City limits, 9 p.m.
A car passes by on a deserted mountain road. The rain pounded the earth heavily in the night's darkness. The edge of the mountain road was a steep cliff. The atmosphere was even more tense because not a single car passed that way except Viana's car.
Moments later, there was another light coming from the opposite lane. Viana's driver, who was driving, finally felt a little relieved to find another car on this road. But his relief was short-lived, as the car in front that was supposed to be in his lane began to sway and speed towards him...
"Oh, no!"
Viana's driver tried to brake and quickly avoid the car from hitting him. However, the car in front of him was already driving very fast, and the narrow road with cliffs on the edge made it difficult for the Viana driver to avoid. As a result, the two cars collided violently in a split second!
Viana, who was sitting behind the driver in a half-drowsy state, had no time to react until an extremely loud noise shook her ears, her body bounced off, and her head crashed mercilessly forward. There was only darkness in her vision, and her head hurt like hell.
Fortunately, Viana's car had slowed down, so the consequences of the collision were not as severe as when two cars collide at full speed. Viana was also wearing a seatbelt in the back seat, which kept her from being thrown too far forward.
Even so, her condition was not good. Viana struggled to maintain consciousness while enduring the excruciating pain in her head and called out to the driver in front of her.
"Mr. Driver?" Viana asked in a weak voice.
There was no answer. Viana's vision was blurry and the dizziness in her head was unbearable. She didn't dare speculate on anything at the moment. The first thing she had to do was save herself and call for help!
Viana tried to open the car door, but it wouldn't open. Viana dumbfounded and convinced that the collision had jammed the car door. She had no choice but to use whatever she could find to break the glass.
Crash!
Someone was hiding somewhere in the distance. Secretly, that person watched the whole process of Viana's car accident. When he saw the side glass of the car being broken from the inside, his forehead wrinkled and his mouth chuckled in exasperation. Angrily, he picked up the phone.
"She's still alive. Second car, do your job!"
Viana broke the glass with the glass-breaking hammer that was in her car. She paid little attention to it at first, but it turned out to be very useful one day. As the glass shattered, she carefully crawled out of the window.
When half of her body was outside the window, a car suddenly sped up from behind. The bright headlights of the car blinded her eyes for a moment. The car came and aligned itself with Viana's car, turned, then positioned the front of its car towards Viana's car body, and hit Viana's car from the side!
This car intended to push Viana's car into the ravine!
The violent impact from the side of her car threw Viana, who was at the window on the other side, out. As her body thrown out, what greeted her was a dark and deep natural abyss. The car continued to push Viana's car to the edge of the ravine, while Viana was already bouncing out. Eventually, Viana and her car fell into the abyss.
Viana fell apart from her car and did not know where she would fall. She only felt her body in the air for a moment, occasionally hitting a tree branch and then landing quite hard on the trunk of a large tree. The trunk was strong and thick, so when Viana's body fell onto it, it bounced slightly.
This was the first time Viana felt severe pain all over her body. From her head to her feet, there was no place that didn't hurt. She had a hard time distinguishing the level of pain in her body parts. She couldn't even move anymore.
Viana tried hard to open her eyes, but her vision was getting blurry. The pain in her body had reached its limit. Her chest felt tight, and she could only groan weakly.
Viana also vaguely heard a loud noise from down there when her car hit the ground at the bottom of the ravine. Tears involuntarily escaped from Viana's half-open eyes. If it wasn't for her landing here and the branches slowing her fall, she would have died.
The rain gradually stopped, and the moon emitted its faint rays. If one were here, one would see a girl in terrible condition lying on a tree trunk. The tree grew out of the sloping ground of the ravine, so it did not stand straight up but grew straight sideways, so Viana's body could lie on it safely.
In Viana's darkening vision, she faintly saw the faint glow of the streetlights above. From this, Viana knew that her fall was not too deep; she was still close to the edge of the cliff above her.
Viana blinked slowly and still thought about bracing herself. She still wanted to live; she didn't want to just die in this cold place.
With her remaining strength, she grabbed the cell phone that was in the inner pocket of her clothes. With her blurred vision, she struggled to press the button that resembled a flashlight with an SOS signal function.
After the flashlight flickered, Viana placed her cell phone on top of her body and kept the light on and flickering. Soon, her body could no longer bear it. Viana's heartbeat slowed down, and she couldn't see anything. Her whole body went limp, and she lost consciousness.
