Alex looked at Vivian, who was crying next to him, and murmured under his breath, "Vivian, I'm so sorry."
"What are you apologizing for?" she asked, looking at him with teary eyes. "It's that young rich guy who should be sorry. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be in this situation."
Hearing this, his heart ached even more. He had ruined the life of someone he liked.
He composed himself and asked, "Then who's that Dale Granger they were talking about at the police station? Do you know him?"
"You're only a student, of course you wouldn't know…" Vivian wiped away her tears and told Alex, "After the Azure Dragon Society was destroyed, the various New York gangs battled for superiority. Now the pecking order is starting to become clear, and a gang called Flag Sect runs the city's underworld. Dale Granger is one of their leaders."
"Flag Sect—" Alex muttered softly. He had already thought of a way to deal with them.
Vivian continued, "Flag Sect received a large portion of their resources from the Azure Dragon Society. Along with the resources they already had, they've grown much more powerful than the original Azure Dragon Society. Its leader, Quentin Robbins, appears to be a respectable member of society, and he speaks as eloquently as the mayor himself. I've heard that most of their money is laundered through one of the famous department stores in New York."
Alex listened and thought, and they're targeting Vivian simply because she's so beautiful?
"Vivian, you won't be harassed by these bastards again," he said to her seriously. He felt that he owed her.
"Okay," she replied softly. She was touched but didn't take his words to heart. He was only a student, and she was up against the Flag Sect. How could Alex protect her or himself?
"Bang, bang, bang." At this moment, someone thudded on the door. "Open the door, Vivian. Right now."
"It's him." Her expression turned into one of terror.
Alex frowned and asked, "Dale Granger?"
"Yes. Now quickly hide. He'll kill you if he sees you."
"I'm not afraid. I promised Monica that I wouldn't let you two get bullied again by this thug." He looked determined.
Vivian went to him and kissed him on the corner of his mouth. He was stunned for a moment.
"Thank you, I'm very touched by your kindness. But now is not the time to be a hero," she said calmly. Then she took advantage of his shock and pushed him into the bedroom. "Don't come out under any circumstances, or I won't be able to save you."
"Vivian—" Alex wanted to say more, but she had already closed the door.
Granger was still banging on the front door. He was shouting, "Open the door. If you don't open the door, I'll kick it down."
"I'm coming." Vivian tried to steel herself before opening the door. A tall, middle-aged man walked in. He had a bald head and wore a black suit. His exposed wrists showed that his arms must be covered in tattoos. He was Flag Sect's underboss, Dale Granger.
"Mr. Granger, why are you here?" Vivian greeted him. Although she was smiling, her smile was fake.
Granger stared at her and sneered, "Why am I here? Huh, that's a good question. As you know, I'm a bachelor, and I'm always on the lookout for a beautiful single woman like you. What do you think I want?"
Slowly, he approached Vivian.
"Sit down, I'll get you a glass of water," Vivian offered, trying to appease him. She was terrified of this man.
"A glass of water? You're right, I am thirsty right now, but water can't resolve our situation." Granger's gaze didn't leave Vivian. Suddenly, he threw himself at her, but she dodged, and he missed.
He said, "I can understand why you rejected me when Flag Sect was still a second-rate gang, but now we run New York, and you're still hiding from me. Tell me why. You know I can protect you and keep you safe."
"Mr. Granger, I just want to live a peaceful life. Please leave me alone."
"Leave you alone? Ha." His eyes were cold and hard as he said, "That's fine, I'm not asking for much. Keep me company tonight, and then I'll leave you alone."
As he said this, he rushed toward her. This time, she didn't dodge in time, and she ended up being hugged by him.
"Let go of me!" Vivian struggled fiercely in his arms, but there was no way she could get away from him.
Granger put his nose close to Vivian's neck and sniffed greedily. "You smell delicious," he said as he held her hand tightly; a lewd smile appearing on his face. Then he carried her to the sofa, took off his jacket, and threw himself on top of her.
"Get off." Vivian kicked and hit, but he had already kissed her several times and was about to start ripping off her clothes.
Suddenly, something heavy struck his head.
"Ouch," he said, rubbing his head. He stood up and saw a young teenage girl standing in front of him. She was wearing pyjamas and had a golf club in her hand.
"Mom, I'll hit him again." Monica aimed her golf club at Granger's head. She was very scared, and when she saw all his tattoos, she started shaking.
"Little girl, damn you, come over here," he said, walking toward Monica. She swung the golf club at him again, but this time she missed, and he managed to grab the club from her and throw it out of reach.
"Do you want me to kill you?" he hissed as he held her up with one hand and smacked her butt twice, causing her to scream out loud.
