CHAPTER 45: CHAPTER 45: JUMPING FROM THE CAR

The parallel vehicle suddenly collided with the rear of their car, the impact jolting Ann Vaughn into a nearly audible gasp.

She turned her head to see two cars closely following on either side, as if ready to crash into them again at any moment.

"Since the mastermind could tamper with my car, there are likely more people blocking our way," Cyrus Hawthorne’s tone was calm, without a hint of panic on his face. "Unbuckle your seatbelt, come to my side, and watch for my signal to jump out."

"Wha... what?" Ann Vaughn’s face turned pale, her hand on her belly slick with sweat, "Jump out of the car?!"

Cyrus Hawthorne slowly nodded, decisively saying, "Jumping gives us a slim chance of survival; just sitting here means a dead end."

He had sensed something wrong before they left the city center, but there was no external force that could compel him to stop the car abruptly in the city.

Originally, he intended to drive to the outskirts and stop after running out of gas, but he didn’t expect the mastermind to go to such lengths to kill him, arranging so many people to block him.

Ann Vaughn bit her lip hard but dared not hesitate further. She grabbed a blanket from the back seat, unbuckled her seatbelt as Cyrus instructed, and moved closer to him, holding his arm.

Her heart was pounding faster and faster out of tension, as if it were about to leap out of her throat.

Cyrus’s lips curled into an almost wicked arc as he suddenly turned onto a small road below. The two cars behind sped out and were temporarily shaken off.

At that moment, Cyrus opened the car door with one hand, wrapping his other arm around Ann Vaughn’s waist. In a swift and fluid motion, he leaped out of the car!

Ann Vaughn didn’t even know how he did it. In the blink of an eye, the two of them were already out of the car!

Beside them was a densely overgrown slope. As they rolled down, Cyrus instinctively stretched out both arms to wrap Ann Vaughn close in his embrace, his palm shielding the back of her head.

It was like a subconscious reflex, even he hadn’t realized why he did it.

Fortunately, the slope was not high, and they came to a stop quickly at the bottom.

The blanket Ann Vaughn grabbed protected her abdomen well during the jump. With Cyrus shielding her meticulously, she surprisingly suffered no injuries apart from a slight dizziness.

She immediately checked her own pulse. She had only slightly disturbed the fetus; a few needles would solve it, barely worth mentioning.

Just as Ann Vaughn was about to breathe a sigh of relief, she saw Cyrus Hawthorne lying beside her, his arm lacerated with terrifying cuts, his white shirt mottled with blood.

His handsome face was covered in sweat, his eyes tightly shut, brows furrowed deeply, light lips parted, gasping for breath.

"Cyrus, are you okay?" Ann Vaughn hastily took his hand to check his pulse, only to find it irregular. Old injuries were compounded by new ones, his physical state not optimistic.

The rumors that Cyrus had a severe car accident where he nearly lost his life were not merely rumors.

The hidden injuries in his body must have been left from that time, still unhealed now, but his mental fortitude was so strong that no one could tell.

If he hadn’t protected her just now, his injuries probably wouldn’t have been this severe.

Ann Vaughn’s eyes welled up with warmth, her nose inexplicably stinging. Last time it was the elevator malfunction, and this time again; despite his detest for her, he never ignored her safety.

This Cyrus, this was the boy she had liked for fifteen years.

Ann Vaughn steadied her emotions and checked Cyrus’s wounds.

Fortunately, she had the habit of carrying Golden Needles and medicine. She drew two Golden Needles from her sleeve and undid two buttons of Cyrus’s shirt.

Just as she was about to insert them into the acupoints, Ann Vaughn heard footsteps approaching from behind.

Her heart skipped a beat as she turned her head to look.

Before she could see clearly who it was, a heavy blow struck the back of her neck, and she fainted on the ground, unconscious.