Chapter 12 Mysterious Man in Black

• Antonia Traver's POV
• I watched as Mrs. Cherry led the three children into the playground before heading upstairs to start my shopping.
• A children's clothing store on the third floor was having a sale, and it was already packed with young mothers eagerly snapping up pieces of clothing for their children. I did my best to squeeze my way in and start selecting things for the kids from the discounted section.
• I was completely focused on choosing the best items when I heard people around me exclaiming, "Oh my goodness! Who are they? Look at how grand their procession is."
• "Whoa, these handsome men are all over six feet tall! They look so fine in those suits. Any one of them could become the star among the male escorts at Twilight Bar!"
• The star among the male escorts at Twilight Bar?
• My body tensed up a little when I heard their remarks. Are they talking about that debt-paying male escort? I turned my head to see what they were looking at and saw a group of tall men in black suits walking over in an orderly fashion.
• All the shoppers moved several feet backward to clear a path for them.
• "You're all wrong. Those are the bodyguards of Dallas Group's president."
• Right at that moment, a young mother with straight bangs spoke up smugly.
• "My husband works at Dallas Group. Their president has eighteen bodyguards, and all of them have the letter 'D' embossed in gold on their shoulders to represent their identity!"
• After a pause, she added, "From the looks of it, Mr. Stone must be here!"
• "Whoa!" One of the other young mothers started to fantasize. "If the bodyguards are already this handsome, imagine how gorgeous the president himself will be!"
• "Usually, if the bodyguards are tall and handsome, their boss is most likely a short and ugly man."
• "Exactly. I think so too…"
• Amid their chatter, I recalled Elijah's breathtakingly handsome face.
• Short and ugly? Those descriptions of him can't be further from the tAnna.
• The group of men in black set up a line of defense around the entrance of the Italian restaurant on the opposite side and stood guard at the entrance.
• Soon, I saw a tall man with an imposing aura walking into the restaurant…
• Isn't that Elijah Stone, the president of Dallas Group?
• As I watched his retreating back, I got a strange sense of familiarity.
• That's odd. Where have I seen him before?
• Robert Traver's POV
• Barnabas, Rose, and I played at the playground for a while, but since I had too much to drink, I needed to use the restroom.
• I informed Mrs. Cherry about it before heading off to the mall's restroom myself.
• After finishing up, I was about to wash my hands when I spotted a trail of blood on the floor!
• That's odd. Why's there blood here? Out of curiosity, I followed the trail of blood and found a wounded man in black lying inside the storeroom.
• He was wearing a face mask and a cap to hide his face, and the wound at his waist was still bleeding out.
• All of a sudden, his eyes flew open. He glared at me and raised the blade in his hand menacingly.
• I jumped in fright and leaped backward.
• Nevertheless, at the very next moment, he set his blade down and ignored me.
• I guessed he figured a three-year-old boy like me wouldn't be able to hurt him.
• Well, I considered myself a pretty kind person. Since he was bleeding out, I took the initiative to ask, "Hey, mister. Do you need any help?"
• However, he snarled at me. "Get lost, you little punk!"
• I was trying to help him out of the kindness of my heart, but he snapped at me instead. Although I felt a little hurt, I still took out a plaster from my pocket and held it out to him. "Here. This is for you."
• He rolled his eyes at me and didn't even bother to take it.
• I had no choice but to leave it beside him as I advised, "You'll die if you bleed out too much. You should see a doctor as soon as possible."
• I turned to leave right after saying that.
• "Robert! Robert!"
• As soon as I got to the entrance of the restroom, Little Pepper—Rose's pet—came flying toward me. I held my arm up as usual, and Little Pepper rested on the back of my hand. Then, I walked out of the restroom with it.