14

Nathan for his part, who hadn't looked away from his fiancée's eloquent face since the moment she laid eyes on the newcomer whose identity had just been confirmed by the emotions on display, chose to speak up.

"It's him, Crystal, it's the real Nicky."

Crystal didn't even need to speak to affirm it, so much her whole being shouted the truth to her.

"I see."

Hearing the name, Nicky tensed, then slowly turned to face the young woman. Whether he had been aware of her presence all along, she didn't know, but one thing was certain: he could no longer ignore her because of the intervention of his former love's new love. 

 The impact of their eyes meeting was such that Crystal thought she would faint, but she didn't. She hadn't fainted, she will not. She hadn't fainted despite all the emotions his presence and eyes had provoked in her, just as she hadn't died of grief when they parted seven years ago, despite all the misery this separation had brought her.

But everything was about to be turned upside down again when, without calling out to anyone, five people, armed to the teeth, rushed noiselessly into the reception room and set them all at loggerheads. Five people dressed in the uniforms of sanitary agents fighting pests. No one could have imagined controlling them, not to mention the fact that false papers and front tools were readily available.

Everyone seemed to be still too shocked by this unexpected and terrible intrusion to realize at first what was happening, but when they all seemed to realize the full gravity of the situation, its almost mortal danger, they panicked and wanted to leave the room, but this was without counting the criminals who had invaded and were now making them their hostages. Barbara, as was probably to be expected, had to behave as she really was, screaming hysterically and hiding behind the others.

The one who clearly was the boss as he stood out from the group by his aura and malice reached out and closed his fingers over Nathan's mother-in-law's face, and warned her in a voice that was soft but even more terrifying than if he'd been screaming.

"I'm only going to tell you this once and only once, if I ever hear another sound come out of your repulsive witchy maw, I'm going to rip your jaw off, and you'll never utter another scream for the rest of your life. Understood."

Barbara Bowen nodded, her whole body sweating. When the chief finally removed his hand, pushing the woman back against her husband, she was so shaken she looked like she'd been through a crusher.

It didn't take long for the criminals to round up all their hostages and take them to a wall, where they sat on the floor.

The leader then explained that the only way they could escape alive was to follow his orders to the letter.

And to make the situation clear to everyone, he raised his gun and shot Ronnie in the stomach, who cried out in pain and collapsed against Leonie, who in turn cried out as she caught him in her arms.

"My darling!"

Barbara, of course, didn't let this opportunity pass, screaming hysterically again before stopping just as quickly under the threatening, murderous gaze of their jailers.

Crystal for her part, unlike all the others, turned towards her twin who, seated at the far end of the group next to her friend Karl, to her great astonishment, watched the scene with fixed eyes that somehow terrified her even more than the hostage-takers combined.

As she sat quietly in her fiancé's arms, she felt ashamed, frighteningly ashamed of herself for thinking that she was glad it wasn't Nicky that this dastardly being had chosen to shoot.

It was in situations like this that people's true nature was revealed, both to themselves and to the rest of the world.

She recognized without artifice that, in a way, she was just as bad as these people who were stealing their freedom.

"What do you want?"

The leader, a taller-than-average, strongly built man, gave Uncle Karl a long hard look, and he bravely withstood the terrifying stare, before laughing, followed by his men.

"You hear that, boys? Our friend the billionaire is asking us what we want. How funny."

Their laughter redoubled.

"Why don't you answer him?

"I want a magic pony that can spit gold.

"Me, I want a tree that doesn't grow leaves, but banknotes."

"And I want a harem of a thousand women! Including this one!" he pointed at Crystal.

"Wow!" said his comrades, leering at the young woman like hungry beasts.

The young victim snuggled up tighter to Nathan, who held her close, yet was as powerless as she was to fight off their attackers.

"Boss, can I..."

"When it's all over, yes, you can have this one!"