Chapter 588: We can’t take any risk

The river raged like a living beast beneath the cliff.

For a long time after the splash, the dark water churned violently, swallowing everything in its depths.

Then slowly—

A hand broke through the surface.

Collin gasped as he dragged himself upward, choking as water filled his mouth and nose. His body trembled violently as he fought against the current that tried to pull him deeper.

“Damn it…” he rasped, coughing hard.

His injured leg screamed with pain. The bullet wound had reopened during the fall, and blood mixed with the river water as he struggled toward the shore.

Every movement felt like his body was being torn apart.

But Collin refused to stop.

Not now.Not after everything.

With one last desperate effort, he reached the muddy bank and clawed his way onto the shore. His fingers dug into the wet soil as he dragged his soaked body forward.

For several seconds he simply lay there, breathing heavily, staring blankly at the dark sky above the jungle.

The forest around him was silent except for the distant rush of the river.

Collin slowly turned onto his back, clutching his wounded leg.

Pain pulsed through his body like fire.

But the pain in his leg was nothing compared to the fury burning inside his chest.

His jaw tightened.

Norma.

Roseline.

The two names echoed in his mind like poison.

“Both of you…” he muttered hoarsely.

His eyes slowly opened, blazing with rage.

“They think they can use me… and throw me away?”

A bitter laugh escaped his lips.

Collin pushed himself up, gritting his teeth as his injured leg trembled under his weight.

Blood continued dripping down his calf, staining the mud beneath him.

If he stayed here, he would bleed out before sunrise.

And if the police searched the riverbank, they would find him within hours.

He had to move.

Now.

Collin dragged his wounded leg forward, forcing himself deeper into the jungle. Every step sent waves of pain through his body, but he refused to slow down.

Branches scratched his face. Thorny bushes tore at his clothes.

Still, he kept going.

Minutes passed. Then nearly an hour and finally, through the thick trees ahead, a faint glow appeared.

A small cottage. Old. Weathered. Probably used by hunters or forest workers.

Collin’s eyes sharpened. Without hesitation, he moved toward it.

As he approached, he could see smoke rising faintly from the chimney.

’Someone was inside.’

Collin reached the wooden door and knocked once.

The sound was weak.

A few seconds passed before the door creaked open.

A middle-aged man stood there holding a lantern. His rugged clothes and rifle leaning against the wall behind him made it clear he was a hunter.

The man’s eyes widened when he saw Collin.

“Good lord,” he said. “You’re bleeding.”

Collin swayed slightly, leaning against the doorframe.

“I… need help,” he said hoarsely.

The hunter immediately stepped aside.

“Come in quickly.”

Collin entered the small cottage, his eyes quickly scanning the interior.

Simple furniture. A wooden table. Medical supplies scattered on a nearby shelf.

The hunter guided him toward a chair.

“Sit down,” the man said. “That leg looks bad. Let me take a look.”

Collin sat slowly, pretending to struggle more than he already was.

The hunter knelt beside him and began examining the wound.

“You’re lucky you didn’t die from blood loss,” he muttered. “The bullet went clean through.”

Collin watched him silently.

The man reached for a bottle of antiseptic.

“This will sting a bit—”

THUD.

Before the hunter could finish his sentence, Collin grabbed a heavy metal lantern from the table and slammed it against the man’s head.

The hunter collapsed instantly onto the floor, unconscious.

Collin’s breathing grew heavier.

For a moment he simply stared at the man lying on the ground.

“I didn’t ask for kindness,” he muttered coldly.

Slowly, he turned his attention back to his leg.

He clenched his teeth and grabbed the antiseptic bottle.

The liquid burned like fire as he poured it over the wound.

“Ah—!”

A strained groan escaped his throat, but he forced himself to keep going.

He grabbed a clean cloth, wrapping it tightly around the injury to stop the bleeding.

Then he found bandages and secured them firmly.

By the time he finished, sweat soaked his face and neck.

Collin leaned back in the chair, breathing heavily.

But his eyes…

His eyes were no longer weak.

They burned with cold determination.

Norma thought she had outplayed him.

