Chapter 5

The moment their eyes met, Charmine felt as though a warm feeling was spreading throughout her being. It felt as though she was reunited with a person so dear to her. Chris Bailey—the little boy—held onto Charmine and clung tightly to her.

“I was chasing a kitten before I came across you, Mom, but now I can’t find it,” the boy muttered. “But I’m happy now, since I found you again!”

While this took Charmine by surprise, she soon recovered from the shock. Gently grabbing the boy by his collar, she pushed him away. “I’m not your mother. Where are your parents? I’ll bring you to them.”

The boy’s initial cheery expression then morphed into one of pain. Suddenly, the boy began to sob. “Waa… My chest hurts…”

Charmine released his collar out of guilt, but before she could get a word out, the boy went right back into her arms.

“My chest hurts… Hug… Mommy, hug…” The boy nestled further into the embrace.

Charmine was flabbergasted. Why would the parents leave such a cute boy behind?

Just when she was about to speak, a snake as thick as her wrist slithered into view, and it seemed to aim for the boy’s ankle. With scales dark as ink, the snake’s sharp fangs were noticeable. No doubt, it was a king cobra; one that could inflict fatality!

“Watch out!”

Charmine grabbed the boy with one hand and grabbed the snake with the other. Triggered by the sudden movement, it turned toward Charmine and bit her instead. The snakebite gave her a sharp pain, but she fought against it. Once she covered the boy’s eyes with one hand, Charmine swung the snake at hand and smacked it against the cave.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Sounds of the snake slammed against the walls of the cave echoed, and before long, the snake went limp as it died. Just as Charmine threw the cobra far away, her body started reacting to the toxin. She went soft and slumped against the back of the cave once more.

As her hand dropped from covering the boy’s eyes, the boy cried, “Mommy, Mommy! Don’t scare Momo…! Please don’t scare Momo! Wait here; Momo will go get Daddy!” Panicked, the boy ran out of the cave as fast as he could.

Once he got out of the cave, he took out his phone and clicked on a chatroom. Once he sent his location, he swiftly hit the ‘record’ button and whimpered, “Daddy, I’m here! I found Mommy, but a snake had bitten her! She needs help!”

Anthony Bailey was searching the Jordan family’s mansion with his hundred or so bodyguards. Suddenly, his phone lit up. He read the message and frowned. ‘The kid went as far as ten miles away! He needs a lesson! And who’s this ‘Mommy’ he’s talking about?’ he thought to himself.

He got into a car and speedily called a contact of his. “Niall, bring the cobra serum to the location I sent you, right now.”

The moment Anthony reached the cave, he saw Chris weeping next to an unconscious woman.

“Mommy… Mommy! Wake up! Don’t scare Momo…!” Chris wailed as tears streamed down his face like waterfalls.

‘Who’s this? Chris seems too attached, considering she’s a stranger...’ Anthony studied the knocked-out Charmine. Pale and unconscious, her facial features were so stunning that it was hard to look away from her. ‘That’s her: The adopted daughter, Charmine Jordan.’

Chris saw his dad and ran toward him. “Daddy, please help Mommy!” he wailed. “Mommy is dying! I don’t want Mommy dying…!”

“Calm down. I’ve asked Uncle Nial to bring over the serum,” Anthony assured the little boy the best he could.

It did nothing to cease the boy’s tears. “It’s too late... It’s too late! Mommy was bitten for almost an hour, and she’ll die soon if we don’t clear her blood!” Chris sobbed as he shook his head vigorously.

As he scrutinized Charmine’s body, he noted that the snake had bitten her thigh. If one were to suck out the blood, the pants would have to be removed…

“Listen, Momo. There’s a difference between a boy and a girl. Uncle Nial will be here shortly.”

Chris refused to listen, and it was as though his mind was overridden in utter fear. “Help mommy! Daddy help Mommy! Momo had just found Mommy; Momo doesn’t want Mommy dead. Momo doesn’t want to have no mommy... I don’t want to be laughed at! Daddy, help her! Please help her!” The boy was spurting word after word as he pulled Anthony to Charmine.

“Momo, stop making a scene,” Anthony warned him with a stern look.

“Ah!”

Suddenly, the boy’s eyes rolled to the back of his head. He then fell onto the ground with white foam coming out from his mouth.

Anthony’s look instantly changed. The boy had been weak since he adopted him. Whenever something terrible happened, his body would cramp up.

Nial Bailey—who happened to be a medical doctor—had constantly warned him that cramps and strokes would affect the development of Chris’s brains and intelligence. That was why they had always been cautious throughout the years and allowed Chris to have his way all the time. It had been over a year since this had happened…

“Alright,” came the reply of defeat, “I’ll help her.”

Anthony had to kneel at Charmine’s heel and reached out to remove her pants.