Chapter 334
Richard watched the distant light, which kept moving forward, maintaining the same distance no matter how hard they tried to catch up. He was exhausted. Theodore felt like he was about to collapse from exhaustion. He panted, saying, “Hey, if she knows we’re chasing her, why doesn’t she just turn off the flashlight and run?”
In the dark, any light is glaring. Is Stephanie clueless, or does she think she’s that strong? Could she really outrun a bunch of big guys? Theodore wondered. But hearing the heavy panting around him, he fell quiet.
Richard glanced at him coldly. “Why do you think she’s holding the flashlight?”
Theodore looked back at Richard, his mind going blank. “Yeah, why?” It seemed like Stephanie up ahead wasn’t tired at all and kept going without stopping.
Richard’s breath came out cold as he pulled out a gun and fired a shot at the light. The white light stopped immediately, not moving forward at all.
Theodore’s heart skipped a beat. His eyes narrowed in shock. “Are you crazy? Haven’t you had enough of this running-around life? If you haven’t, don’t drag me into it. You’re really losing it.”
For years, not finding Stephanie had nearly driven Sebastian out of his mind. Theodore couldn’t believe Richard had actually killed her.
“It’s over,” Theodore said quietly. “Hiding from Sebastian is pointless now. Even if we buried ourselves underground, he’d still dig us up and tear us apart.” He believed they were completely screwed now.
Richard shot Theodore a cold look, then strode forward without another word. Theodore and the bodyguards followed close behind.
Within minutes, they reached the spot marked by the light and found a large shepherd dog collapsed on the ground. On its head was a flashlight, and strapped to its back was the maid’s phone.
The group stared, speechless. Theodore blinked. “Wait… This is…” They didn’t expect to see a dog instead of Stephanie.
He glanced at Richard, whose eyes were darkening like a storm about to break.
“Oh, Stephanie, you really pulled something impressive,” Richard grumbled in his mind.
“Where’s Stephanie?” Theodore asked, his voice trailing off. “Wait, how did she pull that off?”
No wonder we couldn’t catch up no matter how hard we chased. So it was a dog we’ve been after all along? Theodore was completely baffled. On Richard’s turf, she’d tricked them into chasing a dog while she slipped away.
“Isn’t that the fiercest dog in the pack? How did Stephanie manage that? All those dogs and they didn’t bite her? And she’s not even scared?” Theodore shook his head.
“Stephanie is something else. Mr. Giovanni raised a remarkable sister. What a mind!” He was at a loss for words.
“Did she use a dog to trick you?” Theodore pressed, getting on Richard’s nerves.
Richard’s expression turned colder. He couldn’t believe she’d used a dog to fool him. He let out a cold laugh and turned to Alessio, the leader of the bodyguards. “Check it right away.”
Alessio had already pulled out a tablet, his fingers tapping and swiping furiously. Stephanie must have taken a phone when she left, but the maid’s phone was with the dog. They couldn’t help but wonder which phone she grabbed.
Alessio had tracked all the phones in the villa. The bodyguards were split into two groups—one here and the rest back at the villa. Alessio quickly figured out whose phone Stephanie had taken—one of Richard’s spares. He also got her location.
“Mr. Casalini, she’s about six miles east. She took one of your phones,” Alessio said.
Theodore looked at Richard, clearly stunned. Stephanie’s mind was sharper than he’d given her credit for. Before, she’d seemed like a lamb among wolves in the Giovanni family. But now he realized that she was clearly a clever cat with claws.
“Six miles? Stephanie’s got some serious stamina,” Theodore said, shaking his head. He couldn’t believe that in that short time, she’d managed to put six miles between them—just by running.