"Laila!"
The door was open, and Roy rushed in with just a few strides. The person he had been longing for day and night was right before his eyes!
"Roy!"
Laila dropped the fruit she was eating, looking at him in shock. "How are you here? Were you captured too?"
Roy gazed at her with burning eyes, thrilled to see a healthy Laila. From her clean appearance and the neatness of the room, he could tell she hadn't been suffering here.
God knows, for the past few days, every time he closed his eyes, all he saw was a pitiful and downtrodden version of her. Seeing her now, with an appetite to eat fruit and even having it smeared on her face, was truly a blessing!
"Look at you, you've got it all over your mouth," Roy said, pulling out a handkerchief and gently wiping the fruit residue from the corner of her lips. His eyes reddened uncontrollably.
"You still haven't told me how you got here?" Laila asked. She could only think that he, too, was captured by Martin. When she had stalled for a time earlier, she had said they needed a real actor; Martin must have decided to go all the way and captured Roy as well. What's one more? Catching one or catching a bunch made no difference to Martin.
But why capture Roy? If anything, it should have been Leonardo, the bigger star according to the public.
Not that she wanted Leonardo captured either — just that Roy was supposed to be relatively unknown.
The thought that her situation might have dragged Roy into danger completely erased Laila's earlier relaxed demeanor.
"Don't worry. I wasn't captured — I came here on my own," Roy said as he carefully wiped her hands and face clean. Then, with infinite tenderness, he pulled her into his arms.
"Let's not talk about that now. I missed you so much."
He knew that if they kept talking, the truth would come out under her questioning. To avoid her blowing up at him, he decided to hide it for now.
Laila didn't question further and hugged him tightly back.
Nine days. Nine whole days after being dragged into this thieves' den, threatened by the gang leader, with knives and guns waved in front of her.
Was she not afraid? Of course, she was.
But in a place like this, with no one to rely on, she could only grit her teeth, force herself to be strong, and smile through it.
Now it was different. Roy was here. His presence was like a sturdy pillar supporting her fragile world, allowing her to finally lean on someone and let out all her pent-up fear and anxiety.
Feeling the wetness against his chest, Roy hugged her even tighter, heart aching.
"It's all my fault. I didn't protect you. I swear, I'll never let you face danger like this again!"
Laila shook her head.
"It's not your fault. I just had bad luck and ran into a lunatic."
Seeing that her mood seemed to lighten a bit, Roy checked her condition carefully.
"Those bastards didn't hurt you, did they?"
"No. They've treated me fairly well."
Aside from threatening to ruin her face at the beginning, they hadn't done much else.
"Probably because they still have use for me. Beating me up would be a loss for them."
Roy's heart ached even more.
"Now that I'm here, I'll protect you."
"Mm."
Laila secretly wiped her tears, buried her face in his chest, and mumbled a response.
While the two were having their emotional reunion, outside, Dong-ge and his team were practically dropping their jaws.
It was already embarrassing enough to lose Laila once. Now not only had they failed to rescue her, but another one — Roy — had fallen into the enemy's hands.
Dong-ge quickly found a chance to contact Xiao Ye and inform him of what had just happened.
Xiao Ye had already suspected something when Roy disappeared.
He had gone to meet Roy earlier, and after being pushed out the door, he realized something was wrong. So he hid nearby to watch Roy's movements.
At first, he thought Roy was trying to sneak away again, but he soon noticed things were more complicated.
Despite the heavy military presence around the film crew — soldiers, mercenaries, bodyguards, and top American operatives — Roy had somehow slipped past them and entered the military area.
Xiao Ye intended to keep observing, but before he realized it, he had followed Roy right into military-controlled territory. By the time he tried to sneak back in, Roy had already hidden himself in the trunk of a car.
Since Xiao Ye had entered the military zone by unofficial means, if he was caught, he could have been shot on the spot.
Thus, even though he wanted to stop Roy, he couldn't — he could only watch helplessly as Roy disappeared in the car.
With no options left, Xiao Ye returned to the film crew. In Roy's room, he found two letters left conspicuously on a book, intended for him to find.
After reading them, Xiao Ye understood everything.
Even a fool could figure out — there was a traitor inside the military.
Thus, any future rescue operation for Laila would have to exclude military forces.
Xiao Ye knew that Fuska, a patriotic man from a prestigious South African family, couldn't be the traitor — but he couldn't trust everyone under Fuska's command.
Hence, Xiao Ye decided to keep even Fuska in the dark for now. They'd figure it out step by step.
Their only trustworthy partners were the old man's team — the bodyguards who had originally been assigned to Laila, and the later-arriving specialists offering technical assistance.
These people had no ties to official forces and were motivated purely by personal or commercial interests, so they wouldn't betray the Moran family for some small-time local gang.
Still, they needed a foolproof plan to work together effectively.
Luckily, for now, Laila and Roy's safety wasn't in immediate danger. Laila was calm and rational enough to know how to protect herself.
Meanwhile, when the old man learned that Roy had run off alone into the thieves' den to find Laila, he was quite pleased.
His daughter's taste in men had been terrible, but his granddaughter's was much better.
Maybe good genes skipped a generation?
He was glad he had allowed that boy to stay by her side.
Roy's willingness to risk his life for Laila proved he was a loyal and affectionate young man.