Love Unspoken

Quinn awoke to find the bed beside her cold and empty. Pushing herself upright, she noticed her phone resting on the nightstand. The screen displayed a full battery and the time: noon. A surge of urgency propelled her out of bed, and she hastily dressed before setting off for the hospital.

As she filled out the registration forms, Quinn toyed with the idea of reaching out to Abigail on WhatsApp for a loan. But just as she was about to send the message, she noticed a money transfer notification from Alexander. Opening the message, she found that he had sent her fifty thousand dollars. It wasn't a large sum, but considering her account balance was insufficient even for the registration fee, she reluctantly accepted the transfer.

Upon hearing the alert, Alexander checked his phone and saw that Quinn had accepted the transfer. The words "Payment Received" flashed on the screen, eliciting an involuntary smile from him.

Just then, Kyle entered the room, a stack of documents in his hands. "Alexander," he began, "Here are the photos from last night's surveillance footage. We've located those two individuals."

Alexander took the files from Kyle, his expression darkening as he flipped through the photos. The underpass, where the incident had occurred, was not covered by any nearby cameras. The footage they had was taken from a distance and was somewhat fuzzy, but it was enough to get a sense of what had transpired.

Kyle was grumbling under his breath. Alexander had ignored his calls the previous night, leading him to wonder if his boss had stopped caring about Quinn's fate. Kyle had been working for Alexander for a long time, and while he was often unsure about his boss's intentions, he knew that when it came to Quinn, Alexander was fiercely protective.

Tossing the photos back onto the table, Alexander asked, "Where are the guys?"

"They're still locked up," Kyle replied. "What's the plan? Hand them over to the cops, or..."

Alexander rose from his chair. "Let's have a look," he said.

Kyle led the way to a secluded villa on Midhill Lane. The drive alone took a good fifteen minutes, and the grand villa was the only property on the mountainside. If it weren't for this villa, the road might not even exist.

The villa's backyard was home to a menagerie of fierce creatures. Even before entering, the cacophony of barking dogs and howling wolves was audible. Inside, snakes and crocodiles were housed in see-through containers. Kyle was no stranger to this place, but it never failed to send a chill down his spine. This was no ordinary villa-it was more like a mini wildlife sanctuary.

Amid the cages, two men lay on the ground, paralyzed with fear as the dogs and wolves snarled at them. As they trembled, the barking and howling gradually ceased. The large dogs, sensing something, settled down one by one, wagging their tails and panting excitedly.

The gangsters, swallowing hard, followed the animals' gaze to see a tall figure approaching. The man was dressed in a sharp suit and a form-fitting brown overcoat, which accentuated his long legs. Alexander approached the two men, his expression unreadable, looking at them as if they were nothing more than trash.

"Um, sir, we don't think we've crossed you, have we?" they stammered, their voices shaking under his formidable presence.

Alexander squatted in front of them and asked coolly, "Do you know who I am?"

Both men shook their heads in unison. "No, no clue, sir. Why did you bring us here?"

A sly smile played on Alexander's lips as he extended his hand. Kyle, ever perceptive, placed a dagger in his palm.

"Why'd they bag you?" Alexander asked, his congenial grin belying the danger of his question. "Let's jog your memory."

That smile sent a chill down their spines, and for the first time, they truly grasped the sinister meaning behind the phrase 'a wolf in sheep's clothing.'