Roseline thought she could betray him and walk away untouched.

A dark smile slowly formed on his face.

“You both made the worst mistake of your lives,” he whispered.

Collin stood up slowly, testing his injured leg.

Pain shot through it.

But he could walk.

And that was enough.

He grabbed a knife from the hunter’s table and slipped it into his pocket.

Then he opened the cottage door.

The jungle stretched endlessly before him.

Collin stepped outside without looking back.

Behind him, the unconscious hunter lay on the floor.

Ahead of him waited only one thing.

Revenge.

And this time…

Collin Ford was not planning to lose.

***

“What do you mean he escaped?”

Daniel’s sharp voice reverberated through the living hall, immediately drawing the attention of both Anna and Norma, who were standing nearby.

Officer Clement was still on the call, his tone steady but cautious.

A search team had already been mobilized to track Collin down, but after nearly an hour of searching, Clement had finally called to report the situation.

“I doubt he would be able to go very far, Mr. Clafford,” Clement replied. “He was shot in the leg. With that kind of injury, dragging himself for too long would be nearly impossible.”

Daniel did not respond immediately.

His jaw tightened as his mind raced through possibilities.

A wounded man could still be dangerous. Especially someone like Collin.

“Continue the search,” Daniel finally said coldly. “I want every area near that river checked.”

“Yes, sir.”

The call ended.

The room fell into a tense silence.

Then Anna spoke.

“We can’t take any risks,” she said, her voice tight with concern. “By now Collin must have realized who betrayed him.”

Daniel slowly turned his head toward her.

Anna’s gaze shifted to Norma.

Norma immediately understood what she meant.

“If he manages to escape,” Norma said quietly, drawing in a shallow breath, “the first person he will come for is Roseline.”

Daniel and Anna exchanged a brief look.

That possibility had already crossed both their minds.

Their entire plan had been carefully arranged.

They intended to expose Collin’s motives before Roseline, knowing very well that she would panic the moment she realized she had been used. Roseline had always been someone with a fragile ego, someone who acted recklessly when cornered.

And that weakness was exactly what they had planned to use.

If things had gone according to plan, Collin would already be in police custody by now. With him detained, Roseline would lose the only person she believed was protecting her.

After that, dragging her to court would have been far easier.

But now that Collin had escaped, everything had become unpredictable.

Roseline had always believed she was the one manipulating everyone around her.

Yet in reality, she had been nothing more than a pawn in a much larger game.

And now that the pawn had slipped off the board, no one could predict the next move.

***

Meanwhile, back at the Bennett house, Roseline lay in bed, staring at the ceiling as she tried to force herself to sleep.

But no matter how tightly she shut her eyes, the thought of Collin kept creeping back into her mind.

She clenched the sheets beneath her fingers.

He deserved it.

That was what she kept telling herself.

He was already planning to betray her. She had simply acted first.

“Relax, Roseline,” she muttered under her breath, turning onto her side. “The police must have detained him by now.”

Yet the uneasiness in her chest refused to fade.

With a frustrated sigh, she turned her head toward the clock on the nightstand. The glowing digits made her frown.

It was late.

Far too late for her to still be awake.

Far too late for Norma’s earlier assurance that the job was already done.

Roseline stared at the ceiling for another moment before letting out a frustrated sigh.

“Should I call her instead?” she muttered to herself.

Reaching for the phone on the side table, she unlocked it quickly. A restless uneasiness continued to claw at her chest.

She needed confirmation.

She needed to hear from Norma that Collin’s Chapter was truly closed.

Her fingers hovered over Norma’s contact, ready to dial—

—but suddenly her eyes caught something unusual on the screen.

Roseline frowned.

“What is this app?” she murmured under her breath.

An unfamiliar icon sat among her applications. A small, dark symbol she was certain she had never seen before.

Her brows furrowed.

Roseline was never someone who ignored things that didn’t make sense to her. Anything unfamiliar immediately caught her attention.

And seeing unknown software installed on her phone made a thin thread of irritation creep through her nerves.

But as soon as she pressed on what it was, a recording began playing loudly inside her room, leaving her completely stunned.

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