Chapter 1 Hidden Dangers

In the suburban area of Los Angeles in A Country, a blood red sports car drove along the road through tall palm trees before finally pulling up to an old castle.

Two big and strong guards walked over to stop the sports car. "Identification please," one guard said loudly, walking over to the driver's side. The driver's window rolled down slowly. The guard was shocked to see a delicate woman behind the wheel. A card was in her hand, an invitation. The woman gingerly handed it over to the guard.

"Hello there," Wendy Shangguan greeted as she waved the invitation in front of the guard.

"Ahem, I'm sorry." The guard coughed awkwardly. He took the invitation with both hands and double-checked it before letting her drive in.

There were a lot of people coming here today. It was because it was the birthday party of the Earl of the old castle. All the guests invited were either rich or powerful people in the entire country. There were waiters walking around with silver trays filled with champagne glasses. Everyone was busy chatting with each other -- whether it was about world economy, politics or something expensive they had bought recently.

At that moment, a woman in a red, off-shoulder dress came into the hall. Most of the people's conversations drifted off into silence, the woman's presence stirring intrigue. Her entrance, which was accentuated by the way her high heels crispily sounded against the marble floors, was quite the attention grabber.

The dress the woman was wearing flattered her white and smooth complexion, like a pool of blood against white snow. Delicately embroidered laces were sewn onto the delicate fabric. Her hair was in a messy but classy bun, several hair strands grazing her ears and the sides of her face, making her look sweet and innocent.

The men present seemed to have forgotten their female companions, their eyes glued onto this alluring woman.

One man walked towards the woman as he adjusted his tie. "Hello. Are you here alone? I'm wondering if I could have the honor to be your partner tonight," he said with a cheeky grin.

"I'm sorry but she has a boyfriend now." A deep and magnetic voice suddenly came from behind.

Hearing the cold voice interrupt, the man was annoyed. He turned around and saw who it was. "Mr. Harold?" the man exclaimed in surprise.

At the age of twenty-four, Harold He had become the chairman of the HX Group. He had developed the main structure the company had today, specializing on airline, industry, finance, tourism, and other forms of technology. In a short amount of time, his business had expanded internationally.

It was the first time the man had seen Harold He face to face. But what made him more surprised was that the woman he had approached walked over to Harold He and held onto his arm!

For the past few years, no one had seen Harold He with a woman in public nor were there even any gossips of any past girlfriends. Because of this, rumors about his sexual orientation started to stir. However, nobody had seen he got into intimate relationships with any man.

Knowing that he couldn't afford to offend him, the man smiled politely. "Forgive me. This beautiful lady here is Mr. Harold's girlfriend?"

Harold He glanced at him coldly and did not answer his question. He took Wendy Shangguan directly to the Earl and began to busily chat away.

Was that girl his girlfriend or not? He didn't admit or deny it. The guests started to whisper among themselves.

With a smile on her face, Wendy held Harold's arm, picked up a glass of champagne and clinked glasses with the other guests.

Just then, her phone started to ring. "Excuse me," she quietly said as she walked to a less crowded part of the room to check the message.

On Wendy Shangguan's cell phone, there were several pictures of a woman in a lotus dress who was tied up. The end of the rope tied to the back of an off-road vehicle.

Wendy's eyes widened in disbelief. She held her phone tightly, her body trembling uncontrollably and her breath coming in short gasps.

With her hand shaking, she tried to call the number that sent those photos. After a few attempts, there was no answer.

Noticing Wendy's panic, Harold walked over to her, taking a sip of his champagne.

'Something is wrong.' "What's the matter?" Harold asked in a low voice. Harold rarely showed any emotion on his face, but seeing Wendy's anxious expression made him uneasy as well.

Wendy's mind went blank. As she saw the address on the end of the message, she ran out of the hall without looking back.

"Wendy!" Harold yelled with a deep frown.

When Harold saw Wendy's pale face, he immediately walked up to the Earl and apologized to him. Putting the champagne on the table, Harold strode towards the parking lot.

"Wendy!" Seeing the red sports car roaring past in front of him, Harold immediately got into his car and quickly went in pursuit, stepping hard on the gas pedal.

Wendy's eyes were starting to get wet with tears as she tightly clutched the steering wheel with both hands. The photos she got of her mother flooded her thoughts. All Wendy could think about was to save her as soon as she could. Meanwhile, Harold kept on trying to contact Wendy through her phone.

"The subscriber you dialed cannot be reached for the time being. Please redial later," the cold, automatic voice kept saying. With a grunt, Harold kept on calling.

Wendy drove to the foot of the mountain. Just when she was about to contact the person who sent the photos, there was a sudden light beaming at the end of the road. It was the same off-road vehicle in the photos. The vehicle quickly ran past Wendy, much so that she was not able to see the person behind the wheel.

Wendy looked over at the car and her face suddenly turned pale! It was her mother who was being dragged by the off-road vehicle.

"No! Mom! Damn! You are all crazy! What are you doing?!" Wendy's eyes were red with anger. She immediately started her sports car and chased after them!

Sara Shuangguan's hands were tied with a hemp rope and hung at the back of the car. The fast off-road vehicle was running on the bumpy road. Her back rubbed against the cobbled road, and her white lotus dress was cut by the cobblestones.

Sara was almost about to pass out from the immense pain she was feeling. She was being tossed and turned around like a rag doll. There was a bloody path staining the dirt road at this point.

"Mom!" With a mournful look on her face, Wendy's fist landed on the steering wheel. She shifted the gear and sped up.

Looking at the bloody figure at the end of the car in front of her, she angrily and desperately chased after the car.

Harold had taken a detour and was already driving behind the speeding off-road vehicle. Hearing Wendy's desperate voice and seeing the figure dragged by the off-road vehicle in front of him, Harold immediately knew what was happening and hurriedly sped up to catch up.

The road was full of bumps and hollows. The chassis of the sports car was very low, so it was difficult to speed up. Hearing the voice from behind, Harold immediately looked in the rear-view mirror.

An off-road vehicle was running after them all of a sudden, quickly gaining on them.

Harold felt that there was something wrong with the situation. He clenched his teeth, feeling immensely tense. Without hesitation, he turned sharply, blocking off the vehicle's path.

"You brat, get out of the way if you don't want to die!" the person on the driver's seat stretched his head and scolded.

Harold had a hand tightly clutched on to the steering wheel while his other hand kept on dialing Wendy's number. His eye glanced coldly at the reflection on the rear view mirror.