Ice and Fire novel Chapter 310

Cherry drove her car at top speed and followed the map to reach her destination in time.

She drove her car into an area off the map and looked around. Remote as it was, the buildings inside looked special, luxurious, and noble.

She pulled over outside the gate and said to the guard, "Sir, excuse me, I'm looking for Mond Xu."

The guard nodded and respectfully said to her, "Come in, please." It seemed that the guard had already taken orders from somebody and was waiting for Cherry.

Cherry paid no attention to his extra respect, and drove her car inside.

Standing in the monitor room and watching the cameras, Mond saw Cherry's car coming in. His heartbeat accelerated, because he knew that he would soon do something crazy.

Cherry pulled over and got out of her car. She then walked around the place, looking for the D Building.

After she went in circles she finally found the D Building, which was located in the most remote area of the neighborhood.

She then walked inside and waited for the elevator.

Mond saw the calm expression on Cherry's face. If the plan went well, she would see him without noticing anything abnormal about him.

His mobile phone rang, and Mond answered it.

"Talk, " said Mond coldly.

"She's waiting for the elevator, " a male voice was heard coming from the other end of the line.

"Go as planned, " he ordered.

"Yes, sir."

The elevator door opened and then Cherry walked inside. She pressed the button for Floor 32.

Mond watched the screen and saw that Cherry still looked calm and quiet. "That's good, " he thought.

All of a sudden, the screen went black, and he couldn't see anything on it anymore.

Mond's heart trembled with excitement and expectation. Cherry had disappeared from the surveillance screen, but she had nowhere to go.

Mond knew better than anybody else that Cherry was trapped inside.

He smiled wryly, turned round, and left the monitor room.

Cherry's body trembled with fear, and she squatted helplessly in a corner. The sudden darkness and the rapid fall of the elevator frightened her nearly to death. She had read news about elevator accidents, but she hadn't expected that she would unfortunately one day actually experience one. She was scared.

Cherry opened her eyes but saw nothing in the dark. Fear engulfed her, and she stretched her hands and fumbled around in her bag for her mobile phone.

After she found it, she immediately unlocked it. The screen lit, and now she could at least see something around her.

Looking around, she saw the elevator was undamaged, but its door was still closed.

Cherry stood up, rushed to the door, and pounded on it with one hand, while with the other she was holding her phone, hoping to light the way. "Hello? Is anyone there?" she screamed. "Help, help!"

She attempted to push the door open, but failed. She had no way to seek for help, or open the elevator door; she was trapped in a building where she had never been before.

It then suddenly occurred to Cherry that she might be able to call someone with her phone. She dialled some numbers, but found that there was no signal at all. She felt desperate, and didn't know what to do anymore.

She sat down on the floor with her mind gone blank, at a loss what to do next.

Mond Xu then walked out of A Building, and a man dressed in an uniform was already waiting for him outside.

He went to him.

"I've done what you told me to do, and all ventilation openings have been blocked and sealed. She will suffocate to death in an hour if nobody will come to her rescue, " said the man.

"If you made any mistake you'll suffer, " said Mond. His body was trembling, but not out of fear, but because of something that seemed unfamiliar. Perhaps it was the excitement of revenge.

In a serious and cold manner, the man said, "There's no mistake, I promise. Without aid, she will die in an hour." He looked into Mond's eyes, and added, "Besides, D Building's yours; who will ever dare to go there without your permission?"

Mond then took out a bank card, gave it to the man in uniform, and said, "Fuck off."

As the man received the card, he giggled, and said, "You're so generous! You paid good money to kill a woman."

Mond glowered at him and then shouted in a fury, "Go away now before I start to get angry!"

When the man saw Mond's twisted face, he shut his mouth and hastily left.

Mond walked to his car, but before he got inside of it, he looked back at the D Building and a dark satisfied expression appeared on his face. He then started the engine and drove away.

Sitting on the floor, Cherry firmly held her legs with both hands, desperate, and scared. 'If I die, who will take care of Joe?' she thought. 'Would Jackson be a good father?'

She sobbed, because she missed Joe and Jackson so much. Joe was just a kid, and how could he lose his Mommy at such a young age? She wanted to protect Jackson, to lean against his chest, to hear the sound of his heart beating, to feel his soft skin, and to make love with him. Now, she thought that she couldn't do that anymore.

As time passed, the phone went dead and she lost the only light she had. Darkness engulfed her again, and she couldn't help mutter to herself, "Where are you, Jackson? Help me, please!"

She was becoming more and more desperate by the minute. She gradually started to feel dizzy as the oxygen inside the elevator was getting scarce by each passing minute.

Selina was reading some documents in her office and had some doubts about some issues she found on them. She dialled Cherry's phone numbers to seek for her help.

She called her twice, but nobody answered.

She tried again, but still nobody answered. She called her secretary, Caroline, and said, "Go downstairs and tell Cherry to come here."

"Yes, Miss Selina, " said Caroline, nodding her head.

Caroline walked to Cherry's office downstairs, knocked on the door, but nobody answered. After she pushed the door open and found that nobody was inside, she wondered, 'Where could Cherry be at this hour of the day?'

Caroline then asked around and found out from a colleague that Cherry had gone out with her bag. They thought that she probably had an appointment with one of her clients.

Caroline then came to Selina's office, and respectfully reported, "Miss Selina, Cherry isn't in her office. Her colleagues said that she might be out having a meeting with a client."

"I had some questions about a contract, " said Selina, while she sorted out the documents in front of her. However, she didn't pay too much attention to Cherry's absence.

"She probably will grab lunch with her client, but I'll let you know when she comes back in the afternoon. She should be back by then, " said Caroline. She had a clear understanding of Cherry's character, and knew that she had always been a hard worker. She had never come to work late nor left the office early without any justified reason.

"Okay, just tell that to the deputy director. After Cherry comes back in the afternoon, tell her to come to my office, " said Selina. She then put the documents aside, and started to do something else.

"Alright, " said Caroline. She didn't want to interrupt Selina's work, so she turned around and left her office.

A few moments later, Selina's mobile phone rang. When she picked it up and saw that it was Jackson who was calling her, she smiled, and answered it.

"Hello, Jackson, " giggled Selina.

"Selina, are you at the JS? Why isn't Cherry answering my calls?" asked Jackson anxiously.

"She went out to meet with one of the clients, and probably her phone's signal is poor. I also called her several times already, and she also didn't answer me. I guess she'll come back here later in the afternoon, " answered Selina calmly.

Selina's voice calmed Jackson. He felt silly to worry about Cherry that way.

"Well, when she comes back in the afternoon, tell her to call me, " said Jackson.

"Jackson, why do you need her so urgently? I can send for somebody to look for her, if you want me to."

"Don't bother, let her work. She didn't answer my phone, so I was afraid that she might be trouble. That's all, " said Jackson.

"Are you afraid that she might not find her way back to work? Don't be silly, she's fine! I'll ask her to call you as soon as I see her."

"Well, thank you. I'll hang up now, " said Jackson.

"Okay, bye!"

Jackson then hung up. He held his phone firmly in his hand, and an unexpected and complicated feeling started to rise in his heart. He was worried about Cherry's safety, and she was probably in danger. Perhaps he was just being silly, but whatever it was, he was suffering from a great deal of distress because of it.

He recalled his conversation with Selina. Selina said that Cherry was just out on a meeting with one of her clients, and that she surely would find her way back to work safe and sound. He was a fool to worry about her safety, but where did the ominous feelings come from?