CHAPTER 376: THE CHASE IS OVER

"Tyler, you’re indeed heaven-sent to my daughter in our time of need." Regina was saying, as she sank her teeth into a juicy, well-baked and seasoned chicken thigh.

"If it wasn’t for you, we would all be rotting in jail right now with all those crazy psychopaths."

"Tell me about it." Pearl let out a sigh of relief.

"I’m only doing what is required of me as a friend who cares," Tyler replied, texting someone on his phone.

"Lover..." Gwen corrected, nudging Tyler on the side while dipping another potato chip into ketchup. "We are not friends but lovers."

"I stand to be corrected," Tyler said with a devilish grin.

"Hopefully, a happy couple in a few weeks or months." Regina winked, smiling.

"That would really be awesome babe. We should consider getting married in a month or less." Gwen attempted to feed Tyler but he smartly rejected her sweet gesture while agreeing to all her suggestions.

"I don’t see why we shouldn’t."

"Awesome!" Regina said, grinning from ear to ear. "I can’t wait to get started with the private wedding preparation."

"We could all go shopping in disguises." Pearl joined in the euphoric conversation.

"We could even invite Mr Taylor." Gwen chirped in. "You never know, old fire could be rekindled."

A ripple of laughter echoed inside the room.

As the woman kept daydreaming outwardly planning a wedding that wasn’t meant to be, Tyler remained glued to his phone communicating until he got the signal he had been waiting for.

"I can’t believe we are now fugitives of the law." Pearl grimaced as she scrolled through her new phone, keeping herself abreast of the ongoing trial in Salvine City.

"We owe our gratitude to that demented soul called Matt," Regina spat out, hissing in disgust.

"I can’t believe that weakling is my father." Gwen shook her head in disdain.

"He deserved what he got even though I feel sorry for his late family." Pearl scoffed, taking a sip of her wine.

"I heard that the almighty Greg even got arrested." Gwen snickered.

"I hope he rots in jail like his brother." Regina snarled. "Let him feel what it tastes like to be held against his wish."

"You know, it’s ironic that you all are talking about Matt at this very time" Tyler said, standing up and stretching out his rumpled shirt. "You all should be more concerned about your future."

"Our future!" Pearl raised a brow.

"Our future looks great, thanks to you, son-in-law."

"Yeah!" Both Pearl and Gwen concurred.

Regina raised her wine glass in the air, oblivious of the hidden interpretation in Tyler’s statement.

"To Tyler our redeemer and hero."

"To Tyler."

The other two women chanted euphorically.

Tyler chuckled shaking his head.

"Babe, is anything the matter?" Gwen asked, finally sensing the shift in Tyler’s demeanour.

"I hope you all had fun while it lasted," Tyler said, ignoring Gwen as he headed towards the entrance door.

"While it lasted! What do you mean?" Pearl dropped her glass of wine, sensing something sinister.

"Where are you going to, baby?" Gwen’s forehead furrowed in annoyance.

"Point of correction..." Tyler paused at the entrance door, his right hand on the door knob and his face transformed into that of a cold mindless being.

"I was never your baby. I was just the bait."

"Ah!" A wild gasp echoed in the room as Tyler concluded his statement.

"Amelia and Blaze send their regards."

"What!" All three women chorused, shooting up to their feet as Tyler opened the door, granting access to two uniformed armed police officers.

"F*ck! It’s a trap." Pearl screamed, dashing out of the sitting room while knocking over the foot stool in front of her.

"Freeze, maggots!" One of the police officers yelled, pointing his short gun at Regina and Gwen, as the two women attempted to escape. "If you move, I will redecorate this sitting room with your brains." The officer warned.

Both Gwen and her mother froze mid-flight with both hands raised in the air, their eyes widened in horror.

Meanwhile, Pearl, thinking she was off the hook headed for the back door. She opened it and leapt out before she could stop herself.

"Freeze asshole!" A police officer, standing in front of a dozen more officers, all pointing their weapons at the escaping criminal, bellowed.

Pearl froze momentarily, her panicked eyes darting between the armed policemen and the open fence gate.

"Don’t do anything stupid, lady. We’ve got the whole place surrounded," The police officer warned.

"I’m not going back to prison." Pearl spat out between clenched jaws, her mind made up. She took one leap for the open gate but immediately froze as a single shot exploded in the air.

Thinking, she had been hit even though she felt no pain, Pearl dramatically fell to the ground screaming.

"Pearl!" Regina cried out in horror thinking her sister had been shot.

"Keep quiet!" The officer leading her to the bulletproof prison van, barked, pushing her forward.

"Traitor!" Gwen spat on the floor as her moist eyes fell on Tyler speaking to the head of the police team.

"I said shut up." A female police officer came forward and struck Gwen across the face, causing her to fall to the ground.

"Please! Don’t hurt her. She’s all I’ve got." Regina begged helplessly clasping her cuffed hands.

"You should have thought about that before you decided to take an innocent woman’s life." The female police officer hissed, pushing Regina into the prison van.

"It was all Matt. I’m innocent." Regina’s cries and pleas fell on deaf ears. She watched as Gwen was beaten and dragged into the van as she tried to resist arrest.

Then came Pearl, who Regina thought was already dead, entering the prison van obediently without making a single fuss.

"We are doomed!" Regina broke down in tears as the van’s back door was locked from the outside.

-

-

Ever since a bounty was placed on his head, Don had been on the run. But no matter how he tried to remain invisible–changing from one disguise to another–someone seemed to be one step ahead of him.

Currently, all his business and assets around the world have been uncovered mysteriously and seized by the government. And to make matters worse, most of his secret offshore accounts had been discovered and frozen.

With minimal resources, and a desire to stay alive, Don kept to the shadows, his eyes sharp with paranoia. He moved like a hunted animal—desperate, unpredictable, and ready to vanish at the slightest sound of pursuit. The law was closing in, but so was his survival instinct.

He’d stayed invisible by sticking to different routines. But when he least expected it, he was lured into a snare.

Before Don could recover from the shock of the surprise ambush, red and blue lit up his face and his breath caught in mid-run.

It was at that point that he knew that the chase was over.