In the dark night, in the abyss of the city border, a light flickered in the abyss of darkness, desperately waiting for someone to fulfill its destiny.
***
Midnight on a suburban road...
A Jeep drove on a deserted road. The wheels of the car passed through a puddle and caused ripples, but the two people in the car were very calm; there was not even the slightest ripple on their expressions as they passed through the deserted streets in the middle of the night. A frightened silence.
The drizzle had stopped. Nature seemed to be asleep.
The man's gaze occasionally swept across the car window, where there was nothing but darkness. His gaze was calm and deep, but also cold and expressionless. No one could guess what was on his mind because of the calmness on his face.
"How much longer until we get there?" he asked in a low, deep voice.
A man a few years younger in the driver's seat looked at the digital map on the car's small screen. "It seems like a long time. We're still at the border of the city now."
The man behind him sighed softly, then closed his eyes to rest.
The driver looked at the small mirror above him. "Commander, this time you went to investigate an important task. I know you always prioritize tasks, but we will soon be on a mountain road and leaving the last populated area. Would you like to rest first?"
The man behind him replied briefly while keeping his eyes closed, "No need."
The driver nodded, then sighed quietly.
The man behind him was Alen Rihard, an outstanding figure in his identity and work. Meanwhile, the young man driving the car was Dean, Alen's assistant.
Because of his commander's orders, Dean didn't hesitate to focus on the road and drove quickly and steadily.
Half an hour later, the car suddenly slowed down and stopped.
Alen, who was resting, forced to open his eyes lazily. "What's wrong?"
Dean answered without looking back. "Commander, there are several cars blocking the road. There seems to have been an accident here."
Alen's eyes narrowed when he heard Dean's words. He shifted his body to get a better view through the windshield. It was true, there were two damaged cars lined up on the narrow road in front of them. If they didn't get rid of them, their cars wouldn't be able to move forward.
Alen clicked and opened the car door. "Get down and look."
Dean got out of the car after hearing his order. They looked at one by one of the two damaged cars. Alen carefully examined the surrounding area, trying to figure out how this accident could have happened.
"Based on their position and damage, these two cars shouldn't have collided face to face, right?" asked Dean, analyzing.
If Dean knew the truth, the two cars that had damaged were one car that hit Viana the first time, and the second car was the car that pushed Viana off the cliff. One car was in a horizontal position and the other was vertical.
Alen didn't answer.
Dean looked into the destroyed car. "One driver died here."
Alen turned his head in the other direction and walked slowly to the edge of the cliff, then discovered something. "Actually, there were three cars involved in the accident here."
Dean was surprised. "What? Three cars?"
Alen picked up the broken body of another car that looked different from the two cars on the road. The asphalt of the road scratched, and the scratches led to the ravine. "The other car plunged into the ravine."
As he said, his eyes traced into the dark abyss. His vision quickly caught the weak light flickering from within the ravine.
"There's someone here," Alen said, a little surprised.
Dean was even more surprised. He quickly followed and stood beside Alen. When he looked down, he also found the small flashing light. "Yes, someone's calling for help! Should we call the evacuation team now?"
Alen gave Dean a flat look. "Shall we wait for them to come and then pick up the cold corpse?"
The distance between the city center and this location was quite far. Alen didn't know what happened to the person who activated the flashlight. If that person was the victim of this accident, his condition must not be good. Waiting for the rescue team to arrive for a long time was the same as waiting for this victim to die.
Alen firmly ordered. "Bring our car here."
Dean nodded and immediately did as Alen ordered. After their car approached, Alen opened the trunk of his car and looked at the equipment they were carrying.
Alen looked around the trunk and then said confidently. "We can try it."
Dean stood in place, watching Alen grab the head torch, rope, and hook. He immediately caught Alen's meaning and warned. "This is too dangerous, Commander!"
"He'll die if we don't save him soon. Judging from the damage to the cars, this accident is quite severe. I'm not sure if the victim will survive much longer after falling into the ravine," Alen replied as he tied a special strong rope around his body.
Dean looked at the ravine, then back at the two mangled cars on the road. "You're right. The victim must have seriously injured."
His commander's actions were noble and brave. Alen highly valued a person's life as long as it wasn't his enemy.
Dean was in awe, as always.
Alen prepared two strong ropes: one for himself and one for the person in the ravine. He tied the end of his rope to the cylindrical roadblock. Then the other rope, he passed it from the cylindrical roadblock and tied the end to the front of the car.
