Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Chapter 228: Countdown to Hell

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

After sending the text, Samantha got up and changed into some loose-fitting sportswear. She then wore a mask, hat, and sunglasses before carrying her bag and leaving the suite.

She requested a taxi and went back to the villa.

Old Madam Barker and Aunt Julia had a worrisome look on their face when they saw her coming back. Samantha hurriedly spoke up before they did, “Grandma, Aunt Julia, I need your help right now. Time is of the essence right now and we can talk about everything else later!”

The two ladies immediately held back their tears when Samantha said that. Old Madam Barker immediately said, “Alright, tell me. I can help you with anything you need!”

That was the first time Samantha had taken the initiative to ask her for help! She could handle even the most serious of things if it was for Samantha, and she would never let anyone bully the young woman!

Samantha let out a little smile. “I just wanted to...borrow a car from the garage.”

The two ladies were already prepared to go into battle and Samantha’s words left them speechless.

That was it?

Old Madam Barker had even thought about how she would gladly give up her reputation and get her men to spring into action as long as Samantha said the word.

Aunt Julia could not help but ask, “Didn’t the old lady give you that jalopy, Mrs. Barker?”

‘Jalopy? That eye-catching limited-edition supercar?’

Aunt Julia spoke about it as if it was no big deal.

Samantha laughed dryly and said tactfully, “Well, actually, I just wanted to borrow the kind of…um...sort of a…low-profile, ordinary kind of car.”

“This...”

Old Barker and Aunt Julia scratched their heads and felt puzzled. Old Madam Barker thought for a while, “For example?”

Samantha facepalmed and said, “Maybe we should go to the garage and have a look.”

She probably would have to take some time to really explain to them.

“Okay!”

Three of them walked into the villa’s underground garage.

Samantha walked past the renowned luxury supercars, but none seemed to meet her requirements. Just when she was about to give up, she caught a glimpse of a van-like car parked in the corner that had the brand: Minifroggy.

Her eyes lit up suddenly as she pointed at it and said, “I’d like this please, Grandma!”

Old Madam Barker exchanged glances with Aunt Julia, Aunt Julia then remarked happily. “I didn’t expect you to fancy the little car I use to go grocery shopping. It’s an honor! You may have it!”

“Thanks!”

Back in the house, Aunt Julia got the car key and handed it to Samantha.

Old Madam Barker held Samantha’s hand and sighed, “Sammy, whatever is it that you and Tim are going to do, safety must always come first. You still have me behind if you can’t solve it, understood?”

Samantha held Old Madam Barker’s hand in response. “Grandma, Aunt Julia, don’t go reading all that stuff on the internet. Just sit tight at home and wait for us! We promise to do our best!”

Old Madam Barker did not say anything and merely gave Samantha a big hug.

The old lady knew that the young couple never spoke about the hardships they suffered outside because they were a filial young couple who did not want her to be worried.

Samantha hugged the old lady and turned to leave.

As soon as she got into the van, she received a message on her phone that contained only three words: [Who are you?]

Samantha grinned but did not respond to the message. She immediately removed the SIM card and destroyed it.

Once that was done, she started the engine and drove to her destination.

In about 40 minutes, she arrived at the door of a magnificent house. She surveyed the situation for a moment and parked at a spot that avoided the reach of surveillance cameras.

The house was where Selby’s parents lived and it was none other than Cornell’s grand residence.

The reason why she came here was because the person who texted her earlier was Selby’s mother. The contents of the text read: [I can’t watch Selby suffer from all those accusations. I want to expose everything to the public!]

She had sent it under the guise of the victimized girl.

After reviewing all the information that she found from back then and forming her own guesses, she felt that the girl’s disappearance was linked to Selby’s parents!

It was either that or the girl was under the control of Selby’s parents. If that was not the case, then it was likely that they would at least know her whereabouts.

She was betting that her guess was correct.

Samantha wanted to find the girl’s location from Selby’s parents in order for her to finally get the truth from the horse’s mouth!

She installed a small camera on the front passenger seat, lowered the window, then pointed it toward the door of the Cornells’ house. That way, she could see anyone who entered and exited.

Time ticked by, and before she knew it, the sky had already darkened. No one came or left just yet.

Samantha munched on the bread she brought along while wondering why it was so calm over there.

Such calmness could only signify one of two possibilities.

The first possibility was that she had guessed wrongly, and that Selby’s parents knew nothing about the girl’s whereabouts because they had not been in contact for many years.

The second was that they were keeping their composure despite everything that was going on!

The Cornells were not businessmen in the traditional sense, for they had been a family of scholars for generations. They enjoyed a particularly good reputation and were treated well within the upper-class circle, so much so that many people treated them with the utmost courtesy.

Cultured people could sometimes be less affected by the world around them.

That was partly why she decided to give up finding information from Selby’s end.

Dealing with him might prove to be a waste of time, and what she lacked at that moment was time!

If her guess was far off the mark, it was almost certain that she would suffer a resounding defeat in that battle.

Although she did not have any appetite, she still made sure to finish her bread. After all, it was important for her to maintain her strength because she might have to wait the entire night.

As darkness fell, Samantha looked at the time on her phone. Midnight was five minutes away, and the day was about to come to an end.

She would be lying if she said she was not feeling uneasy.

After all, Selby’s parents were the only lead she had, and without them, it would practically be impossible for her to find out any information about the girl from the past, firstly because many years had passed and secondly because all information from back then had been deliberately erased.

Even if Ronald could still dig up some more details, it would not be of much help if three days had passed.

The clock finally struck 12.

Samantha lowered her gaze slightly, because the time she had left was now down to 24 hours.

Perhaps that was a countdown to hell between her and Timothy.

When midnight came, Samantha glanced at the door for no particular reason and saw that the house’s gates had swung open.

Samantha’s gloomy eyes blinked once, then twice.

Worried that she was hallucinating, she immediately looked through her binoculars and saw that a car was driving out of the open gate.

She could see through the car window that there was a middle-aged man and woman sitting in the back seat. She immediately recognized them to be Selby’s parents, Brian and Sarah!

The fading glow in the depths of her eyes lit up once more and her sadness was swept away.

Going out in the middle of the night was an unusual decision, and Samantha was excited at the possibility that she really did make the right bet.