Three Years Forgotten, Why Go Crazy When I Say Goodbye? novel Chapter 442

No argument. No rebuttal. She was almost too compliant.

Vivienne immediately flashed a triumphant smile. So much for backbone and boundaries. In the face of cold, hard cash, everyone folded.

She casually weighed the stacks of bills in her hand, relaxing her posture. Radiating an overwhelming sense of superiority, she was already calculating her next steps.

Once they brought the kid out, she would wrap up the data collection and hand it straight to Mr. Smith. That way, she would solidify her spot as the key contributor to the project. When that happened, not only would Mr. Smith be impressed, but even Julian...

While Vivienne was lost in her fantasies, the front door suddenly swung open. She thought she'd won. But instead of the boy, a feral mutt, Buster, exploded out of the house, charging at them like an absolute maniac!

No one anticipated this. The group standing outside descended into instant chaos.

The dog was filthy and vicious. Like a heat-seeking missile, it lunged straight for Vivienne!

Terrified out of her mind, she yanked the person next to her to use as a human shield. At the same time, the cash slipped from her grip. Hundreds of dollar bills scattered into the air, caught by the mountain wind, and fluttered uselessly to the dirt.

The yard turned into a circus of screams and scrambling bodies.

Finally, amidst Mayor Henderson's frantic shouts, Garrett stepped out of the house, moving at a leisurely pace, and called the dog back.

But the damage was done. Vivienne and several of her team members had their clothes shredded. Some even had shallow bites and scratches. They looked utterly pathetic.

Yesterday it was liquid manure. Today it was an attack dog. This was too much!

In their rush, they completely missed Mr. Smith and his team heading up the trail. By the time Mr. Smith reached the village entrance, there was no sign of Vivienne.

Jayden Chase was anxious and immediately shot Vivienne a text.

Down in the town clinic, Vivienne was biting back a scream as the doctor swabbed her cuts with rubbing alcohol. Still, she forced herself to endure the stinging and called Mr. Smith.

She had no choice. She was the one who insisted on sending them up the mountain so early. This whole mess was entirely her fault.

Over the phone, she only told him that they had a run-in with a village dog, conveniently omitting the disastrous failure of her research attempt. To sell the lie, she even warned his team to be careful. Then, she instructed them to settle in at Mayor Henderson's place, promising to head back as soon as she was bandaged up.