Seeing this, Dean couldn't help but caution. "If you can't save her, then don't push yourself. Personal safety comes first."
Alen tested the strength of the rope knot and replied, "I know."
Dean did not doubt his commander's ability. He had known Alen for years. Dean was well aware of Alen's abilities in various fields.
Dean looked into the ravine. "Based on the flashlight's distance, it's probably not that deep."
Alen replied with "Hm," then prepared to descend. "I'll go down. You stand guard above to help me later."
Before Dean could answer, his commander had already plunged into the ravine.
"..."
Dean could only sigh.
Alen continued to move down by controlling the rope. It didn't take long for the flashlight's flickering light to become brighter. Dean was right in his prediction that the victim was near to the edge of the cliff.
Alen landed on a tree trunk protruding from the cliff face. Afraid that the trunk would break after bearing the weight of two people, he hung half his body weight on the rope.
Alen looked at the victim lying on the tree trunk with a flashlight on her head. "A girl?"
The victim's hair was long and flowing, half covering her face. There was blood everywhere. An ordinary person would be terrified if they saw this scene at night.
Alen wasted no time and immediately lifted the girl's body. He held her with one hand while the other tied the rope he had prepared to her body. The rope binding model Alen used was not arbitrary. The rope binding the girl's body was ideal for supporting her upper body and knees. The girl's body was slim and thin, which made it easy for him in terms of weight.
Once the girl's body was securely and firmly supported, Alen shook the rope.
Dean, who was waiting upstairs, saw the rope tied to the car move as a signal. He immediately started the car and drove it backwards very slowly.
The girl's body lifted little by little. Alen followed from below, climbing the rope himself all the way to the top. It didn't take long for him to reach the edge of the cliff.
Alen's feet hit the asphalt again and quickly helped Dean lift the girl's body.
Finally, the girl brought up safely. Alen lifted the girl's upper body and rested it on his arm. Carefully, Alen and Dean checked her condition. They subconsciously took a breath as they saw the severe condition of the girl's body.
Her face was pale with several small shallow scratches and was bleeding. Fortunately, the wounds on the face were not so severe that they could heal without leaving a mark. What was unfortunate were the wounds on her legs and hands. They were bleeding and probably had broken bones.
Alen checked the girl's pulse and breathing. "Still alive."
Dean breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that their efforts were not in vain. The person they saved was still alive.
But Alen frowned slightly. "Her pulse and breathing are very weak. I'm afraid she won't survive much longer."
Dean was surprised. "Then we should take her to the nearest hospital as soon as possible!"
They wasted no time. Alen carried the girl with both hands and put her in the car. They drove fast and continued their journey.
In the car...
Viana had been unconscious in the back seat for a long time. Her wounds were still bleeding, looking very pitiful.
Dean said, "The evacuation officer in the city center has contacted. They're coming to clean up the accident site."
"Hm," Alen replied.
Dean glimpsed the girl in the back seat through the small glass on top of the car. "What should we do after taking this girl to the hospital?"
Alen didn't even turn his head. "Contact her family, that's enough. We can get on with our work."
Dean nodded and said nothing else.
Alen looked at the wallet and cell phone in front of him. They belonged to the young woman he had just saved. Alen initially refused to deal with anyone who had nothing to do with his duties. However, as he recalled the scene of the accident, he felt something strange. The suspicion in his heart grew.
Alen was very sensitive when he was researching a case. His mind could already guess that the accident must have been intentional. He wondered who this girl was that could make others go to such lengths to cause a car accident. Could it be that this girl was an unusual person?
Finally, Alen reached out and took the girl's purse first. When he opened her purse, something immediately caught his attention.
Dean couldn't help glancing to the side and surprising. "This..."
Alen's face instantly turned serious. "This is the Harvey family identity card." he recognized it immediately. "The red color in this card shows how important her position is in the Harvey family, or perhaps she is the current leader of the Harvey family."
Dean was dumbfounded. "Could she be the young girl who became the head of the Harvey family? Gosh, there are so many rumors these days!" Dean couldn't contain his shock.
The Harvey family was the number one family in the capital city of the Harveina kingdom. Like the name of the kingdom, the Harvey family has ruled Harveina since its foundation and for generations to come. Unlike the royal families of old, the modern-day Harveys have also developed extensive private businesses. The Harvey family controlled and ran many sectors within the country. That's why the Harveys are so rich and powerful.
