Freddy answered Joanna’s call. Her voice on the other end was sharp and urgent. “Go to Sylvia’s place now.”
Freddy’s heart sank as he instantly realized Joanna was up to no good with Sylvia.
A crushing weight pressed on Freddy’s chest. He could barely breathe. He had no idea what to do.
After an agonizing struggle, he finally mounted his motorcycle and rode toward Sylvia’s villa.
As night fell, the dim yellow streetlights cast a faint glow.
A black sedan screeched to a halt. Joanna, in her black uniform, hurried out and warily scanned the area.
Freddy recognized her and stepped forward from under the dim streetlight.
Without any pleasantries, Joanna grabbed a gas can from the car, pointed at Sylvia’s house, and ordered coldly, “Freddy, now it’s your turn.”
The loathing Joanna harbored for Sylvia was all–consuming, a venomous serpent coiling and spreading through her heart.
Joanna glared fiercely at Sylvia’s house, a cold, sinister glint flashing in her eyes, determined to have Freddy commit arson right here.
Even if this fire couldn’t kill Sylvia, it would make her life a living hell, let her experience every torment imaginable.
At that moment, Freddy hesitated, clutching the gas can so tightly that cold sweat broke out on his palms.
Thinking of all the help Sylvia had given him these past months, Freddy felt a pang of guilt creeping into his heart?
After handing the gas can to Freddy, Joanna, clearly not wanting to get involved any further, quickly turned on her heel and headed straight back to her
car.
At that very moment, Freddy suddenly made up his mind and shouted, “Wait.”
Joanna turned back, clearly irritated. “What is it?” she snapped.
Freddy walked to his motorcycle by the roadside, opened the compartment, and took out a bag. He handed it to Joanna and said firmly, “Ms. Moore, here’s the deposit you gave me. I’m returning it. I can’t do something so immoral.”
Joanna’s face darkened instantly. She violently snatched the bag from Freddy and snapped, “Freddy, have you lost your mind? Do you even realize what you’re doing?”
“I’m out,” Freddy said firmly. “Sylvia’s helped me too much. I won’t betray her like this.”
Joanna snapped harshly, “Freddy, don’t you forget the debt you owe me. If it weren’t for me rescuing you siblings would’ve killed you by now.”
our mom from the Colon family, your
Freddy fell silent for a moment, then looked up with steely determination in his eyes. “I know, and I’ve always been grateful to you.
“But I can’t harm someone else just because you’ve helped me. Especially when that person is Sylvia. She’s been there for me too, and I won’t stand by and let you harm her.”
Joanna’s face twisted with rage as she grabbed Freddy by the collar, snarling through gritted teeth, “Freddy, you ungrateful bastard, are you doing this or not? If not, I’ll find someone else, and when that happens, Sylvia will suffer a fate worse than death.”
Upon hearing that Joanna still refused to back down and was even planning to send someone else after Sylvia, Freddy’s fury erupted like a volcano, unstoppable and all–consuming.
Freddy snatched up the gas can and huried its contents at Joanna. Gasoline cascaded down like a waterfall, drenching her from head to toe.
1/3
Chapter 167
Gritting his teeth, Freddy pointed at Joanna. “Go ahead, and try it. If you so much as touch her, I’ll fight you to the death.”
Joanna turned pale, drenched in gasoline and utterly terrified. One spark, and she’d go up in flames.
“Freddy, you’re insane, absolutely insane.” Joanna shrieked in panic, frantically shaking gasoline off her clothes as she bolted into the car.
She slammed the accelerator and sped away, desperate to wash off the flammable liquid before disaster struck.
Freddy watched as Joanna fled, his resolve hardening with every step she took. ‘Right, I must never hurt her again. And I won’t allow Joanna to hurt her either. Because I owe her, he wondered.
Freddy grabbed a bag of bread from his motorcycle, crossed the street to the park, and sat down on a bench. Silently chewing on the bread, he kept his eyes locked on Sylvia’s house.
The night breeze ruffled his hair, but Freddy didn’t notice. All he could think about was one thing, keeping Sylvia safe.
At that moment, Sylvia tore her gaze from the home surveillance monitor, stepped outside, and found Freddy in the park. “You just met with Joanna?” she demanded sharply.
Freddy didn’t deny it. He just nodded.
Sylvia demanded, “What did she ask you to do?”
“Nothing much,” Freddy shrugged. Though he hadn’t agreed to Joanna’s request, he couldn’t bring himself to sell her out, not after everything she’d done for him.
The surveillance camera at Sylvia’s residence captured Joanna’s car passing by and recorded footage of their heated argument.
From the lingering smell of gasoline, Sylvia instantly figured out what Joanna wanted Freddy to do.
“Turn Joanna in for me,” Sylvia said icily.
Freddy refused without hesitation. “No way.”
Sylvia asked, “You really won’t?”
“No,” Freddy said, his voice rock–solid with determination.
Sylvia’s eyes blazed with fury. “Fine. In that case, stay the hell away from me. And stop following me.”
Freddy let out a frustrated grunt, stubborn as ever. “No.”
Though he refused to expose Joanna, his resolve to protect Sylvia never wavered.
Back at her villa, Sylvia was seething with anger. She resolved to ignore Freddy from now on.
Before going to bed, Sylvia routinely checked the security cameras only to find Freddy sitting at her villa’s entrance, chewing on bread like a silent sentinel keeping vigil through the night.
The night grew deeper and the wind stronger. Sylvia expected him to leave soon, but he remained there, keeping watch until around 2 a.m., when he finally nodded off in the corner by the wall,
The next morning, as Sylvia opened the door to take Zack and Ruby to school, Freddy was still standing guard outside.
Freddy glanced up at Sylvia, stretched with a tired yawn, then picked up the half–eaten bread and ambled toward his motorcycle.
“Mommy, who’s that?” Ruby and Zack asked curiously.
2/3
Chapter 167
“Never mind him.” Sylvia drove the kids to school, with Freddy tailing closely on his motorcycle.
He swore to protect Sylvia, and nothing was going to stop him, not even if she tried to kick him out.
After dropping the kids off, Sylvia drove to the set, with Freddy shadowing her all the way.
“Freddy, you’re not needed here,” Sylvia said coldly.
Freddy pouted, “But you promised yesterday I could work on set.”
He quickly tracked down Henry and talked his way into working as the script supervisor.
Sylvia was at her wit’s end with him.
Sylvia tried to get Freddy to expose Joanna as the mastermind, but he refused. Instead, he stuck to her side like a shadow, never letting her out of his sight.
….
At noon, Sylvia went to a pasta house for lunch. Two drunk men noticed her graceful figure, licked their lips, and staggered over to harass her. One of them slurred, “Hey, sweetheart, come have a drink with us. We’ll cover your tab.”
Another one, emboldened by alcohol, reached out to grope Sylvia’s face.
Just then, Freddy stormed over, his face dark with fury. In one swift motion, he grabbed the two drunkards and slammed them hard onto the ground.
