Meanwhile, Richard ced a call. “Mr. Hanson, everything’s taken care of. It’ll y out exactly how you want. Just wondering about that thing you promised before…”
“Rest assured,” Marcus replied, his tone lofty and dismissive–making it clear he looked down on Richard. “You get
it done, and everything I promised will be yours.”
Richard grinned. “Trust me, it’s as good as done.”
Marcus went on, “But if the n gets exposed…”
Richard caught the meaning instantly.
He responded immediately, his tone overly respectful, “I’ll take full responsibility, Mr. Hanson. No one will know you had any part in this. Whoever asks, that’s the answer they’ll get from me.”
“That’s what I want to hear,” Marcus said carelessly, and then he ended the call without another word.
Reba and Jessica were clueless about what had happened. After locking up the vi, they got in the car, ready to pick Samuel up from school.
Just as Reba started the engine, she got a call from Jeffrey. She picked up right away, “What’s up?”
“Samuel’s stuff for the summer camp is still at Reba’s Manor. Should I bring it over, or do you want to take him to the manor?” Jeffrey’s voice was low and steady as he eyed the pile of Samuel’s belongings before him.
Reba was about to say he should bring it over when Jessica spoke up.
“Reba,” Jessica called out.
Reba nced over, “Yeah?”
“I think something’s wrong with the car,” Jessica said, gripping the steering wheel tightly. “I just hit the brakes, and nothing happened.”
“Put it on speaker,” Jeffrey’s calm voice came through the phone.
Reba quickly switched to speaker and cranked the volume all the way up.
Jeffrey didn’t waste a second. “Pump the brake pedal a few times and see if there’s any response.”
Jessica kept a firm grip on the wheel, tried the pedal a few times, and then said, “No response.”
“Turn on your hazard lights and honk the horn,” Jeffrey said, his voice steady amid the sounds of him moving in the background.
He thought of the car that Jessica usually drove and said, “Keep the electronic handbrake engaged. Don’t let go, just wait for the car to slow to a stop.”
E55 vouchers
Reba and Jessica did exactly what he said, but nothing happened–the car didn’t slow down at all.
The speed limit here was 100, and Jessica was already doing over 80 when she suddenly realized the brakes weren’t working.
“Is the speed dropping?” Jeffrey asked, typing a quick message to Riley to get Reba’s current location as he started his own car and pulled out of the driveway.
“No.” Jessica forced herself to stay calm as she answered.
“Where are you right now?” Jeffrey pressed, still waiting for Riley to reply.
“Section 2 of Jsburg Avenue,” Jessica reported tensely. “There’s a traffic light in about 6 miles, but the speed won’t drop. What should I do?”
Jeffrey sped through the map of Jsburg in his mind and said, “You’ve got two choices. Either use the roadside barriers to slow down by force, or get onto the expressway at Section 1.
“There’s an emergency escapene about 12 miles ahead. But both moves are risky.”
“Understood,” Jessica replied, drawing in a shaky breath.
“Just keep your eyes on the road,” Jeffrey said, his knuckles pale as worry left him covered in cold sweat. “I’ve already notified the police for you.”
He thought, ‘There’s just no way Jessica’s car would randomly have brake issues like this–something’s definitely off. None of the cars she’s owned have ever had brake failures, not even once.
For the next ten minutes, Jeffrey kept coordinating everything while racing toward them, following the real- time location Riley had sent.
Reba’s heart skipped a beat as she scanned the road. Checking the rearview mirror, she caught sight of a massive truck looming behind them. “Jessica,” Reba said, her voice tense, “That big truck behind us—it’s right on our tail.”
Jessica shot a nervous nce in the mirror, her grip tightening on the wheel as she checked for herself.
Without missing a beat, Jessica flicked on her turn signal and swerved into the nextne, trying to avoid a collision. Getting run over by that beast was no joke.
“He’s following us,” Reba said, her voice tight with worry as she watched the truck mirror their move.
“What the hell is wrong with this guy?” Jessica muttered, quickly switchingnes again. At this speed, if that thing hits them, they’d be dead meat. “Why’s a truck going this fast?”
“Is he doing this on purpose?” Reba muttered, putting two and two together. “First, the brakes fail, and now this truck’s been glued to our rear bumper the entire way.”
Jessica didn’t know what to say. She thought, ‘Could we be any unluckier?‘
Speeding up was out of the question–if she went any faster, there’d be no slowing this car down.
55 vouchers
“Mr. Hanson, is there any emergencyne closer by?” Jessica asked urgently into the phone. Reba still kept the call on speaker.
“Just stick with me,” Jeffrey said, suddenly showing up in thene right next to them. “I’ve already got someone dealing with that truck.”
“Got it!” Jessica said.
Jessica spotted that familiar license te and instantly merged in behind him, not hesitating for a second.
Reba finally felt a little calmer as well.
Neither of them realized that Jeffrey had quietly be the guy they could count on–the one who made them feel safe. No matter how much he’d pissed them off before, in a crisis like this, they just couldn’t help relying on him.
With Jeffrey clearing the way, the drive went off without a hitch.
Five minutester, Jeffrey pulled over by the roadside and said to them, “Swing onto the emergencyne.”
Jessica followed his instructions, and within moments, the car finally came to a safe, steady stop.
Jessica and Reba finally felt the tension melt away–relief washed over them as their hearts settled for real.
“God, that was terrifying. I really thought we weren’t going <i>to </i>make it…” Jessica began, about to tell Reba they’d just survived something together.
But right then, the passenger door swung open and Jeffrey appeared–on the outside, he looked steady, but Reba could <i>see </i>the worry in his eyes.
Jessica was about to say something, but she swallowed her words at thest second.
She thought, ‘Forget it. Since he saved us today, I won’t scold him today. I’ll leave them alone for a while.’
Jeffrey checked Reba worriedly and asked, “Are you alright? Did it scare you?”
Reba took a deep breath, feeling that her heart had settled to a quieter beat. “I’m okay.”
Jessica just sat there, speechless.
She thought, ‘Okay? Seriously? When we first realized the brakes were busted, we were scared half to death- both of us nearly lost our minds!‘
“Wait a sec. I remember there was no emergencyne here before,” Jessica muttered, stepping out and staring at the freshly made, rough–lookingne.
“Mr. Hanson just had us make this,” one of the bodyguards replied.
Jessica nced around. A 300–foot ramp, and more than twenty bodyguards, looking sharp and ready.
Jessica thought, ‘People with strength are impressive. When he steps in, things just happen. He got us out of
this mess in no time t, and we didn’t even have to face rush hour!
65 vouchers
“Take a breather, and grab anything important from the car,” Jeffrey said, already on top of everything, “I’ve filled the police in, and they’re gonna tow the car for a checkup.”
“Okay,” Jessica said, grabbing her stuff without missing a beat.
Reba grabbed those documents from the car as well.
For the next half hour, Jeffrey personally handled everything with the police, making sure nothing got missed. In the end, Jessica’s car was hauled off to get checked out.
As for that truck that kept changingnes behind them, the driver told the police he’d just spaced out and never noticed their car at all.
Since nobody was hurt and nothing bad went down, the police pretty much let him off with just a couple of questions.
But just because the police backed off didn’t mean Jeffrey was about to just let it go. He’d watched that truck suddenly elerate and switchnes to tail them himself. There was no way that was just a coincidence.
I
B
AD