CHAPTER 324: CHAPTER 324: CASE

Mary backed away, clutching her bag tightly to her chest. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

The fight lasted less than a minute. When the last thug was on the ground, moaning in pain, the men in tuxedos didn’t even look back at her. They simply adjusted their jackets and walked away, disappearing around the corner.

Mary stood frozen for several seconds. Her breathing was shaky. She blinked hard, wondering if she had imagined the whole thing.

But the groans from the beaten thugs told her it had been very real.

Her hands trembled. She thought about going to the library like nothing had happened, but fear won over. She still had her children. She had things she wanted to do. She couldn’t get caught up in whatever dangerous mess this was.

Turning sharply on her heel, Mary hurried home.

She kept looking over her shoulder as she walked, half-expecting the tuxedo men or the thugs to reappear. Her scarf felt tight around her neck, and her heartbeat didn’t slow until she shut her apartment door behind her.

Mary leaned against it for a moment, breathing deeply.

......................

While Mary was trying to calm down from her strange encounter, across the city, Olivia was leaving her university campus.

She had finished her morning class and was planning to visit a friend. To save money, she decided to take the public bus. She walked toward the bus stop with her umbrella in hand.

The street was busy with students and office workers, so she didn’t notice the man right away.

He appeared suddenly, running toward her from the side. His eyes were wild, and in his hand was a short knife.

Gasps erupted from the people nearby. Someone shouted, "Watch out!"

But before anyone could move, Olivia’s body reacted on its own.

She dropped her umbrella, sidestepped the man’s rush, and kicked him hard in the side. The movement was clean and precise, nothing like the clumsy self-defense moves most people knew.

The man staggered, but Olivia didn’t stop. She grabbed his wrist, twisted it sharply, and the knife clattered to the ground. In one smooth motion, she swept his legs out from under him.

The man landed on his back with a grunt, groaning in pain.

The crowd was stunned.

Olivia pressed her foot lightly against his chest, keeping him down, and picked up the knife carefully. Her expression was calm, but her eyes were sharp... completely different from the gentle, delicate face she usually showed to people.

A security guard from a nearby building ran over, followed by two police officers who had been patrolling the street. They quickly took the man into custody.

"Miss, are you hurt?" one of the officers asked.

Olivia shook her head. "I’m fine." Her voice was even, but her mind was already moving fast.

"I’m fine, officer. It’s just that I want to file a case against him, can I ?"

The police officer gave Olivia a calm look.

"Yes, Miss. You can file a charge against him. Since you acted in self-defense and helped stop a dangerous man, we will make sure your statement is taken seriously."

Olivia nodded. She followed the officers to the nearby station. She gave her statement, describing exactly how the man had attacked her and how she had defended herself.

She made sure to explain that if it had not been for her quick reaction, she might have been killed right there on the street. The officer wrote everything down, and when they were done, Olivia signed the papers.

When she stepped out of the police station, her face was dark and thoughtful. She had been calm during the whole process, but inside her mind, she was uneasy. Someone had actually tried to kill her.

That was no random mugger. The way the man had run straight at her, with that wild look in his eyes, made her think it had been planned.

If someone wanted her dead, what about her family?

Her steps slowed. She could almost see the faces of her family members in her mind, and the more she thought about it, the colder her heart felt. She stopped walking, took out her phone, and called a number she knew well.

After a few seconds, the call connected.

"I need protection for my family," Olivia said in a low but firm voice.

There was silence on the other side for a moment. Then a voice replied, calm and certain, "Understood. We will arrange it."

Olivia exhaled slowly, feeling a little relief, but the knot in her chest did not disappear.

That night, the family gathered for dinner. The long dining table was set as usual, with warm lights overhead. The smell of food filled the room, but there was no light conversation like before.

The faces around the table were heavy, as if each person had something on their mind.

Olivia sat down and glanced around. Something felt strange. Then she realized what it was.

"Aurora isn’t here," she said suddenly.

Her chair scraped softly against the floor as she stood up. Without waiting for anyone’s reply, she left the dining room and walked quickly down the hallway to Aurora’s room.

When she opened the door, she saw Aurora lying on her bed, her face pale and her forehead slightly sweaty.

"Aurora, are you alright?" Olivia asked, going to her side.

Aurora opened her eyes slowly. "It’s just a fever. It happens to me sometimes. I’ll be fine."

Olivia frowned. "I can call the family doctor right now. You don’t have to handle this alone."

Aurora shook her head gently. "No. Really. It’s common for me. I just need rest."

Olivia looked at her for a moment longer. "Fine. But you should tell me if it gets worse."

Aurora gave a small nod.

Olivia noticed the empty plate on the table beside the bed. It looked like Aurora had already eaten.

"Spencer made dinner for me before he left," Aurora explained quietly.

Olivia whistled, causing Aurora’s face to turn red.

Back in the dining room, the rest of the family was sitting in silence. Mary was the first to speak.

"I had something strange happen to me today," she said, her voice low.

Everyone turned to look at her.

Mary told them about the men in tuxedos and the fight she had seen earlier. She described how quickly it had happened and how frightened she had been.

Olivia listened carefully. When Mary finished, she spoke up, "That sounds like an attack meant to scare you."

Before Olivia could continue, Adriana, who had been quiet until now, said, "I also had something strange happen. Someone at work tried to accuse me of being a thief. If it hadn’t been for a kind colleague who spoke up for me, I would have been in serious trouble."

Olivia’s eyes narrowed. "That’s too much to be a coincidence."

She turned her gaze to Lucas and Theodore. "What about you two?"

Theodore shrugged. "Nothing like that has happened to me."

Lucas’s face was darker. "Well... my manager has been giving me a very hard time lately. It’s not just strict work rules. It feels personal. I think it’s because I know about his affair. He probably wants me gone before I can tell someone."

Olivia nodded slowly. She could see a pattern forming.

Then Adam, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke. "I had someone try to kill me too."

Everyone turned sharply to look at him.

"It happened today," Adam continued, his tone calm but his words serious.

"I was going to the office when a man walked in claiming he knew me. Before I could react, he pulled out a weapon and tried to attack me. Luckily, my bodyguards stopped him before he could hurt me."

There was a heavy pause in the room.

Olivia leaned forward slightly. "So it’s not just me. All of us, in different ways, are being targeted."

Mary shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Adriana stared down at her plate. Lucas’s expression stayed hard.

Adam gave a small chuckle, though it held no humor. "You don’t need to worry about me. I have enough protection. But this isn’t something we can ignore. Someone is working behind the scenes, and they want to hurt us."

The room fell silent again, but now the air felt heavier. Each person was thinking about their own close call and how it could have gone much worse.

Finally, Olivia said, "If this is part of a bigger plan, it means they won’t stop. We need to be careful. Everyone of us could be next."

The family’s mood turned even more serious.

The Waters family had worked hard to rise from an average middle-class life to something better.

They had slowly built connections and improved their position, and now they were beginning to taste the edge of wealth and influence.

But that climb was fragile. If someone wanted to stop them or destroy them before they could reach that level, they might not even see the attack coming.