Chapter 320: Help! Help Me
The Blackwood Group building had thirty floors. The eighteenth floor housed some of the Marketing Department’s operations.
Most of the staff were usually out on calls, so the floor was quiet now.
Ivy Sherwood texted Anna Nash: "I’m here."
"Now, turn left, then right at the end of the hall. Take the next left."
The Blackwood Group building was massive, with numerous corridors on every floor. Ivy Sherwood followed Anna Nash’s directions to a room that looked like a conference room. The blinds were all drawn, making it impossible to see inside.
"The box is in that conference room."
Ivy glanced around, placed her hand on the doorknob, and opened the door. Sure enough, she saw a box inside.
’My mother’s ashes!’
Ivy walked right in. The next second, a man in a janitor’s uniform lunged from behind the door. He was holding a knife and thrust it straight at her.
The blade was aimed directly at Ivy’s heart.
If that knife found its mark, Ivy would likely die on the spot.
But at that very moment, a gunshot echoed through the office, accompanied by a bloodcurdling scream: "AH!"
The knife clattered to the ground, its cold steel glinting under the lights as it struck the floor.
Ivy turned to see the man less than a step away—not even half a meter—and the knife lying right at her heel.
It had missed piercing her body by a hair’s breadth.
A cold sweat broke out over Ivy. Gideon Gordon hadn’t expected anyone to follow her. Ignoring the pain from his gunshot wound, he grabbed Ivy’s neck with his other hand and glared at Elijah Hawthorne, who stood in the doorway holding a gun.
"Don’t come any closer! One more step and I’ll strangle her!"
Elijah Hawthorne seemed utterly unfazed by the scene. He strode into the room. Using Ivy as a human shield, Gideon backed away step by step.
"Elijah Hawthorne?" Ivy didn’t know why Elijah was here.
’If it were anyone else holding a gun, this would be a horror movie. But for Elijah Hawthorne to be holding one... it somehow seemed plausible.’
The smell of blood filled the air as it dripped from the back of Gideon’s hand, one drop at a time.
It was the first time Ivy had seen a real gun, and her forehead was beaded with cold sweat.
Gideon could feel the powerful aura coming off this man. And he had a gun. What kind of person casually carried a gun?
He’d assumed the man was here to rescue the woman, but to his surprise, the man pulled out a chair and sat down, casually toying with the gun in his hand.
"Oh, really? Go on then. Choke her. Let me see you do it."
’This wasn’t part of the plan at all.’ His plan with Anna Nash had been simple: lure Ivy upstairs, then Gideon would stab her to death and leave.
He was wearing a janitor’s uniform and a mask. He could just take off the clothes in the restroom and disappear without a trace.
Few people ever came to this part of the floor. By the time Ivy was discovered, she would have already bled to death.
’Who would have thought some man would follow her, and a formidable-looking one at that?’
’Didn’t Anna say Ivy would be coming up alone? Who the hell is this guy?!’
Ivy wasn’t a fool. Though the man was holding her, his gaze and attention were fixed entirely on Elijah Hawthorne.
So Ivy waited for the right moment, then aimed for the man’s bleeding hand, squeezing the gunshot wound with all her might!
"AH!" This howl was even more piercing than the last.
The searing pain made his whole body tremble. His grip on Ivy’s neck loosened, and she seized the opportunity to break free.
Ivy then kicked Gideon hard before running to hide behind Elijah Hawthorne.
Gideon couldn’t believe it. Instead of being scared, Ivy had found an opportunity to attack him.
He started to lunge after her when—BANG! Another gunshot rang out, followed by a THUD.
"AH!"
This time, the bullet hit Gideon’s leg, and he collapsed, clutching his thigh.
Blood began to pool around his leg, and he writhed on the floor in agony.
"Are the police on their way?" Elijah asked Ivy.
Ivy heard a voice from her earpiece: "They’ve been called."
It finally clicked for Ivy. ’So Elijah Hawthorne is here because of Quentin Blackwood!’
’Quentin must have known Anna Nash wouldn’t hand over the ashes that easily. He must have guessed something would happen up here. He told me to come up without worry because Elijah would be following me!’
’But aren’t Elijah and Quentin mortal enemies? Why would he help?’
At that moment, the police had already arrived downstairs. In her car not far from the company entrance, Anna Nash’s heart leaped into her throat. ’How did the police get here so fast?’
She had no idea what was happening inside. According to the plan, Gideon should have succeeded by now.
’Was he discovered so quickly? Did someone call the police?’
Since getting together with Silas Blackwood, Anna had come into a lot of money, and she had given a considerable amount to Gideon recently.
Gideon was the type who’d been in and out of jail and had plenty of vices. He’d taken the money and gambled it all away in no time.
He had been constantly hitting Anna up for more cash. After all, he knew all her secrets. ’The baby in her belly is even his.’
So Anna had told him to get rid of Ivy in exchange for a huge sum of money, leading the two of them to concoct this scheme.
Anna wanted to use Gideon’s hand to kill Ivy. The woman knew too much; she was Anna’s biggest threat!
Sitting in her car, Anna’s palms were slick with sweat.
The police quickly went upstairs, heading straight for the eighteenth floor, where they found Gideon near death on the ground and immediately called for an ambulance.
"Nobody move! What happened here?"
Seeing the police now was like seeing a savior. "Help me! Help me!" Gideon cried.
Elijah Hawthorne was completely unruffled, even cooperative. "We’ll cooperate with the investigation."
Ivy clutched the box. She had opened it and confirmed it contained ashes, but she wasn’t sure if they were her mother’s. Quentin had said he knew a friend who could run a test.
With such a major incident, Caleb Blackwood had of course been notified. Many of the other employees were terrified. Who would have thought a shooting would happen here?
A short while later, Anna, still waiting downstairs, saw Ivy walk out completely unharmed. The person being carried out on a stretcher was Gideon.
Her heart sank. Her eyes widened in disbelief. Ivy was still alive, which meant their plan had failed.
’How is this woman so lucky? How could she have possibly taken down Gideon?’
She knew how strong Gideon was. A delicate girl like Ivy with her slender arms and legs should have been no match for him.
’Still, it would be even better if Ivy had actually killed Gideon.’
’Gideon knows too much, and I was just worrying about how to get rid of him. This way, Ivy would be a murderer and have to go to prison. It’s killing two birds with one stone!’
Anna was even starting to feel a secret thrill. Those two were such a huge threat to her. It would be perfect if they both just disappeared from the face of the earth.