Chapter 16: The Soft Place Touched

At this moment, Hank Clegg looked down at the little baby girl in front of him.

He could hardly express his shock.

Could it really be that the one who had jumped from the building, demonstrating such sharp momentum, be this cute little Lolita?

The same girl whose file stated she would faint when running short distances, a little beauty in the first grade at school?

And why did she switch into this unsuspecting, weak mode within a blink of an eye, raising her head looking at him, sobbing uncontrollably with her tear-filled eyes, clear as crystals, from which tears poured out relentlessly?

Having been in the underworld for so many years, Hank Clegg found for the first time that sound waves could indeed be used as an attack against opponents.

The hand that was about to grip the little girl's neck loosened and moved to soothe her shoulder instead.

However, little Victoria flinched fearfully, covering her face and releasing a terrified cry.

Hank Clegg was speechless. Was he really that terrifying?

The little Lolita's expressions and posture reminded him unmistakably of a night seven years ago. After Victoria Talkington's drug wore off, her terrified and helpless look when she saw him.

The memory was unpleasant but held a sense of bitter-sweetness.

Hank Clegg bent down and tried to soften his voice as comfortingly as he could: "Don't be afraid, I'm here to rescue you."

Jose peeked at the man in front of her through the gaps of her fingers.

No, she was still terribly afraid.

Although the man was quite handsome, almost rivalling Lucas Douglas, he was nothing compared to Lucas's gentle demeanor. This man had an imposing and noble demeanor that instilled fear into Jose from the depths of her heart.

Hank Clegg sighed lightly.

There was no helping it, for he was naturally not very good at interacting with children.

Nothing he had experienced or his profession in life had trained him to be cheerful and amusing in the presence of a child.

he could remain unnoticed beside hidden enemies or move stealthily like a wild animal hunting its prey in the jungle but facing a small, soft and sweet child left him absolutely clueless.

This helplessness was somewhat similar to the time when he felt helpless in front of Victoria Talkington.

In some ways, Hank Clegg felt as though this little Lolita had defeated him.

He had never encountered a worthy opponent before, but when he met Victoria, he was defeated by both her gentleness and persistence.

Now, this fragile, small, timid girl was about to repeat the miracle created by Victoria years ago.

Hank Clegg crouched down, reached out his hands, held Jose, and despite her struggles, pulled her towards him.

"You need to leave first, there is something I need to do." he said with a low voice.

In times like this, he didn't lose his senses or rationality.

Hank Clegg knew that the little girl's appearance was not accidental, she was intentionally let out by Lucas Douglas.

Maybe to buy time to escape, or to distract him but regardless of the reasons, they weren't good intentions.

Suddenly, he instinctively sensed a change in the atmosphere.

In the span of merely 0.01 seconds, Hank Clegg stood up holding the little Lolita and hid her behind his back.

He released his gun at the same moment as Lucas Douglas. The bullet left the muzzle and was aimed at the man who hung down from the stairs.

It was Lucas Douglas.

He wanted to confront him directly.

At the exact moment when Hank Clegg pulled the trigger, Lucas Douglas also aimed his gun at him.

Two bullets flew towards each other, impartially collided in mid-air and exploded on impact.

As the bullet fragments flew in all directions, Lucas Douglas quickly turned around and disappeared up the stairs.

Hank Clegg trusted what he saw, a bullet fragment had flown directly into Lucas Douglas's chest.

Immediately, he jumped and ran up the stairs.

Lucas Douglas was hurt, it was time to chase after him. He couldn't afford to let Lucas Douglas become desperate and commit any heinous crimes.

After all, there was a little boy and a woman upstairs, and they were his hostages.

However, the moment Hank Clegg wanted to jump to the second floor.

A horrible scream came from downstairs.

He quickly looked down.

He only saw Jose lying on the ground, holding her stomach, rolling around in pain.

For the first time, Hank Clegg hesitated.

He saw blood staining the dress of the little Lolita.

She was crying out in pain, using her eyes that were so similar to Victoria Talkington's, begging him for help.

Hank Clegg admitted to himself that he couldn't let her be…

He couldn't ignore a hurt little Lolita who resembled Victoria Talkington so closely.

In the blink of an eye, he turned back around, ran to Jose, and crouched down to examine her wounds.

Jose's stomach seemed to be hit by a bullet fragment, as she was currently bleeding non-stop.

Hank Clegg was in disbelief.

How could this be possible?

He had clearly hidden Jose behind him, perfectly covering her. He wasn't hit by a bullet fragment. How did she get injured?

How was he to know, that Jose saw him preparing to chase Lucas Douglas, and quickly picked up a bullet fragment on the ground before stabbing it with all her might into her stomach.

The only intention was to hold him down and give Lucas Douglas and her brother upstairs a chance to escape.

Jose was crying softly, sniffling constantly, and mannaging to faintly say: "It hurts… It hurts so much…"

With a Best Actress as a mother, Jose's acting skills were top notch.

She grabbed onto Hank Clegg's wrist. Her white and soft hand was not even able completely encircle his wrist.

That moment, Hank Clegg felt as if something soft within him was touched.

His face softened, and in a voice he himself couldn't believe, he gently said, "Don't be afraid, I will take you to see the doctor immediately."

He carefully picked her up.

Luke Douglas, if he wanted to escape, then let him escape.

He had no other choice but to take a gamble.

If the little girl's family and Lucas Douglas were somehow connected, Lucas Douglas might not really harm her.

But if he chases Lucas Douglas and puts the little Lolita in his arms in danger, then no matter what, he would not be able to forgive himself.

Upstairs, in a room.

Victoria was frantically searching through drawers: "Where is the gauze? The cotton? How is Lucas Douglas bleeding?"

Lucas Douglas covered his chest wound and grabbed Victoria's hand.

"It's nothing," he said with a calm smile, "it's all just an act. It's not real."

"Is it really?" Victoria was somewhat doubtful.

The blood was warm; it's red color was so vivid.

Lucas Douglas released his chest, revealing his bare hand, and shrugged: "See, I'm fine."

Only then did Victoria breathe a sigh of relief. She exhaled: "Yeah, that's right, it's just acting yeah, you scared me…"

Micheal sat silently on the side with a grim expression, biting his lip.

He could hardly believe that Jose had already been captured for losing focus. Lucas Douglas was wounded while trying to rescue her.

Tears welled up in Michael's eyes as he whispered "It is all my fault….I should have stopped Jose...Now Lucas Douglas is hurt…"