Take Me Away novel Chapter 122

"When did you receive this message?" Spencer's voice was heard in the meeting room even before he stepped inside.

"Just now." George stood up and looked at the door where Spencer made his entrance. He was surprised to see him composed. Spencer had always been known for his temper, but his calm expression then at the face of imminent danger was inspiring.

He could only assume that it was because Fiona was not involved in the new operation.

Spencer's eyes went to the laptop on the table. The screen showed an email with several attached pictures.

Upon closer inspection, he saw that the images were of Celine tied to a chair with a tape over her mouth. Her hair looked disheveled and her eyes only stared blankly at whoever took the photo.

"She looks shaken, but she doesn't seem to have any physical injuries," Leo observed.

"Yes." Spencer nodded. Seeing Celine's blank expression touched a special place in his heart, but he felt as if his feelings for her were not as strong as before. Right then, the only thought that filled his mind was to rescue her. He was concerned for her safety, but he also mostly felt angry.

Had it been Fiona in the photos, he would have probably lost his mind. He might have gone mad at first sight.

Spencer sat before the computer and read the email.

"We heard that Mr. Cheng had arrived in P City. We happen to have an old friend of yours. How about meeting with us tomorrow? We'll be waiting for you by nine in the evening, ten kilometers away from the border of T Country, at that deserted security station. Come alone, Mr. Cheng."

"What an ass!" Daniel, who had been standing nearby, could no longer keep himself from cursing. "Are they planning an ambush? Why are they asking Spencer to come alone?

Do they want us to send him to certain death?" Eric kicked Daniel in anger. "Shut up!"

"I didn't mean that. I'm sorry." Daniel's face was flushed with embarrassment.

But Spencer never heard a word of what they said. He was immersed deep in his own thoughts.

"I don't think Spencer should go alone," Leo said bluntly. "But... I thought we're going to save Fiona tomorrow night. Are we postponing that plan?"

"That's not an option!" Spencer blurted out of nowhere. He glanced at everyone in the room and declared, "I'm going to save Celine alone. George and Eric can go and save Fiona."

"Are you crazy? You don't know what you're saying!" George slammed the table with his fists. "What will Fiona think if you go and save Celine? Did you even consider that? Fiona's waiting for you!"

The old Spencer would have gotten instantly enraged by George's words, but he only kept quiet. He sat quietly on his chair, but everyone in the room could feel his restraint. He lowered his head slightly and said, "They demanded that I come and save Celine alone. If I don't follow their demands, they might do something unthinkable to either of them. What's more, if I don't come back, you must promise to rescue Fiona and take her home."

"Spencer!"

"Spencer!"

Eric and Daniel both cried out in protest.

"There's nothing left to discuss." Spencer had made his decision and there was nothing that would change his mind. "That's it. You must rescue her yourselves. Failure isn't an option."

George's tightened fists loosened slowly as a sense of powerlessness sank in his heart. Since he couldn't come up with an alternative plan to rescue Fiona, he could only do as Spencer told.

The atmosphere in the conference room began to feel uncomfortable.

The next morning was dark and gloomy, and everyone could sense that something bad was about to happen.

Meanwhile, in Cherry Grove Residence, there was only silence in Fiona's bedroom.

She had been sleeping on her side when she felt a chill run down her back, which prompted her to open her eyes.

"Miss Ji, are you awake?" She heard Emily's voice from behind as she stirred.

"My back..." Fiona groaned. She struggled to sit up. "Something feels wrong with me."

"Miss Ji, don't overexert yourself! You had a surgery last night. The medicines injected in you are probably still in effect. Please don't get up," Emily explained as she rushed to assist her.

'Did I hear her correctly? Surgery?' Fiona wondered but her mind felt like a total mess. It was only when she saw the IV needle on her hand that she realized what had happened. In panic, she grabbed Emily's hand and asked, "What surgery did they do to me? Tell me! What did they do to me?"

"They just removed the scars on your back! It's for your own good. Look at how perfect your skin is now!"

"Perfect?" Scowling, Fiona plucked the needle from under her skin and staggered as she made her way to the bathroom.

"Come on! Miss Ji, what are you doing?"

Emily rushed around the bed, but she had been too late. She could merely watch as Fiona locked the door behind her.

"Miss Ji! Please open this door!"

Fiona stood in front of the mirror, completely ignoring Emily's pleas. She turned her back to the mirror to check out her "new" body.

There was a big slit on her dressing gown from the neck down to her waist, revealing her back and two scars that should be there but weren't. Disbelieving her own eyes, she took a second look at her back. It was as if no scar had ever been there. Charles had replaced her skin with a new one. It was the first step to her transition to a new and happy life.

'Is this what they called perfect?'

