Chapter 32: Owen Perez, Her Savior
Chapter 32: Owen Perez, Her Savior
Her attackers kicked her for ten minutes until she stopped moving. They glanced at each other and
then quickly left the scene.
Alvera was left on the beach like a discarded rag.
She was still conscious, but she had no more strength left to struggle.
After the beating stopped, she lay there for half an hour before lifting her aching arms and removing the
sack from her head.
Then she collapsed on the ground, unable to move.
She fumbled around for her phone and tried to call Samuel, but he did not answer his phone.
She was in so much pain.
The only other person she knew could save her was... Roland Francois.
She took a deep breath, found Roland's number and called him, her hands trembling in pain.
After a while, Roland's cold voice came from the other end of the phone, "What's the matter?"
"Sa..."
Before she could finish, she heard Andrina's voice from the other end of the phone. "Roland, who's
that?"
Alvera froze as her hopes crumbled.
Not a lot of people in this city wanted her dead, but the two people over the phone were amongst them.
...
She laughed scornfully at herself and hung up.
She would rather die than ask him for help.
She must have lost her mind just now.
Roland frowned at the call hung up suddenly. "What does this woman want?" he thought.
Her voice didn't sound right to him.
He looked up at the time. It was nine o'clock.
"Roland?"
Roland came back to his senses and looked at Andrina, "What's wrong?"
"You're not listening to me," Andrina said coquettishly. "Here, I peeled a banana for you."
"You can have it. I have no appetite."
"Who called you just now? Why did you hang up so quickly?"
"It was a wrong number," Roland said, his expression unchanging.
"Your phone number is so different, how can anyone have your number?"
Roland raised his eyebrows and said, "Women become annoying if they are too suspicious."
Andrina paused for a moment before smiling and said, "I am not suspicious of you. I'm just wondering
who could have had your number and call you mistakenly. If you don't want the banana, I'll eat it."
"Go ahead." He stood up. "Well, it's getting late. I should go back."
Andrina grabbed his wrist and said, "Roland, can you... stay with me tonight?"
"This is a hospital," Roland said. "I can't sleep here. I have important work to deal with tomorrow."
Andrina pouted. "But..."
"Don't be unreasonable. I've told you, a woman who is unreasonable is hardly a woman of great
elegance."
"Alright." Andrina let go of his hand, even though she didn't want to. "You'll come to see me tomorrow,
right?"
...
"We'll see how." With these words, Roland turned around and walked out of the room.
Andrina smiled, satisfied with herself. "See, Alvera Earhart," she thought gleefully. "He still loves me."
Alvera wasn't sure how much time had passed when she suddenly saw a tall figure approaching her.
"Miss, Miss, are you alright?"
"This voice... it's so beautiful," she thought to herself.
She glanced at him dazedly, but her eyesight was blurry. "Help... Help me."
She used up all her remaining strength in those two words and fainted.
When she opened her eyes again, she found herself in a hospital ward.
The man sitting next to her was wearing a navy blue suit. His handsome features were a work of art in
and of itself.
"Miss, how are you feeling?" He asked when he saw her wake up.
She forced out a smile. "It's you."
Before the liver transplant, she had been jogging every morning.
One day, it had rained heavily while she was out jogging, so she took shelter in one of her neighbour's
porch not too far from her home.
...
A few minutes later, she saw him running towards the house as well.
They both nodded to each other politely.
She had thought that he was taking shelter from the rain as well, but he opened the door with a key,
much to her surprise.
...
She moved away from the door awkwardly.
"Miss, I don't think the rain will stop any time soon," he told her politely. "Do you want to come inside?"
She shook her head quickly. "No, it's fine, I can just stay out here. Thanks."
"Okay... I'll head on in, then."
She nodded.
After that, they would nod at each other whenever they met when they were out jogging.
It was him who saved her tonight.
The saying was true, a close neighbour is better than a relative afar. She believed it now.
The man smiled elegantly. "I don't know if I should say 'nice to meet you' under these circumstances,
because you almost died tonight."
She nodded. "Thank you for saving me."
"You're welcome. You also live in Floral Villa, right?"
She nodded again. "I live right next to you."
He smiled gracefully. "My guess was right then, we're neighbours. Not a lot of people live around there.
Let me introduce myself. My name is Owen Perez, nice to meet you."
Alvera thought that the name was fitting for an elegant man like him.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Perez. I'm Alvera Earhart."
Suddenly, the door of to ward was pushed open from the outside. Samuel rushed in.
