Chapter 4

Arthur and Sarah arrived faster than I'd expected.

"Stop! Stop right now! My son is in there! Mark! My son!"

Sarah let out a heart-wrenching wail.

Arthur, trembling, pointed at the house and screamed at me, spittle flying.

"Layla, what have you done? Mark is down there! He called saying he was trapped! Make them stop immediately!"

I tilted my head slightly, looking genuinely puzzled.

"Dad, Mom, what nonsense are you talking about? Mark is on a business trip, isn't he? I just spoke to him; he said everything was fine. Did you hear wrong? Or... is he playing a joke?"

Sarah was practically jumping with urgency.

"Playing a joke? He was screaming for help! The phone suddenly cut off! He's right there, under this house, in the basement! Make them stop!"

Mr. Davies's face turned white with alarm.

If there truly was someone inside, he wouldn't be able to escape responsibility.

Just then, I spoke up.

"Mr. Davies, these are my in-laws, Arthur and Sarah. They insist my husband is buried in the basement.

"You were right there when I called him, weren't you? My husband is clearly on a business trip out of town."

Mr. Davies let out a sigh of relief, his whole body relaxing.

"That's right, I heard it clearly just now. Mr. Allen even said he missed you and told you to wait for him to come back, and he also said... not to accept anything less than twenty-five million."

He stopped mid-sentence, giving me a fawning smile.

"Ms. Thompson, you're truly reasonable and so generous."

I nodded. "You see? Mark really is on a business trip. Are you two hearing things, or is he just messing with you? This house has been empty for years, and we've never even lived in it. Why would he randomly be in the basement?"

Arthur and Sarah were speechless for a moment, blocked by my words.

They exchanged panicked glances.

Of course, they knew about Mark and Chloe's sordid affair.

At this moment, how could they possibly reveal that their son was having an affair with another woman?

"Anyway., he's down there! I heard it with my own ears!"

Sarah could only resort to irrational rambling.

Watching another excavator scoop towards the crumbling staircase,

She completely lost it.

She threw herself onto the ground in front of the excavator, flailing and screaming.

Seeing this, Arthur refused to back down.

He glared at me and Mr. Davies, his eyes spitting fire.

"I'm telling you, I've already called the police! If you dare to demolish anything else, you'll be going to jail!"

With that, he also lay down in front of the excavator, just like Sarah.

Mr. Davies's face darkened completely.

He felt they were being utterly unreasonable.

However, hearing they'd called the police, he had no choice but to temporarily halt operations.

The bullet comments were ecstatic.

"Oh, good, the police are coming! When they rescue those two scumbags from the basement, they can ask them why they're both naked!"

"Right, the demolition happened too fast, no time to put on clothes, I guess."

"No way out! Mark either dies if he doesn't call for help, or faces total public humiliation if he does! Clearly, he chose the second path."

The police arrived quickly.

"Who owns this property? What's going on here? We received a report that there might be people trapped inside?"

I stepped forward, my voice calm and clear.

"Officer, I'm Layla, the homeowner. This is my property, it's been vacant for a long time, and today I reached an agreement with the developers for a legal demolition.

"My husband, Mark, is currently on a business trip out of town. Mr. Davies can confirm this; we just spoke on the phone half an hour ago. But my in-laws suddenly showed up, insisting my husband is trapped down there, and they've disrupted the construction."

Mr. Davies quickly added, producing the demolition permit.

The police officer frowned, looking at the tearful Arthur and Sarah.

"You say your son is inside? Do you have any evidence? Why would he be in the basement of an empty house being demolished?"

"He... he..."

Sarah fumbled for words for a long time, unable to make sense, and finally, her embarrassment turned into rage.

"I don't care! My son is down there! If you demolish anything else, you're committing murder!"

The police had to be responsible for any possible risk to life.

The lead officer signaled for the demolition to pause.

The site finally fell silent for the first time.

He walked to the edge of the rubble and shouted loudly.

"Is anyone down there? If so, respond!" the officer yelled.

Only a deafening silence.

"Impossible! He just called! Mark, answer me!" Sarah threw herself at the edge of the rubble, crying out.

Still no response.

A bullet comment drifted past.

"Mark wished he could answer, but a massive slab of concrete is pinning him down. Too much pain to even whisper, and his phone is probably crushed."

"Chloe seems quiet... did she kick the bucket? Oh, no, not yet. Still breathing, just blood loss and pain, unconscious."

Seeing Mark also pinned down,

My mood brightened even further.

The police asked me to call Mark.

Of course, I complied. His phone has been switched off.

That's when a faint, rhythmic tapping echoed from deep within the rubble.

Every face around me shifted in an instant.

My eyes narrowed slightly.

Not dead. Good.

Then let's get them out.

After all, I heard those two bastards were completely naked.

I was very much looking forward to the rescue.