With her hands clasped behind her back, Fiona traced her skin with her fingers. She stroked the part where the scars once marred her complexion, undecided as to whether or not she should be happy to have such flawless skin. But before she could come up with an answer, a small black mark on her shoulder caught her attention. That mark was not there before!

What was going on?

She reached for a towel and started wiping off the mark, but it seemed as if it was tattooed on her skin.

"Miss Ji! Please let me in!" Emily rapped at the door over and over.

All of a sudden, Fiona stepped out of the bathroom and confronted her.

"What's this mark on my shoulder?"

"What mark?" Emily asked in confusion.

"This one!" Fiona turned around and pointed at the X mark on her skin.

"I don't know." Emily shook her head. "Our sir said he wanted to leave a mark on your body. He wanted to leave his mark on you..."

'His mark?' Unable to contain her disgust, Fiona demanded, "Where's Charles? I need to talk to him!" Her voice was dripping with resentment.

"He isn't here today, Miss Ji. He said there is something important he has to deal with so he won't be coming back anytime soon. For now, please rest."

"He's not here?" Fiona's eyes lit up. "When is he coming back? Will he be here tonight?"

"He said he'd probably come back bright and early tomorrow."

"I see." Fiona went to bed. "You can leave now. I want to rest."

"Well, I need to ask the doctor to put back your IV, Miss Ji. The medicine will help with the inflammation. You have to take it since you've just been through surgery!"

Fiona nodded. "Okay."

It didn't take the doctor too long to replace the IV on Fiona's hand, after which her bedroom turned silent once again. She took out her phone from under her pillow and sent Spencer a text message. There was a look of worry on her face as she typed.

"Charles isn't here in Cherry Grove Residence today. Will you come and rescue me? Is the plan still on?"

Spencer was in the middle of organizing the plan to rescue Celine when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

His fingers trembled as he read Fiona's message. He felt absolutely thrilled to hear from her.

"Where have you been last night? You didn't send me a text message! Do you know how worried I was? Don't worry, I will come to you as planned. We already had our men sneak into Cherry Grove Residence to learn about the terrain. It would be easy for us to rescue you if you can sneak out of the room without being noticed. But don't take needless risks! Wait for me."

"Charles was here last night, so I wasn't able to send you a message. After that, I was so tired, I fell asleep and forgot. I'm sorry. I will figure out a way to sneak out tonight. Take care of yourself!"

"Don't let anyone know about your phone, okay?"

"Don't worry. I won't."

They sent more messages to assure one another that they were safe. But Spencer didn't mention that he was going to save Celine, while Fiona didn't tell Spencer about the surgery.

Fiona was glad to have a secret phone with her to contact Spencer. Little did she notice the red light from the surveillance camera in the corner of the bedroom recording her every action.

At that time, a glass shattered in the control room of X's base.

It was Charles who had thrown it on the floor, smashing it into pieces at his feet. His face was red with fury.

He was watching the surveillance video of Fiona's bedroom and saw her send text messages on a phone she took from under her pillow. Seeing Fiona's fair and calm expression disgusted him!

Francis asked, "Should we...?"

"Shut up!" Charles growled. "Let her send the messages! I'd like to see how Spencer is able to save both Celine and Fiona at the same time!"

'I'll make you pay for lying to me, Fiona,' he thought to himself.

"Yes, sir."

Charles remembered something and asked, "Who slept with Celine last night?"

Celine had been yelling in her room all day long and Charles found her annoying. He decided to keep her secluded another place so as not to disturb anyone in Cherry Grove Residence. But before he gave out his final instructions, an evil thought crossed his mind. Since she liked yelling all day long, why not let his men rape her so that she could yell as she liked?

That night, Charles asked Francis to send men to Celine and spend the night with her. He was pleased to hear that she did moan very loudly throughout the evening.

With a slight bow, Francis replied politely, "I assigned two random bodyguards to sleep with her, but I forgot who they were. If you must, sir, please punish me for my neglect."

Charles waved his hand and smiled. "There's no need to punish you. I'm very satisfied!"

"Well, how about this evening?"

"Have fun with them! I'd be very pleased if you can get Spencer and Celine out of my sight forever." Charles had been fiddling with a lighter as he spoke. When he opened it, the flame illuminated his face, and cast his grim expression in a different light.

"Yes, sir."

"About Fiona..." Charles gave a dark chuckle before he finished his words. "She's been here for several days, but I haven't even tasted her. I can't wait anymore. I'm making my move on her tonight."

"Do you really think that Spencer would rescue Celine tonight, sir? I think he cares more about Fiona," Francis said with a frown.

Charles raised his eyebrows and said, "I'm not going to lose, regardless of whom he chooses to save. If he tries to rescue Celine, he will let Fiona down and she will give up on him. But if he comes to Cherry Grove Residence, well, he can't blame me for being rude..."