A king can only focus on governing and managing the country. Therefore, to share the duties, the Harvey family's huge private businesses would be managed by the Harvey family leader.
The current king is the younger brother of Viana's father, Edric Harvey. Actually, the position of king passing down to Viana's father, but Viana's father rejected it because he preferred to be the family leader who managed the entire Harvey family business.
So, after Viana's father passed away, being the leader of the Harvey family fell to her.
"According to rumors, her late father, who passed away not too long ago, had passed on his position to the girl to become the leader of the huge and rich Harvey family! Even her younger brother defeated! Many people say that she is so smart and talented that she was given full control of the Harvey family!" Dean continued in awe.
Alen listened to Dean's story intently. He had heard about the rumors a while ago, but Alen still didn't expect that he would meet this girl under such miserable circumstances.
Alen folded her wallet and turned around to pick up the girl's cell phone. The phone locked and only displayed the lock screen, which had a photo of a girl with her father. The girl was beautiful, gentle, calm, and she was smiling happily with her father beside her.
"Viana Harvey..." Alen raised the corners of his mouth slightly after reading the girl's name on the ID card. "Apparently, things are not as simple as we thought."
***
When they arrived at their destination that night, Alen and Dean shared the task. Dean ordered to take Viana to the hospital for immediate treatment, while Alen went to the headquarters to place all the equipment and check the mission preparations.
Viana treated well by the medics after entering the emergency room. Her life saved. All the nurses and doctors had completed Viana's first treatment by the end of the night. Her wounds treated and bandaged well. The location of the broken bone has bandaged with a cast. However, Viana still could not regain consciousness.
Alen was busy at the regional headquarters. Piling up work and reports kept him up all night. Finally, he only had two hours of sleep before the sun came up, and the ringing of his cell phone startled him.
Because his position was so important and mysterious, few people could have his cell phone number. Most people would call Dean or another assistant first, and then Dean would report to him in case of urgent matters.
Alen was lying on the sofa when he opened his eyes and reluctantly picked up his cell phone on the table.
"We've got some new information for you, Commander. If you're ready, I'll be waiting for you at the hospital now. You'd better come check it out," Dean said over the phone.
Alen was silent for a moment before answering, "Hm."
After the phone hung up, Alen thought of the girl he had saved the night before. Considering that the girl's position was very important in the Harvey family, the number one family in the capital and had ties to the head of state, this accident would make headlines in the capital.
Thinking of this, Alen became interested in the possibilities and immediately got up to get ready.
***
At the hospital...
Alen got out of his car and walked towards the upper floor of the hospital. He walked around the hallway for a while, looking left and right and occasionally checking his cell phone to find the name of the room where Viana admitted Dean had sent him. It didn't take long for Alen to find the room and enter.
Dean engrossing in watching television. As soon as Alen entered, he immediately stood up and greeted Alen.
"Commander, you've arrived."
Alen glanced at the girl lying on the hospital bed. He saw bandages covering most of the girl's limbs, including her head, left hand, and right leg.
"How was the doctor's examination?" Alen asked first.
Dean replied, "The doctor stated that her condition is critical; she has broken bones in her left hand and right leg. Those will take time to recover. Then she suffered a blow to the head. Based on the results of the examination, she will most likely have temporary amnesia, but this can only confirm after she wakes up."
For someone who gets into a car accident in a row and then falls into a ravine, this kind of injury is better than death.
Fate still seemed to be on this girl's side.
"You stayed here alone all night?" Alen asked Dean while frowning slightly.
Dean answered honestly. "Of course, you left me here to look after her. So, when the doctor asks about my relationship with the patient, I can only say that I am her family member."
"...."
Alen was silent for a moment, then said nothing more. He just stared at the television in the patient's room, waiting.
"Last night, the evacuation team should have finished handling the accident scene. The news will soon spread throughout the capital and the region," said Dean, who was also waiting.
They both guessed how the news about Viana would broadcast. As they expected, the latest news appeared on the television screen.
"Viewers, a series of accidents have killed the leader of the Harvey family, who had just replaced her father as the leader of the Harvey family, Miss Viana. The accident occurred on the border of the capital, and Miss Viana's car fell into a ravine..."
Alen and Dean only listened for a moment before they lost in their own thoughts.
How could they say Viana's daughter had died? Obviously, nobody found there.
"All of this was planned," Alen muttered in conclusion.