Playing the Villainess, He Fell for Me

Unfortunately, reality didn’t give Owen Jennings a chance to act. At some point, two burly bodyguards had appeared behind the door.

Charles Jennings watched as the bodyguards subdued Owen Jennings, then said with a cold smile, ”Why do you think I was wasting my time with you?”

It was all just to stall until the bodyguards arrived.

Forced to his knees, Owen Jennings watched helplessly as the door closed. He couldn’t help but shout, ”Charles Jennings, don’t drag the entire Jennings family down with you!”

He shouted so loudly that he could be heard clearly in the hallway through the thick door.

Charles Jennings just chuckled and kept walking. He stopped in front of another tightly closed door, and the moment he opened it, he was hit by the strong smell of disinfectant.

Joanna Kennedy sneered, ”What, are you going to destroy the evidence?”

”How could I bear to?” Charles Jennings placed her on a comfortable black chair near the entrance, then leaned in, bracing his arms on either side. He said slowly, ”I told you, I have a big gift for you...”

At his deliberately mysterious tone, Joanna Kennedy turned her head away in disgust. Only then did she notice a bed in the center of the room. Someone seemed to be lying on it. The curtains were drawn, so she couldn’t make out the person’s face, but she had a sinking feeling she already knew the answer.

But that wasn’t the most alarming part. Joanna Kennedy’s gaze froze on a glowing object to the side.

In the dim room, a transparent blue object by the bed stood out even more clearly.

The transparent blue object floated in mid-air. It seemed to have a humanoid shape, like a spirit from another world that had suddenly appeared in reality.

This bizarre scene left Joanna Kennedy completely stunned. Her pupils contracted, and a cold sweat instantly drenched her entire body.

’What... is that thing?’

Her limbs were bound, so she could only watch helplessly as the unidentified blue object slowly floated closer. A familiar yet strange mechanical voice spoke, ”Is this the other task-doer?”

Before Charles Jennings could answer, the mechanical voice continued, ”Host, are you really going to do this?”

’Host?’

That one word struck her like a heavy hammer, jolting Joanna Kennedy from her shock. Looking at the blue figure before her, she began to form a theory.

”Is that your system?” Joanna Kennedy demanded. ”What did it mean, ’do this’? What are you going to do?!”

Charles Jennings was busy disinfecting something. He didn’t even look up as he replied, ”I told you. I’m giving you a gift.”

As he spoke, he turned slightly and flipped a switch on the wall. An incandescent light instantly flickered on, illuminating the entire room and revealing what he held in his hand.

It was a medical syringe, filled with a clear liquid.

”...”

Joanna Kennedy’s body went rigid. Before she could say anything, a sudden commotion erupted outside, followed by urgent knocking. ”Boss, a lot of people just showed up downstairs! Our guys can’t hold them back!”

As if to confirm his words, the sounds from outside grew louder, punctuated by screams.

’Simon Lockwood finally found me.’

Charles Jennings clicked his tongue, his face a mask of annoyance at the interruption. He knew Simon Lockwood would find this place eventually, but he hadn’t expected him to be so fast.

He subconsciously glanced at Joanna Kennedy, scrutinizing her face for a few seconds. Unable to read her expression, he asked in an unreadable tone, ”Simon Lockwood is here to save you. Aren’t you happy?”

With all hell breaking loose outside, he was still in the mood for this. Joanna Kennedy gave a cold laugh. ”You should worry about yourself.”

People do irrational things when they’re agitated. Joanna Kennedy didn’t know what he was planning, and she didn’t want to provoke him at this critical juncture.

Charles Jennings was clearly pleased by her indifference. He narrowed his eyes and turned to shout an order, ”Tell Simon Lockwood that I’ve buried something around the house. If he wants Joanna Kennedy to die with me, he’s welcome to charge right in.”

The man outside hadn’t expected this twist. He stammered a trembling ”Yes, sir,” and hurried away.

A moment later, the area below fell silent again.

Next, Joanna watched as Charles Jennings walked past her with the syringe, went to the bed, and lifted the arm of the person lying there. The cold tip of the needle was just about to pierce the skin.

Joanna couldn’t stop herself from asking, ”What are you injecting into Serena Sutton?”

”Just a little something to help her sleep,” Charles Jennings said vaguely.

The clear liquid was gradually pushed into the vein. As the syringe emptied, Joanna saw specks of green light suddenly appear around Serena Sutton’s body.

More and more appeared, swirling around her. The green specks drifted in the air, directionless, before scrambling to squeeze into the blue figure.

On the bed, Serena Sutton’s face grew paler and paler. As the last of the liquid was injected, a single, clear tear slid from the corner of her eye, fell onto the sheet, and quickly vanished...

The green specks slowly coalesced. After a flash of light, Joanna Kennedy instinctively shut her eyes. When she opened them again, she saw that Charles Jennings was holding a green bead.

The bead was tiny, about the size of a fingernail. Without hesitation, Charles Jennings walked over to Joanna Kennedy and crouched down in front of her. His expression was serious. ”Joanna Kennedy, this is my gift to you. It’s one of a kind.”

...

An unknown amount of time passed before, with a loud BANG, the door was violently kicked open.

In the final moment before losing consciousness, Joanna Kennedy saw a man’s handsome, frantic face. A searing pain coursed through her body, and she could no longer hold on, fainting.

「The Hospital.」

「VIP Ward」

The doctor said, ”There’s nothing physically wrong with Miss Kennedy. As for why she remains unconscious, it’s likely due to severe psychological shock.”

In other words, she’d been scared into a coma.

”Thank you, Doctor.” Jack Warren politely saw the doctor out and thoughtfully closed the door to the ward.

The ward fell silent again. The girl on the bed was pale, her usually lively eyes now shut peacefully, her lips a faint white.

Three days had passed since that incident, and Simon Lockwood had stayed by her bedside for all three of them.

He couldn’t remember the last time he had slept. His eyes were dry and sore, and whenever he closed them, the scene from that day would flash before him, an unbearable memory.

’The room reeking of disinfectant, the girl tied up, her face deathly pale, fainting in his arms...’

For the first time in his life, Simon Lockwood knew what it felt like for his heart to stop. He couldn’t hear a thing, and his memory of how Joanna Kennedy even got to the hospital was a complete blur.

Outside the hospital, Jack Warren was smoking with his head down. When he saw a man approaching in the distance, he stubbed out his cigarette and went to meet him. ”President Valentine, our president is inside.”

Liam Valentine wasn’t annoyed at being blocked. He readily agreed, ”Is that so? Then I’ll wait out here.”

”I was hoping to tell Mr. Lockwood about Charles Jennings’s whereabouts...” Liam Valentine added with a leisurely sigh.

In the room that day, there had only been Joanna Kennedy and an unconscious woman on the bed. The culprit, Charles Jennings, had vanished into thin air.

Jack Warren’s gaze sharpened. ”President Valentine, please wait a moment.”

A minute later, Simon Lockwood came out.