the scene in silence, not daring to act rashly.


    From the corner of her eye, she studied the gangster holding a gun to her head. He had a ck silk


    stocking on his head, concealing his facial features. But it was easy to see he was muscr, and


    Maria figured he was a skilled fighter. Her mind raced, trying to find a way to contact James without


    the gangster noticing.


    But perhaps she might not need to. The store was near the HL Group. James was most likely on his


    way already, and would arrive there shortly.


    The gangster took out Judy''s phone from her bag and shoved it into her hands. "Make the call now!


    Two billion dors, not a penny less!"


    Judy was trembling violently. It was obvious she was about to cry. Holding the phone in her hands


    gingerly, she said in a shaky voice, "Okay."


    Just as she unlocked her phone, they heard a ruckus from outside. Secondster, a man strode into


    the store.


    Immediately, several weapons swung about to face him.


    When the gangsters saw who it was, their expressions hardened. Judy''s shaking hands lost their


    grip on her phone and it ttered to the marble floor with a loud crack.


    "James Xi!" The gangsters started to panic.


    In the heat of the moment, the goons guarding Alina and Judy pressed daggers against their necks,


    their eyes darting wildly.


    The man at the door nced at everyone unhurriedly as though he was on a leisurely stroll. When


    his eyes fell on Maria, he paused for a bit before looking somewhere else. Then he took a few steps


    forward, regardless of the gangsters'' jeers. "I am James Xi. If you want something,e to me. Let


    go of the women."


    The leader sneered. "We want two billion dors!"


    James frowned. "So this is a hostage taking?"


    "Will you give it to me or not? You’re rich, I''m sure two billion is spare change for you. If you don''t


    give it to me, I''ll kill them!"


    "I need time to prepare the cash." There was no trace of panic on James'' face. It was as though he


    was addressing a regr client.


    "Have it ready by tonight. And don''t even try to get clever with me. You have a bank, two billion in


    cash shouldn''t be difficult for you."


    James nodded. "It won''t be. Now, let them go." His cold gazended on the two women in the


    gangsters'' hands.


    Of course, the kidnappers were not stupid. "Well take a hostage first. I''ll release her as soon as we


    get the money. Pick which one we should release."


    "Let her go," James said without hesitation, pointing at Judy.


    Judy almost burst into tears. She couldn''t believe James chose her.


    Of course, Miranda wasn''t going to sit by and watch her daughter get taken away as a hostage. "Mr.


    Xi, Alina is still a virgin. If something happens to her, the consequences will be dire."


    Before James could react, ine bolted towards Maria.


    The gangster in the lead snapped, "What do you think you''re doing? Take one more step and I''ll


    fucking kill you!"


    Seeing her despicable mother closing in on her, Maria eyed her vigntly.


    Finally, ine stopped right in front of Maria, staring at her stonily. "Maria Song, don''t you know


    Kung Fu? You can defend yourself. Alina is weak. If something happens to her, she won''t even be


    able to protect herself." Then she said to the gangster standing next to Maria, "Kidnap her instead!


    She''s James'' ex-wife!"


    Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.


    Maria frowned deeply as strange emotions surged within her. Her own biological mother offered her


    as a hostage to the gangsters. What a crazy bitch!


    After a slight pause, Maria smiled. "Should I be the one taken as hostage just because I know Kung


    Fu? What''s up with your logic, Mrs. Song?"


    But despite her words, a cold dagger was pressed against her neck. The leader announced, "I don''t


    care what she knows. We just want the money. I''ll give you one day."


    Maria craned her neck carefully, feeling the coldness of the de on her skin. She turned to look at


    James. Their eyes met, but he said nothing.


    She realized he had no problem with it.


    As expected, the gangsters let go of Judy and Alina. With that, Maria was the sole person left in the


    shop with a gun pointed at her and a dagger pressed against her.


    Maria smiled bitterly. When she called James, she wanted him to protect her and her baby. Never in


    her wildest dreams did she think he would cause her such danger instead.


    A man rushed in from the outside. "Hurry up! Someone called the police."


    "Go!"


    Maria was shoved roughly by the man. She was forced to exit the shop with them.


    When they walked by James, James could see the tears in Maria''s eyes, as well as the hatred in


    them.


    James remembered what Maria had said before. "Why should it, when during my lowest, you were


    on their side?"


    As they locked eyes, James said, "I won''t let anything happen to you."


    However, Maria just sneered and ignored him.


    When they brushed past each other, a tear fell from the woman''s eye.


    As soon as James turned around to watch them leave, he saw the tear drop.


    He pursed his lips and watched their receding figures in silence.


    Minutester, the police arrived. It was James who had called them over before walking into the


    shop.


    With the police swarming the ce, he picked up his phone to make arrangements to gather the


    money.


    Then, he ordered his men to locate Maria. However, when they arrived at the location Maria was


    supposed to be, they found the ce empty.


    Apparently, Maria had managed to escape the gangsters'' grasp.


    It was not until James and his men caught one of the goons that they found out how Maria found an


    opportunity to beat them up, managing to escape by herself.


    An hour past midnight, James'' car parked outside the Golden Mansion. He waited and in car,


    watching the lights in her apartment go out.


    Then he got out of the car and strode into the elevator.


    He entered the password and pushed the door open. It was pitch ck inside the apartment.


    Despite the fact that Maria had gone through lengths to keep the password a secret from him, he


    found it out easily.


    Maria heard the door of the apartment swinging open. She immediately knew who it was.


    A couple of footstepster, the bedroom door was pushed open, and a tall figure walked in.


    He stopped by the bed and turned on the bedsidemp.


    The woman was lying in the bed, staring at the man expressionlessly. "Mr. Xi, I didn''t know you


    were into sneaking into someone else''s home in the middle of the night."


    Her voice was cold and distant.


    James sat on the edge of the bed and began to stroke her forehead and long hair.


    Maria didn''t resist his touch. She didn''t react at all.


    James said slowly, "Didn''t you believe that I could rescue you?"


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