Chapter 5 “An Ally”

Sharmaine Chain is the youngest daughter of billionaire Mr. Samuel Chain. With her privileged background, she always had a team of loyal bodyguards by her side. But today, despite having ten guards with her, she found herself helpless against a kidnapping.

Gagged and unable to speak, Sharmaine stared at her captors.

One of them was on the phone, talking to someone.

“Yes, we’ve got her. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure this goes off without a hitch,” the leader of the kidnappers said.

Sharmaine realized someone was pulling the strings.

Who would dare to kidnap someone as influential as her?

‘It has to be that woman!’ she thought.

She recalled warning her brother’s girlfriend to break up with him. The woman had exploded in anger, even threatening Sharmaine about what would happen once she took over as Chairwoman.

‘Just wait! If I get out of here, I will make you regret this!’ Sharmaine vowed.

The tricky part is, she’s not even sure if she can escape. Will her family come to her rescue?

“Sir! There’s someone on a motorbike tailing us!” came the urgent report.

Sharmaine’s heart raced with hope. Could it be a rescue team coming to get her?

The leader ended the call and glanced in the side mirror. Sure enough, a motorbike was right on their tail.

“Step on it!” he shouted at the driver.

The driver hit the gas, weaving through traffic and speeding past other cars.

Honk! Honk!

The blaring horns filled the air. They all turned to the side mirror and saw the motorbike still hot on their heels.

“Seriously?! Can’t you lose of a single motorbike?!” the leader grumbled.

In response to his frustration, the driver swerved the van to the left and accidentally collided with another car.

Crash!

They didn’t even slow down, barreling through the busy street like they were on a wild ride.

“Watch out!” Pedestrians in the crosswalk scrambled back to the curb, trying to avoid the chaos.

“Ow!” Sharmaine winced as the van jolted, throwing her sideways. Sitting up, she glanced back to see who was trying to help her.

To her shock, the rider of the motorbike that had just caught up to them was none other than the pizza delivery guy.

[“He’s the delivery man before!”] Sharmaine shouted. But only moans were heard from her covered mouth.

"What the heck?! A pizza guy? Who ordered a pizza?" The kidnappers couldn't help but chuckle.

One of them grabbed a gun and aimed it at the delivery guy, but the leader quickly intervened.

“Are you crazy?! We agreed to keep this low-key! We can’t start shooting in the middle of the street!”

While they were busy bickering, the delivery man tossed something onto the car's windshield.

“Crap!” the driver yelled as his view was completely blocked by a cheesy pizza.

He hit the wipers, but that just smeared the mozzarella all over the glass!

“Boss! I can’t see a thing!” the driver shouted, swerving the wheel and colliding with other cars.

Sharmaine felt dizzy. She really didn’t want to die in a chaotic car crash!

‘Is this it? Am I really going to die here?’ she wondered.

Without warning, the van's door swung open. Sharmaine turned her head to the left and spotted a hand reaching out toward her.

“Grab on!” the delivery man yelled, urgency lacing his voice.

The leader of the kidnappers, fed up with the situation, raised his weapon. He was indifferent to the arrival of the police; what mattered was that the hostage was not going to be rescued so easily.

“Get lost! You lunatic pizza guy!” he bellowed, aiming the gun directly at him.

But just as he was about to pull the trigger, the delivery man ducked low.

Bang!

After avoiding the gunshot, he yanked Sharmaine closer and the motorcycle that he was riding, skid dangerously beneath the van's tires.

“Ahh!” Sharmaine cried out as she and her rescuer tumbled to the ground, bracing for the impact.

The jolt was harsh, yet amidst the pain, Sharmaine felt a sense of security as the man enveloped her in his arms, shielding her head from the fall.

Bam!

Sharmaine felt her head spinning. As she tried to catch her breath, her eyes darted to the source of the loud crash.

In the distance, she spotted a white van engulfed in flames after slamming into a streetlight.

She realized she was still alive, and the kidnappers might be either dead or seriously hurt.

All of this was thanks to one man.

“Are you okay?”

Sharmaine turned to see who was speaking.

The guy removed his green helmet. His head looked fine, but his body was a mess of cuts and blood. And he was asking her if she was okay?

“You need to get to a hospital!” Sharmaine exclaimed, glancing around the street. “No! We have to get out of here! A car could come barreling toward us!”

The man groaned in pain and reassured her, “No need to stress. The road’s clear.”

“What do you mean?”

Struggling to sit up despite his injuries, he explained, “I called the police and told them to clear the road while I went after the van. It could be a danger to others.”

Sharmaine looked around, feeling confused. He was right; the road was indeed clear.

“And the police are on their way,” he added.

Just then, she heard the sound of sirens approaching.

The blue and red lights drew closer, bringing her a wave of relief.

She felt safe.

On the brink of tears, Sharmaine turned to the man who had risked himself to save her.

“Who… are you?” she asked, eager to know the name of her hero.

With a smile, he replied, “I’m General Arthur Troce.” Then, he collapsed onto the road, losing consciousness.