Chapter 328
Hugo gloated as he watched Pearl lose consciousness. She was now in his hands!
As he prepared to take Pearl up to his room, a loud crash at the door caused it to swing open from a powerful kick. Richard stood there, his face darkened with anger at the sight of Pearl unconscious. Despite his deathly pallor, he still emitted an aura of danger.
“Put her down, Hugo,” Richard demanded.
With great effort, Richard had managed to reach the hotel upon hearing that Pearl was meeting Hugo there. Despite being in and out of consciousness, he was driven by an emptiness he felt when she wasn’t by his side. He mustered all his strength to open his eyes and scan the room until he found her.
“You arrived rather quickly, Richard,” Hugo commented, his smile devoid of warmth. He was surprised that Richard had made it to the hotel in his weakened state, admiring the man’s resilience.
“How could I not come when I learned you were a disgusting animal?” Richard coughed and fixed his gaze on Pearl, a surge of energy propelling him forward. “Are you going to put her down?”
“Put her down?” Hugo scoffed. “Richard, don’t forget you’ve been poisoned. Even if you’re the world’s greatest fighter, you won’t stand a chance against me.”
“Who said I came alone?”
With that, a burly man stepped out from behind Richard. His imposing physique alone was enough to send chills down one’s spine.
Hugo’s smile vanished instantly. “Well, you do have some brains.”
“Hugo, I’m giving you sixty seconds to release Pearl and hand over the ginkgo,” Richard said firmly.
“Shouldn’t you be listening to me now that I have Pearl?” Hugo found it funny that Richard was threatening him. Did he think Pearl would live long enough?
“You’re alone here so you don’t get to negotiate.”
“Am I?” Hugo didn’t care for Richard’s words. Instead, he smashed a teacup, picked up a shard, and pressed it against Pearl’s neck, a maniacal smile on his face. “Richard Waldorf, I’ll trade Pearl’s life for my freedom. I think that’s a fair deal.”
Richard hesitated for a moment before calmly agreeing, “Fine, release Pearl, and I’ll let you go.
11
“The hero comes to the rescue of the damsel in distress,” Hugo sneered. “I’ll hand her over to you once I’m safely out of here.” Backing away slowly, he held Pearl close to him.
Richard made no move to stop him, simply following behind. As Hugo got into a waiting cab and pushed Pearl toward Richard, the car sped away.
He looked down at Pearl, cradled in his arms, and was relieved to see that her eyes were now open, clear, and seemingly amused. “You’re fine?”
Pearl hadn’t actually fainted, so the news was welcome, but Richard wondered why she had chosen to play along.
“I was pretending. He said the ginkgo was in the room, and I didn’t believe someone as cautious as him would do that. I went along with his plan and discovered he had it on him,” Pearl replied, holding up a glass bottle containing the ginkgo.
Richard shook his head and smiled. “Hugo is going to lose his mind.”
“Who cares? It’s his fault for being so annoying.”
Richard stole a glance at Pearl, ensuring she was truly unharmed, and let out a sigh of relief.” How did you recognize that he had used a scented drug?”
“It was a basic one, and I could tell immediately by the smell. I didn’t even bother making it when I first started learning about medicine,” Pearl explained dismissively, looking down at the drug used by Hugo with disdain.
Richard had momentarily forgotten that the woman he had been so concerned about was, fact, a medical genius. There was no reason for him to worry.
