The girls’ parents sat in the sitting room, their faces filled with worry.
"Cough! Dear, why haven’t Advika and Sylvia returned yet?" Evander asked and added:
"Shouldn’t they be back by now?"
"I don’t know, but you shouldn’t get so worked up; they’ll be fine. Besides... Nothing bad can happen to them."
"Nothing bad? Don’t you know how the big city is for young, weak girls?"
"Our daughters aren’t weak. Sylvia might be, but Advika is not," Anna said sternly.
Evander stared at his wife for a few seconds and slowly nodded his head.
"Who’s knocking on the door? We rarely get visitors. Maybe it’s the girls, but why would they knock?"
"Calm down; I’ll check it out."
Anna smiled slightly and walked toward the door... She stopped before it and asked:
"Hello, we want to see Mr. and Mrs. Evander."
Anna turned to her husband. Seeing his puzzled expression, she sighed and slowly opened the door, leaving only a small space.
She then poked her head out and stared at the two well-dressed youngsters before her in mild confusion.
"Are you Mrs. Evander?" the lady asked with a small smile.
Anna was still puzzled, so she slowly nodded her head.
"Good, Mrs. Evander, my name is Leyla, and he’s young Master Adonis, brother to Christopher," Leyla said with a smile.
Anna looked behind the two, seeing rows of men, all clad in black. More than half were holding rifles and wearing sunglasses; some were even in black military uniforms, with huge guns in their hands... The hundreds of men scared her, let alone the cars, trucks, and armored vehicles behind them.
Seeing her confused expression, Adonis opened his mouth:
"Mrs. Evander, you might know Christopher as Chris, you know him, right?"
"Well... My daughters told me about him, but I haven’t seen him in person," Anna replied in a low voice.
"Okay... Are your daughters both Advika and Sylvia?" he asked again, while Anna nodded her head.
Adonis turned his head to Leyla, then back at her... He thought for a few seconds and said:
"Something happened on the highway, Cordelia’s Bridge... And your two daughters were involved."
Anna opened the door wide and walked out, gently closing it behind her... She walked up to Adonis and fell to her knees, stunning the two.
"Please, please, my daughters haven’t done anything bad; please forgive them. We’re a poor family, and I train them well."
"Huh? Mrs. Evander, why do you suspect they did something wrong?" Leyla asked in mild confusion.
Anna turned to her, tears running down her cheeks:
"You said something happened, and my daughters are involved. If it’s a good thing or an accident, so many forces, and even with guns, won’t come to my doorstep... That leaves only one option: you mistook my girls for some criminals and came here to arrest them... Please, no!! I won’t let you."
Adonis and Leyla looked at one another in confusion, then turned to the kneeling Anna.
"Mrs. Evander, nothing of that sort happened, please," Leyla helped her up, a smile on her face.
"There was an incident, but your daughters are safe with Master Christopher... He asked us to come and take you out of here, for your own safety. Advika and Sylvia will meet you there."
Anna looked up at them in surprise: "My... My girls did nothing wrong?"
"Yes, nothing... Please come with us, you and your husband."
Anna blinked a couple of times and slowly nodded:
"I’ll see my girls if I follow you?" she asked, while the two nodded.
"And you don’t have to pay for your rent or anything because you’re leaving this house and neighborhood," Adonis said with a smile.
Anna moved her gaze around, seeing her neighbors walking out of their houses, with confused, shocked, and even awe expressions on their faces... The forces before them were simply mind-blowing.
"What’s taking so lon--?" Evander was stunned, walking out of the house.
"Love, they’re Christopher’s friends, and this young man here is his brother; they are here to take us to the city to meet our daughters."
Evander listened to his wife’s words and turned to Adonis and Leyla... He might be ill, but he had a brain.
"What happened to my daughters? You can’t suddenly show up here and ask us to leave. Something is wrong, and our lives are in danger, right?"
"Dear? Why are you saying all this? Why will our lives be in danger?" Anna was confused.
Adonis sighed softly:
"Telling you the truth, I also don’t know... My elder brother asked me to lead you two out of Exurb, that you aren’t safe here... If you want to know everything, come with us, and your daughters will make it all clearer."
Evander stared at him for a few seconds and turned to his wife. "We need to know what really happened; go get ready--"
"--There’s no need for that; we can move; your clothes and everything you’ll need will be prepared when you get there," Leyla cut him off, her tone calm.
Evander stared at the lady in a military uniform and slowly nodded his head.
Leyla and Adonis led the couple to a BMW and got in.
Some blocks away, two black-clad figures stood on a building, staring at Adonis and Leyla, who were busy leading the husband and wife to the car.
"What should we do now?" A woman with long green hair asked, her gaze cold.
"There’s nothing we can do, Windy."
Windy turned to the middle-aged man beside her and scoffed:
"Who the hell are these guys?! First, that guy called Christopher... He stopped our plan on capturing the goddess’s successor, and now this! What should we do, Earth-Fist?"
"Those people are the Valhalla family’s forces, the third-strongest family in this country... They command respect. And that Christopher is their first son... For now, let’s return and come up with a new plan; then strike even harder."
Windy nodded her head, staring at the cars, which drove out of Exurb.