Chapter Twenty-Six

RODRIGO'S POV.

I froze in my tracks as the echo of Antonio's voice sounded behind me.

"You are mine now, Perlah. I'm sorry, but you are not allowed to leave," Antonio declared, forcefully dragging me to himself.

"I gritted my teeth in anger, as I watched Perlah gasping out in pain and fear.

"We are leaving this country right now. I have already made arrangements for our trip. Come with me," he added.

"Call the police," Perlah mouthed, staring at me as Antonio dragged her along with him.

One of my men rushed forward out of nowhere.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, shocked.

"I couldn't leave you sir, so I trailed behind them till we got here. I have been waiting for an opportunity to get you out ever since then," he responded.

"Thank you, please call the police. I will go after them; track my phone for the location," I promptly responded.

"Sir, you are doing this again. Going after them when you can barely walk," he cautioned.

"Perlah cannot get on that plane, if she does, she is gone. Antonio is a wanted man. The only upper hand and greater advantage we have is involving the police in this case. So please hurry up and call the police. Track my phone and get to me in time," I replied, rushing after Perlah and Antonio weakly.

Picking up my phone, I immediately called my agent.

"Hi sir, I have been trying to reach you," he sounded at the other end of the call.

"That's alright. Do you have your eyes on Perlah?" I immediately asked.

"Yes sir," he replied.

"Okay, send me their directions immediately. I lost them," I blurted out.

"Sir, I heard you haven't eaten for days. Will you be okay on your own," he asked, concerned.

"The police are on their way," I blurted out and hung up in a hurry, trailing after Antonio and Perlah.

The sound of Perlah's screaming caught my attention.

"Perlah," I yelled out, following the sound of her voice.

Finally, I got to them while Antonio was dragging Perlah into the car, and she was dragging herself back to prevent them from getting on the plane.

"Get away from her," I yelled out.

"You stay away from us," he retorted, pointing a gun at me.

I raised my hands in the air to avoid provoking him to shoot.

"We can talk about this, Antonio," I pleaded, walking slowly towards them.

"There's nothing to talk about, she's mine and mine alone," he yelled out.

I was a few inches away from them when the police arrived.

"Let the girl go!" The policemen yelled out. Rushing out of the car, they all pointed their guns towards Antonio.

"Let Perlah go," I added slowly, watching as the emotion on his face changed from anger to desperation.

"No!" Antonio declined, pointing the gun firmly at me.

"Tell the policemen to restrict them," he yelled.

"I'm afraid no," I retorted, signaling Perlah to find a way out of his grip.

Summoning courage, Perlah kicked his right foot, causing him to let go of her in pain, groaning in anger.

Perlah ran towards me in fear. As soon as she got to me, with no other choice left in this situation, the policeman rained gunfire and Antonio was shot to the ground, dead.

I puffed out a sign of relief.

"Are you okay?" A policeman asked, walking towards us.

"Yes, we are fine, thank you," I responded, smiling.

Perlah jumped into my arms, hugging me tightly.

Suddenly, she released me and frowned.

"What is it?" I asked, confused.

"You are… bleeding," she stammered, pointing at my stomach.

I looked in the direction she was pointing at, realizing I was shot.

"No!" Perlah yelled out.

Smiling warmly at her, I collapsed to the ground; colors fading from my sight.

PERLAH'S POV

Watching blood gushing out of Rodrigo's tummy, I realized I might lose Rodrigo to my foolishness this time.

"Get the medics," I screamed out in tears.

Some police officers came into the situation, helping Rodrigo to the hospital, and there was nothing I could do but weep inconsolable.

We got to the hospital and Rodrigo was rushed into the operating room.

I sat impatiently, restless.

The doctor came out of the operating room and I quickly rushed forward to cross him.

"Doctor," I called out.

"Mrs. Perlah?" He called out.

"Yes! Doctor that's me," I responded.

"The bullet was removed, luckily it didn't damage anything important in his system, but he has lost a lot of blood, so he needs blood. Do you know any of his family members that can help? Please contact them immediately," the doctor announced.

"Family members," I repeated.

"Crisanto," I muttered.

Picking up my phone, I quickly dialed his number and explained things to him. Constantly adding that it was an emergency.

And just like I expected, Crisanto rushed over.

"Perlah," Crisanto called out from behind me, rushing into the hospital.

"Crisanto, thank you so much for coming on such short notice," I acknowledged.

"It's okay Perlah, what happened?" He asked, confused.

"Rodrigo got shot and lost a lot of blood, the doctor says he needs blood," I blurted out.

"Rodrigo? How do you even know him?" He asked, shocked.

"That's not important right now, please go into the doctor's office to donate blood," I pleaded in fear.

Crisanto quickly rushed into the doctor's office to get the test done.

After hours of waiting, the test results were finally out, and I was also called into the doctor's office.

I walked into the doctor's office and Crisanto motioned me to sit beside me.

"Have you gotten the blood doctor? Rodrigo is already being treated; he's going to be fine, right?" I asked, smiling warmly at the doctor.

"We haven't gotten the blood yet," the doctor declared.

"What! Why? His brother is here, so, get some blood from him, so Rodrigo can start his treatment," I blurted out, staring at the doctor.

"I'm sorry, but we can't just do that," the doctor remarked.

"And why?" I asked, bewildered.

"His brother here is not a match."