In the evening, the Suha family stopped moving. The girl originally thought that they would continue moving until they arrived home, but it seemed like that Shaquille had something else in mind. They moved her into a small room of an abandoned adobe. Courtiers who were not good at fighting continued to move the tents.
Was this because Shaquille was afraid of being caught by the Juan family and was trying to be more cautious? The girl regretted provoking him by talking about Lazer.
Although she was tied up, it was not done thoroughly. Perhaps they felt that there was no way for her to escape. There were people guarding the inside and outside of the adobe. She looked up at the small empty room with no furniture and only a small hollowed window for ventilation. The window was too narrow to pass through, and outside the window were two Suha family soldiers on guard.
While she was trying to figure out how to escape, Shaquille’s voice came from outside of the door. She immediately retreated to the corner of the room and listened to his voice intently. He had always been loud, and was even more so when teasing her, as if he was afraid of not being heard. This time, he stood outside the door and did not come in. Unexpectedly, he lowered his voice and sounded serious.
“How did it go?” He whispered to the courtier around him with a magnetic voice.
“The buyer agreed to the increased price but needs more time.”
“Like I said, we can only wait for three more days.”
“That was what I told him.”
“Very good. What about the Juan family?”
“It looks like they are willing to pay the ransom and have promised not to act rashly… I heard that they sent people to the market to deal with their shops. Perhaps they are trying to collect enough money.”
“Who did they send to the market?” Shaquille asked. The courtier fell silent. Shaquille sneered, “Idiot, that was key information. Did you forget to ask about that?”
“Sir… Wouldn’t it be easier to just kill Diana here?”
The girl who had been eavesdropping could feel her heart sink and burst into cold sweat.
“Not now. It is better to keep her alive,” Shaquille lowered his voice further. “I also want to keep things simple, but whether she lives or dies is beyond our control.”
“Sorry.”
The girl put her ear against the door until they finished talking. She heard Shaquille’s heavy steps approaching the door and rushed back to the wall out of fear. She lowered her head and pretended to be asleep while trying to peek at the crack between the door and its frame with the corner of her eyes. However, he did not come in but stood there quietly for a while. He then left silently. She got up, thinking about what they had just talked about.
—The Juan family would pay her ransom. This news was invigorating.
The family head obviously would not pay the ransom. This was simply a message to show that they intended to have her continue to play the role of Diana.
With the instruction from the family head, she was now certain that she had been doing the right thing all along. Although it was not the right time to feel encouraged, she did.
