All right, all right, all right.
Danielle was super worried. She wanted to send a message, but was afraid Zachary might look down at his device and get attacked right then.
Actually, she was worrying too much.
The moment Zachary stepped into the room, he smelled a strange scent.
Just a second ago, he had a slight smile in his eyes. Now, his expression returned to its usual cold and serious look.
He placed the box on the table and pretended nothing was wrong, walking off to pour some water.
As the man in black quietly crept behind Zachary, Danielle couldn't hold back anymore.
"Zachary, watch out!"
Another tomato flew through the air. The man in black turned his head and dodged it.
But when he saw a floating head in the air, he freaked out.
"Ghost! Help!"
Crack.
Zachary had already swung his knife backward.
Blood sprayed from the man's arm. The intense pain instantly triggered his will to survive.
Using only one hand, he began fighting with Zachary. The whole room turned into a chaotic mess.
Danielle was fuming. All the carefully decorated pieces she had put her heart into were now a waste.
That jerk! Danielle started throwing tomatoes like crazy.
They didn't do much damage, but they sure were annoying like buzzing flies.
Still, it was obvious this guy had awakened some kind of power—strength-based—and was overpowering Zachary.
Danielle was desperate. Her space ability allowed movement, but there were no weapons inside.
She felt helpless.
She ran around the room anxiously, then suddenly had an idea.
She gave Zachary a look from behind the man in black. Zachary…
What?
Danielle thought he got the hint and suddenly appeared right in front of the man.
Their faces were practically touching. Being startled like that could scare someone to death.
The man in black froze. Even Zachary was a bit shocked.
But he was more familiar with Danielle than the man was, so he reacted faster. With a slash, his long blade stabbed into the man's chest.
To make sure the guy didn't strike back, Zachary stabbed him a few more times until he was clearly dead.
Danielle's head floated in the air. "Is he dead?"
Zachary's face twitched slightly. "Yeah. He's dead."
"That's good."
With a soft pop, Danielle appeared in the room.
She looked at the body on the floor and seemed lost.
"What do we do now? We killed him. Will we be arrested?"
Zachary's eyes showed a flash of sarcasm. "No."
"The law in Sanctuary says: If someone breaks into your home without permission, the owner has the right to decide their life or death."
"Oh, good."
Danielle let out a breath of relief but noticed something off in Zachary's expression.
"You okay?"
Zachary pressed his lips together. "Actually, I had a sister…"
"How come you never mentioned her?"
Danielle felt his mood shift, like he was lost in a painful memory.
"She was sixteen. Very beautiful. A man wanted to marry her, but she already loved someone else, so she refused.
Later, I only saw her dead body. She looked terrible—naked, covered in wounds.
The guards said she broke into that man's house without permission, so he had the right to kill her."
"You know what? They tossed her back to me like a dead dog."
Zachary's eyes turned red. His fists clenched. His body trembled slightly.
"I was useless. I still haven't gotten revenge for her!"
His voice was rough, filled with grief. Danielle looked at him with pain in her heart.
She suddenly reached out and hugged him. "Who is he? I'll help you get revenge."
"Heh."
Zachary gave a bitter smile, his voice full of frustration.
"I asked around and heard that the man was given to a woman from the Ning family in the central zone. If I want revenge… I'm afraid I won't get the chance."
"What do you mean no chance? Be strong. As long as you're alive, there's always a chance!"
Danielle smacked Zachary's shoulder hard. "Don't forget, you still have me."
Even though moving up in the zones had strict rules, and entering the central zone was nearly impossible, Danielle wasn't going to give up.
Zachary's jaw tightened, and he pulled Danielle into his arms.
He wanted revenge—he was nearly going crazy from it.
But more than anything, he wanted Danielle and Rain to live a safe, peaceful life.
"Thank you. But we're talking about the Ning family. Right now, I just want you and Rain to be okay."
"Do I look okay to you right now?"
Danielle sighed and spread her hands. "Look at the floor. What do you see?"
"You really think just because I was kicked out of the Duo family, anyone would dare touch me so easily?"
To be blunt, even if Dora was now called the Duo family's young lady and the savior girl, for over twenty years, there was only one young lady of the Duo family—Danielle.
Even now, kicked out or not, as long as the Duo family didn't make it public, there was always a chance she could be accepted back.
In that situation, who would dare go after her unless they had serious backing?
Zachary's pupils shifted. "You mean…"
"This guy was either sent by my dear little sister or my lovely stepmother."
Danielle's eyes flashed with coldness. Her past life had taught her that swallowing her anger never solved anything. Only fighting fire with fire got results.
Even if she couldn't win, she'd at least take a chunk out of her enemies.
It was that fierceness that had helped her survive the bullying in her last life.
"That's why I'm definitely going to break into the central zone and destroy those two women."
Danielle looked seriously at Zachary. "So I'm not just doing this for you. I'm doing it for me too."
Suddenly, she smiled. "But if you think it's too dangerous, you can still—"
Before she could finish, Zachary pulled her into a tight hug.
"No matter what you do, I'll help you."
In that moment, their hearts had never been closer.
Danielle stared into Zachary's dark eyes. She saw herself in them.
Their lips moved slowly toward each other, but then—
"Mom!"
Rain suddenly popped his head out of thin air, eyes wide with curiosity.
"Mom, what are you and Dad doing?"
Both froze. Zachary quickly pushed Danielle away.
"Dad wasn't doing anything."
Danielle stumbled from the push, staring blankly at Zachary.
What the hell, this man…
It's not like they were cheating—they were husband and wife!
Why act so guilty?
But seeing Rain's suspicious little face, Danielle quickly forced a smile.
"Well, uh, I wasn't doing anything either. See? Really nothing."
She even spun around in a circle to prove it—then saw the corpse on the floor.
Her expression changed. "Rain, don't be scared!"
Whoosh!
Rain was instantly pulled back into the space.
"Oh no, Rain saw it. I hope he doesn't get scared…"
She turned to Zachary. "Why are you just standing there? Clean it up!"
Danielle grabbed the corpse to drag it out. After a few steps, she realized Zachary wasn't moving.
She looked back—and froze.