“Myra, get out of the mountains!”
“Don’t harm Mr. Brown!”
“You poisonous woman!”
The shouts grew louder and louder.
The village chief led the way, banging forcefully on my door.
“Mrs, Brown, come out!”
“You must immediately apologize to your husband and Lucy!”
“Restore aid to our village immediately!”
His voice was filled with righteous threats.
“Otherwise, we can't guarantee your safety here!”
I stood behind the door, ignoring him.
I took out my phone and dialed the emergency number.
The signal bar on the screen was empty.
The signal in the mountains was unreliable and the call couldn't go through.
My silence completely enraged the people outside the door.
“Break it down!”
Bang!
Wood chips flew everywhere, the door lock was broken and the door was pushed open with a loud bang.
A group of people rushed in.
The air was thick with anger, faces were angry and hands were rough.
Someone grabbed my arm and tried to push me to the ground.
“Kneel down and apologize to Mr. Brown!”
I struggled desperately, my vision a blur of chaos.
I clutched the object in my arms tightly.
It was the only Ultraman toy my son had left behind before he went missing.
In the chaos, a burly villager shoved me violently to the ground.
I fell to the ground and the Ultraman toy slipped from my grasp.
A mud-covered foot stomped down on it.
I looked at the pile of colorful fragments on the ground—it was my son's most cherished possession.
I couldn't hear any sounds, only saw those people still with their mouths open.
Just then, the crowd parted to make a path.
Samuel entered with Lucy.
He looked down at me in my disheveled state, his lips curled into a fake expression of pity.
He spoke in a feigned tone of persuasion, “Myra, why bother? Just apologize and we can still be a family.”
I pushed myself up from the ground, crawling slowly from the pile of shards.
I raised my hand to wipe the blood from the corner of my mouth.
I didn’t look at him; my gaze passed over him and fixed on the villagers behind him, filled with righteous indignation.
I raised my phone. I pressed play.
“When the time comes, surround her, pressure her, scold her and make a big deal out of it.”
Next came the village chief’s fawning voice. “Mr. Brown, rest assured, I understand.”
Samuel’s voice sounded again. “Once the media arrives, she’ll have to submit for the sake of her reputation and the foundation’s stock price. At that point, control of the foundation will return to my hands…”
The noisy crowd fell silent in an instant.
Everyone froze in place, staring disbelievingly at the phone in my hand, then at Samuel.
