CHAPTER 7

The two men in front of the alley were thin and ugly. When they saw Madelyn alone, they laughed lewd.

Nothing like this had ever happened to Madelyn. She shivered violently and retreated a few steps.

"Little girl, it must be lonely walking alone on the road. Why don't you let me spend some time with you?" The two men came towards her with a fruit knife in their hand.

"What… What do you want?" Madelyn looked at the two men slowly approaching her, turned and ran out.

"Help…"

"Help…"

Madelyn had barely run a few steps when she was stopped by another lewd-looking man who held a knife to her neck.

"Bitch, don't be a bitch. You're lucky to be liked by us. You'd better do what you're told. It'll save you some pain.

Madelyn was terrified by the move, tears streaming down her face.

"Please let me go! If you want money, I'll give it to you, if you just let me go."

"How much money can a little girl like you have? Even if you do, I guess it's from sleeping with other men. Ha ha…"

Madelyn felt like her heart was going to break, and she started shaking as she spoke.

"I'm Alexander… Byron's fiancee, and they'll… give you money… as long as you can just… let me go."

"Who is Alexander Byron? Do you know him?" The thin man asked the other man.

"No!"

Madelyn wept even more when they told her they didn't know Alexander Byron. She thought that Alexander Byron's title would scare them. Turned out they didn't know him at all.

"I'm not lying to you. I…"

"Little girl, don't tell us so many lies. Why don't you be a good girl and have some fun with us?"

"Yeah, we're gonna make you feel so good. You'll be screaming for it yourself." There was a lascivious gleam in the thin man's eyes.

With that, the creepy guy threw the knife and shoved Madelyn into a dark corner and the two approached slowly.

He pushed Madelyn into the wall and she fell to the ground. She tried to stand up but she was pinned to the ground by the two men.

"Let go of me, please…" Madelyn was kicking and punching.

"Wow. I didn't know you are such a badass. I like it!" The thin man said and kissed Madelyn on the cheek.

"Bang…"

He was about to rape Madelyn when he was knocked over by a sudden kick.

"Who's that? Do you want to be dead? How dare you intrude on my business?" He staggered to his feet and looked at the masked man in front of him.

The man did not say anything, but he had the natural power to overwhelm them.

One of them took a few tremulous steps toward the masked man and said, "Who are you?"

"The man who will kill you!" A deep voice sounded.

All could be heard was a crackling sound of broken bones and two very loud cries.

As Madelyn recoiled, Alexander Byron stepped over them and walked slowly toward her.

The lights in the alley were too dim, and Madelyn knew she was saved, and then she felt it go dark, and she didn't know anything.

VIP suite at the top hospital in Cornshire.

"Don't, please don't touch me."

Madelyn's hands were clawing desperately in the air. Tears were trickling down her frightened little face.

"Mom, help me! Mom, don't go."

Seeing her like this, Andrew Davis was heartbroken and tears welled up in his eyes. He grabbed her clutched hands, patted her back and said, "Madelyn, it's my fault. I didn't take care of you enough to let you get hurt so badly."

Andrew Davis always felt he owed Madelyn a lot. Because he had been so busy in the company that he neglected to take care of her. And Madelyn had always been a very sensible and nice kid, so he always thought she was happy.

Andrew Davis felt like a thousand knives cutting through his heart as he looked at the tiny figure huddled in the hospital bed. He buried his face in Madelyn's hands and sobbed softly.

Madelyn heard someone crying around her, but she didn't know who was crying so hard. She opened her heavy eyelids and saw her father crying, holding her hands.

"Dad!" said Madelyn lovingly.

Andrew heard his daughter calling him. He looked up and said happily, "Madelyn, you're fianlly awake."

"Dad, what's wrong with you? Did something happen? Why are you crying?"

"This is joy. I cried for joy when I saw you awake." He wiped his eyes as he spoke.

Madelyn knew he must have blamed himself for not taking care of her. Except for her mom's car accident, she had never seen him shed a tear her whole life.

"Dad, I'm fine. Don't worry. I'll be fine in a few days." Madelyn smiled and comforted him.

Seeing Madelyn was looking a little better, Andrew Davis looked better, too. He was going to ask her what had happened, but he didn't.

Seeing how distraught her father was, Madelyn was afraid he would be worried, so she thought she should talk about what was going on.

"Dad, do you know who called me to the hospital?" asked Madelyn quietly.

"I don't know. I didn't know you were in hospital until I got a call from the hospital. And they obviously knew us, because the hospital called me directly on my cell phone."

Andrew Davis also had a surprised look on his face. An acquaintance would have given his name, but it was obvious that he didn't want to be known.

"Madelyn, if he doesn't want us to know who he is, we don't have to worry about it. You get some rest. I'll call Laurie."

Watching his back slowly disappear in front of her, Madelyn felt really bad about herself. How could she How could she let her father worry about her when she was so old?

Who saved her? Madelyn recounted what happened that night. She seemed to see a man in a mask rescuing her, but who was he?

…

"Hello? Laurie, Madelyn's in the hospital. Tell Mrs. Smith to make some chicken soup, and I'll send someone back to fetch it later." Andrew Davis said.

"I can't do that. I'm out shopping with Mrs. Lee and Mrs. Watson. Call her and tell her yourself." Laurie said impatiently.

"All right, I'll just call home."

Andrew Davis looked up at the sky. Was he really right to marry Laurie?