You bastard, Alex said to himself as he watched Granger throwing Monica onto the sofa. She landed heavily, and then fell onto the floor.
"Monica, are you okay?" Vivian's heart ached as she rushed over to help her up. Tears were flowing down her face. She was so proud that Monica had dared to challenge a ferocious thug like Dale Granger to protect her.
"I'm fine, Mom. I'm not hurt," Monica replied, "but I'm no use. I can't beat this horrible man."
She fell off the sofa onto the floor. How can she not be hurt? Vivian thought anxiously.
"Mother and daughter, ha, I'm so lucky today. Such a young beauty and such a mature beauty. We're going to have fun together tonight," Granger said with an obscene smile. As he unbuckled his belt, he walked toward Vivian and Monica. "This night will be unforgettable for both of you."
"Monica, hurry up and go to the bedroom." Vivian pushed her away. She thought, No one can stop this beast now, but I need to make sure that he only has his way with me. Monica's still a child; how can he even think about laying a finger on her?
"I'm not leaving. I want to protect you." Monica didn't understand what Granger was planning. She only had one goal, and that was not to let her mom be harmed. She glared at him, and said, "Don't come any closer, or I'll beat you to death."
"Neither of you are going anywhere. Come on, my two darlings, let me take good care of you."
At that moment, the bedroom door slammed open. Granger was startled and quickly looked in the direction of the bedroom.
"You bastard." Boiling with rage, Alex rushed over to him and hit him in the face with a lamp. Granger's face turned red, and he screamed as he fell to the ground, covering his head with his hands.
"Vivian, get up," Alex ordered, and he started pulling Vivian and Monica toward the door so that they could all escape.
But before he could open the door, Alex heard, "Hold it right there." Granger grabbed his hair and pulled him down to the ground.
From the floor, Alex shouted at Vivian, "Go. Hurry up and get out of here." He could only hope that Vivian could get out in time. Then, even if he died at that moment, he would have no regrets.
"Alex," sobbed Vivian.
"Alex," cried Monica. They didn't want to leave their hero.
But Vivian knew that they wouldn't be any help if they stayed, and Alex wouldn't want his desperate attempt to save them to all be in vain. "Monica, let's go," she said.
She pulled her daughter to the door, and they rushed out.
"Damn." Covered in blood, Granger looked terrifying. He raised his fist, which was as big as a sandbag, and tried to punch Alex, who was still lying on the ground.
Alex dodged, and Granger's fist slammed into the floor instead. Alex tried to focus and regain all his strength. He had to fight with everything he had if he didn't want to die at the hands of Granger.
He somehow managed to wrap his legs around Granger's head, and then he used all his strength to throw him to the ground. He quickly stood up and ran toward the nearest door.
Alex slammed the door behind him and then leaned his back against it to prevent Granger from getting out. He breathed a sigh of relief.
"Ah." Alex suddenly realized that he was in the kitchen, and standing in front of him was a petite old lady. She was five feet tall, and her white hair was pulled back in a bun.
She was holding a piece of bread and looking curiously at Alex. She looked a little weak, but there was a certain dignity to her face as she stared at him with hawk-like eyes.
Alex was shocked to suddenly find this strange elderly lady in Vivian's flat.
"What a handsome young lad," the woman said with a strange smile. Her voice sounded very old and frail.
Suddenly, the old woman threw away the bread. Her feet shuffled slightly and, in the blink of an eye, she was standing in front of Alex. Her hand was reaching toward his neck.
Alex was shocked by the weird scene, but he managed to move out of the way and the old lady's hand slammed through the door. She turned around and was getting ready to attack him a second time.
"Open the door, you little shit," shouted Granger as he broke the door open. With a bang, it slammed into the old woman's head.
"Damn, Vivian's mother is here too." He looked at the old woman and said, "Old woman, you better leave right now if you don't want to get hurt."
"How dare you." Hearing that he was being disrespectful to her, the old woman flew into a rage. With a wave of her arm, she threw a toaster at his head. He dodged, and the toaster smashed a large hole in the door. The exertion caused the woman to cough violently.
"Wow. I can't believe you did that," said Granger. He strode over to her and wrapped his arm around her neck. "Damn it, since you don't appreciate that I'm trying to help you, you better say your goodbyes."
The old woman was helpless against Granger. Her entire body was lifted off the ground by him, and it seemed like he was about to strangle her to death. Her face turned red, and all she could do was wink at Alex.
Alex picked up a frying pan and threw it at him.
In that split second, the old woman picked up a kitchen knife from the chopping board and mercilessly hacked straight down Granger's face. "Die, you bastard," she screamed. Granger fell to the ground leaving a trail of blood. The kitchen knife fell with him.