Alvera was relieved to see him.
He went to the side of the bed and held her hand. "D*mn it, who did this? I'll f*cking kill them!"
Alvera pursed her lips. "Don't be like this. It doesn't hurt anymore. Why are you here?"
"I was busy when you called me. I didn't have my phone with me. When I called you back, a stranger
picked up and told me you were hospitalized."
Alvera looked at Owen. "Thanks, Mr Perez."
Samuel glanced at Owen, finally noticing him, and he was surprised. "Mr Perez?
Owen looked at Samuel. "Samuel, long time no see."
"Samuel, do you know Mr. Perez?" Alvera asked in surprise.
"Yes, we work together sometimes," Samuel replied. "Mr. Perez, are you the one who saved Alvera
today? Thank you so much."
"It looks like Ms Alvera is your girlfriend," Owen said, elegant as ever.
"She's my childhood friend. We grew up together, so we're closer than siblings. Anyway, thank you."
Owen's eyebrow twitched imperceptibly. "No need to be so polite. Since Samuel is here, I'll take my
leave now. I have some stuff to deal with."
Alvera tried to get up and walk him to the door, but she couldn't.
"It's okay, don't get up," Owen said. "Take care of yourself. Samuel, Alvera needs to have another X-ray
taken later, don't forget."
"Okay, I'll see you off."
Samuel headed towards the door with Owen.
Suddenly, Alvera's phone rang.
She turned and glanced at the phone, then lifted her hand labouriously to reject the call and turn off her
phone.
In his car, Roland felt a flicker of irritation when he saw that his call was rejected.
He called again, but this time, her phone was turned off.
He looked at the driver coldly and said, "Go to Floral Villa."
The driver turned the car around and drove to the villa.
Roland got out of the car and looked at the dark house.
Was there nobody home, or was she just pretending to be asleep to avoid him?
He found the spare key, opened the door, and turned on the light. He looked around the house, but
Alvera was nowhere to be found. Her car was still parked outside, though.
Where could she have gone at this hour?
Roland's irritation turned into worry when he could not find her.
He turned around, walked out of the villa, and called Terry. "Find out the whereabouts of Alvera Earhart
now. Start with Samuel Lambert."
"Yes, Boss."
In the hospital, Samuel had returned and sat by her bed. "Do you know who did this?"
"They covered my head, so I couldn't see, but I think it has something to do with Earhart family."
Looking at the bruises on her face, Samuel clenched his fist. "How could they do this to you? Are they
trying to kill you?"
Alvera laughed. "They want to kill me, they never hid their intentions. Don't be so angry, that's what
they want to see."
"Why are you so calm? I can't believe you're not angry."
Her expression was calm. "Angry? No, I'm not angry, I'm just plotting for revenge."
Samuel frowned, seeing the vicious look in her eyes, "What are you going to do?"
Alvera raised her eyebrows. "It's none of your business. I have a plan."
"I'll help you do whatever it is."
"I'm not going to involve you in this."
"D*mn it, am I an outsider to you?" Samuel said angrily. "Do you know how sad it is to see you beaten
up like this? Mr Perez told me you could've died if he hadn't found you in time."
"They were trying to kill me. It's all thanks to Mr Perez I'm still alive right now."
"Oh, by the way, speaking about Mr Perez, keep away from him," Samuel said. Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.
"Why?"
"He is good and successful in his business, but he is unlucky in marriage. He had two wives, but both
died."
Alvera rolled her eyes at him. "We're just neighbours. You're thinking too much."
"You're just neighbours now, but who knows?" Samuel teased. "You might be attracted to a handsome,
mature man like him. If you get with him, I'll have to worry about you."
Alvera glared at him and said, "That's enough. Stop talking nonsense."
"I'm telling you the truth. He knows he's unlucky too, so he doesn't live with his daughter. A lot of ladies
still want to be with him, though. He has complicated relationships. Just listen to me. Come on, I have
to bring you for another checkup."
Samuel stepped forward and helped her to her feet. She gasped in pain, breaking out in cold sweat as
she stood up.
"What's wrong? What's wrong?" Samuel asked anxiously.
"It hurts."
"What should I do, then?"
"Go ask the nurse for a wheelchair. I'll move over there slowly."
Her entire body was bruised badly. It hurt too much to walk.
Samuel nodded and went out to get a wheelchair.
Not long after he left, the door of the ward was pushed open again.
"That's..." She stopped mid-sentence. The man standing at the door was not Samuel, but Roland, the
very person she did not want to see right now.