Not A Small Town Girl (Danielle and David) novel Chapter 199

"Danielle grabbed the disinfectant from her bag, but before she could pour it on herself, Vivian snatched it away.

“You can't just pour it straight on, it will hurt," Vivian said, dipping a cotton swab into the disinfectant and gently applying it to Danielle's wound.

“Does it hurt?" Vivian's eyes were red, thinking that her daughter was hurt protecting them.

"Danielle shook her head. "No, it's fine. I've been through worse."

“Danielle, I'm so sorry. I didn't protect you, and you ended up getting hurt. You were poisoned when you were so young, and you've suffered all these years. Once we're out of here, I'll find the antidote. I won't let anything happen to you again." Vivian's tears flowed freely.

“Don't worry, Mom, the poison is under control for now. I'm tough, like a cat with nine lives," Danielle said, trying to make her mom feel better.

“Danielle, Mom, hurry up and come over! It's safe here. Crawl along the wall, and you'll find us." Xavier's voice came from ahead.

"

"Mom, I'll help you." Danielle tied a vine around Vivian's waist. "Ready?"

“Yeah, let's go." As Vivian started moving forward, she was suddenly lifted up. She barely stopped herself from screaming, relying on her strong will to keep calm.

"Danielle held Vivian's arm with one hand and grabbed the vine with the other, kicking off the wall as they both shot through the air.

"Vivian bit her lip, her heart racing. Danielle was quick to act. One second, she was asking whether Vivian was ready, and the next, they were flying. Vivian hadn't expected that at all, and the sudden rush almost made her panic.

Danielle landed smoothly with Vivian, and both Howard and Xavier froze, thinking they were under attack by hidden weapons.

They had just barely managed to climb over after struggling so much. The last thing they expected was for Danielle to practically fly over with the vine in less than a minute, making their effort seem pointless.

“Dad, Xavier, what's going on with you two?" Danielle untied the vine from her mom, noticing that both of them looked frozen in place.

"Vivian smiled to herself, she could tell the guys were feeling a little embarrassed.

“It's fine. Danielle, are you okay?" Howard asked, looking awkward.

“We're good. Let's keep moving!" Danielle said with ease.

"Xavier stood there, completely stunned. He had been planning to show off a little when Danielle got to him, thinking he'd prove he could protect her too. But now, all that was stuck in his throat. Danielle had just flown over with Vivian, completely stealing his moment.

"'Forget it. Who can compete with Danielle? Not every brother gets protected by his sister. This is a rare experience,' he thought to himself.

"Danielle kept leading the way with her dagger in hand, and the others followed, staying alert.

*****

"Meanwhile, at Nathor Palace.

“Did you find anything?" David asked, his expression grim as he sat on the sofa.

"It had been two days since he last heard from Danielle. Her phone was off, and she hadn't responded. The night before last, she'd sent him a message saying she was going to find Matthew, and then… nothing.

"Nathan was standing nearby, nervously shifting. "Mr. Charrington, the last place Miss Darling's signal was picked up was in a mountain area near the city. Her car had been followed from Soufield. Miss Darling took care of them, and it was her people who took them back."

"David's face darkened, his mood sinking even further. It felt like the temperature in the room dropped several degrees, even though it was autumn outside.

"The fact that Danielle hadn't reached out to him first when things went wrong made David wonder if he hadn't given her enough security, like she didn't think he was reliable.

Or maybe she just didn't care enough to turn to him.

"He couldn't shake the worry gnawing at him, especially since he couldn't get in touch with her.

“What are you saying?" Jaden asked, clearly confused.

“They're lost. I can't track them down," David replied, his frustration growing.

"Jaden finally put the pieces together. So, Danielle was probably gone too.

“Have you found them now?" Jaden asked again.

“Don't you have something else to do?" David snapped, his worry for Danielle outweighing any patience for small talk.

“I'll help you find her. Let me know if you hear anything," Jaden offered, but David hung up before he could say more, irritated by the pointless conversation.

"Nathan burst in. "Sir, I found them. They're in Blackpool Village. It's a remote area, no signal."

“Get the helicopter ready. We're heading to Blackpool Village," David ordered as he stood up and made his way to the door.

“Hold on, sir. It's all mountains out there, no signal. We'll have to drive," Nathan pointed out carefully.

“Then let's get going," David replied, and the Rolls-Royce convoy took off from Nathor Palace.

"During the ride, David called Jaden to let him know where they were heading.

“Sir, it's gonna take about three hours to get there. You should try to rest, you haven't had much sleep the past couple of days," Nathan said, glancing at him.

“Yeah," David muttered, too exhausted to argue.

"Meanwhile, Jaden got the info from David and started getting ready to head to Blackpool Village himself. 'Xavier really can't seem to stay out of trouble. What's he doing in that godforsaken place?' he thought, frustration growing.