novelxo Chapter 1
Chapter I
There is always a gust of wind in the world only blowing for me.
“I’ve wandered in a foreign land for eight years, but now I returned, empty-handed.”
Riverside City Airport.
Markus Blackthorn looked up at the blue sky and white clouds above the city and let out a deep sigh.
The sigh was born out of a sense of helplessness toward life.
It was like he was a teen again, where his pockets were cleaner than his face.
Even though he was the famous Sixth Son of Aurelius in the Northern Garrison, he had almost had to beg just to return to Riverside City.
Time raced like a galloping horse.
In the blink of an eye, eight years had passed.
“Wow, he sure sounds confident for someone who has zero to his name. What a weirdo!”
A gust of wind, filled with fragrance, blew past Markus as he heard a woman complain about him under her breath.
He turned to look, only to see a beautiful woman walking past him.
The young woman wore a fitted blue T-shirt that outlined her full figure. Her abdomen was flat and her buttocks were full and perky.
Markus’s eyes instantly lit up with a renewed sense of hope toward life.
The air in Riverside City was still so refreshing and comfortable.
“Over here, Josephine!”
An old black Mercedes-AMG was parked outside the airport exit, and the middle-aged driver was waving happily at Josephine.
“Alexander!”
Josephine smiled and quickly walked up to him. She tossed her suitcase into the trunk and sat in the passenger seat.
But she soon lost her cool.
Why was there suddenly another man in their car?
“Who are you? When did you get in?”
The stranger, a young man, was the same weirdo who had been lamenting about life at the airport exit just now.
“Is this your friend, Josephine?” Alexander asked.
“No, I don’t know him!”
“Young man, this isn’t a cab. We don’t take passengers.”
“You’re heading back to Riverside, right? You have space in your car anyway. It won’t cost you anything to take me with you.” “Why should I take you with me? I don’t even know you.”
Josephine looked disgusted. Shameless people like this young man, even though he looked quite handsome, were her pet
peeve.
“Hey, man. What’s that around your waist? Why does it look like a… gun?”
Ignoring Joséphine, Markus looked curiously at Alexander.
Alexander’s expression changed instantly, and he averted his eyes. But he quickly covered it up and said confidently, ‘Don’t tease me, young man! It’s not a gun! Plus, it’s illegal for a civilian to carry a gun around!”
Then he turned to Josephine and said, “I think he looks like a decent guy. Why don’t we take him with us? We’re heading to Riverside anyway. It’s no big deal.
Josephine didn’t really want to, but she didn’t insist. She warned Markus, saying. “You’d better behave yourself. The moment we arrive at Riverside, you have to get out!”
‘Gotcha!”
Markus fixed his eyes on Josephine’s seductive figure, his gaze lingering on her as if he had seen through her clothes to unravel every inch of the mystery underneath.
“You
2/4
Chapter 1
Josephine glared at him. “Get out if you’re going to be so rude!”
Markus immediately looked straight, looking like the perfect gentleman.
After that, he felt bored, so he held his dark green military backpack like a pillow and closed his eyes to sleep.
It was as if the car was his.
Seeing this, Josephine felt even more disgusted.
Halfway through the car ride, a report fell from his military backpack.
Josephine picked it up. When she took a look at it, she instantly felt uneasy.
It was a schizophrenia diagnosis report.
Level three, at that.
The patient’s photo was of the man in front of her.
There was a red seal affixed to the bottom right corner of the paper.
The signature indicated the report came from the Greenvale Mental Institution.
“Oh my God!
“He’s mentally illt
“Even though he’s so handsome!
“Even though he’s so young!
“How did he end up with schizophrenia?
“No wonder he seems so off.
“So, he’s mentally ill….
“Level three means he’s quite seriously ill!” Josephine thought.
She immediately moved to her right, having made up her mind that Markus was a weirdo.
“Alexander! Alexander!”
Josephine was trying to catch the driver’s attention when she suddenly noticed something off about the scenery outside. She asked suspiciously, “Did you take the wrong road? This is the road to the dock, not Riverside, isn’t it?”
“We’re going to the dock!”
Alexander let out a strange laugh. “Josephine, your father is such a busy man. Do you really think he’d think of sending someone to pick you up?
You don’t know yet, do you? He fired me the day before yesterday.
I’ve worked for him for so many years, and he should at least appreciate my years of service! It’s fine if he didn’t help me when he found out about my gambling debts, but he actually fired me! I’m pissed!
“I didn’t want to kidnap you, Josephine. But I owe people more than 200,000 dollars. I’ll die if I don’t use you to threaten your father for ransom money. Do you understand now, Josephine?”
Alexander’s expression became more and more ferocious.
Josephine’s pupils shrunk in shock. She realized that she had been kidnapped!
There was more than one psycho in the car.
And she had been kidnapped.
She felt her head spinning a little.
“Stop the car! I want to get out!”
Whoosh!
Suddenly, Alexander took out a gun and pointed it at Josephine. “Shut up!”
This frightened Josephine so much that she didn’t dare to speak again. Her lips even turned pale.
Several minutes later, the Mercedes-AMG arrived at the empty dock. There was a shabby fishing boat floating in the river.
“Get out!”
Alexander threatened the two passengers with his gun to get out of the car, including Markus who had just woken up. Not far away, two unkind-looking men came over.
3/4
16:05
Chapter 1
“Not bad, Alexander. You caught Arthur Beaumont’s daughter right away! When he gets here, you’ll not only clear your debt to Pablo but also make a fortune!*
The bald man with a scar on his face frowned when he saw Markus, “Who’s this?”
“He’s just a fool!”
Alexander looked at Markus mockingly. To him, Markus was a fool for getting into the car and digging his own grave.
“Uh… I’m just trying to hitch a ride. Why don’t you let me go? I wish you good luck and fortune ahead!”
Markus didn’t seem fully awake yet. He looked relaxed.
“What if I let you go and you call the cops on us? I think we should just…”
Scar made a cutting gesture at his neck.
No!
Alexander rejected the suggestion sternly. “We’re doing this for money. Killing him will change everything.”
“He’s right, my man! Based on Article 128 of the Sinoval Criminal Code, you can get prisoned for three to seven years in prison for the illegal possession of a gun.
“Based on Article 239 of Sinoval Criminal Code, kidnapping can land you in prison for more than 10 years, up to life sentence without parole.
“Even if you’re convicted for several crimes, you’ll get a life sentence without parole at most.
“But killing me will get you the death penalty… It’s not worth it.”
Markus sounded serious and proficient with the law as if he was reciting from a book.
The men were speechless.
Why was this man such a pessimist?
He didn’t even know how to beg for mercy!
There was such a massive difference between a life sentence without parole and the death penalty!
Alexander hesitated for a moment but said, “Let’s just kill him.”