"Boss, the tracker shows that Mrs. Layton is moving rapidly." Seamus handed his tablet to Spencer. It showed a red dot speeding ahead.Spencer's brows were tightly furrowed as he ordered, "Check where she's going!"Seamus immediately turned to his laptop. Soon, he pulled up a terrain map of the direction Lucille was heading toward. "Based on the direction Mrs. Layton is headed, Solnine Bridge is about 1.5 miles ahead of her. Solnine River is beneath the bridge.""How long will we take to get there?" Spencer asked."About 30 to 40 minutes."…Meanwhile, Lucille finally saw a car parked on Solnine Bridge after racing forward at full speed for a few minutes. It was on the opposite side of traffic, though.The screeching of a car's brakes pulled Lila back to her senses. She looked up to see a slender figure jump out of the car opposite hers. It was Lucille.She wondered what Lucille was doing there when she saw the latter deftly jump over the median barrier and run to her.Lucille
Lila hadn't expected to experience an abduction at her age. It hadn't happened to her when she was younger. She didn't have any regrets in life, really.She'd married a great guy and had given birth to two outstanding sons. She even had a wonderful daughter-in-law. Her only regret was that she couldn't witness Spencer and Lucille's wedding."I promised Spencer I'd bring you home safe and sound, Mom," Lucille said. She bent down to undo the cable around Lila's foot. "Don't worry, okay? I won't let anything happen to you."She'd observed the cable earlier. As long as the pressure on the cable remained, the bomb wouldn't go off. That way, she would have time to get Lila out safely.But first, she needed to untie the rope around Lila's ankles. The cable was tied to the ropes. If she could arrive at this conclusion, so could Taylor. That was why the rope around Lila's ankles had been tied in a complex manner. Untying them would take time, and time was something Lucille didn't have."Af
Lila was telling Lucille about Spencer and Seth's childhood when Lucille suddenly said, "We're good to go, Mom."Lucille had untied the rope around Lila's ankles but couldn't move. She could only tell Lila to lift her feet and move them away slowly."Slowly lift your feet, Mom," she said. "Be careful not to touch the rope I'm holding.""Okay. But what about you?"Lucille looked up at her, her smile comforting. "Don't worry. I'll be fine."Taylor heard their conversation through the surveillance equipment in the car. He hadn't expected Lucille to be able to get Lila free. It looked like he'd underestimated her.She was intelligent, beautiful, calm in the face of adversity, and decisive when the situation called for it. She was a rare species. It was too bad she was about to leave the world.Lila held her breath as she carefully lifted her feet and moved away. Just then, Lucille glanced at the front of the car. She saw a decorative animal's eye hanging before the passenger seat; a
Taylor laughed while saying, "If you get out of the car now, my men will immediately shoot Lila dead."Lucille finally felt threatened. She couldn't outrun a sniper's bullet no matter how fast she was, and she wasn't sure how many people Taylor had hidden in the shadows.She mocked, saying, "This is all you're capable of, Taylor. Using innocent people to achieve your objective is the only thing you can do."Taylor knew what she meant but didn't let it bother him. "It doesn't matter what my methods are as long as the result is what I want."Lucille sat in the backseat. She had nothing to hide—Taylor could see everything she was doing anyway. He suddenly said, "I'm pretty reluctant to part with you, actually. You tick all the boxes for what I like in a woman."She almost rolled her eyes. "You're a freak."Her left hand was in the surveillance camera's blind spot, so she secretly pulled out her phone and put it behind her. She knew exactly where to press, even if she couldn't see
Taylor laughed and clapped. Lucille acted like she didn't hear him and said, "One of my guesses must be correct. I hope you'll stick to your word."He said, "I didn't promise you anything, though. I only asked you to guess."She knew he wouldn't have agreed to it but still frowned and feigned anger. "You played me!"He snickered. "This is a gift I'm definitely giving out today."Just then, the sound of a helicopter approaching rent the air. At the same time, Lila's expression changed drastically. She ran toward the car from where she stood, shouting, "Get out of the car, Lucy!"It wasn't because she'd seen the helicopter. No, it was because there were two huge trucks speeding toward the car Lucille was in.Lucille saw Lila running to her and glanced in the rearview mirror to see the trucks. She bolted out of the car without hesitation. She and Lila ran to each other.As soon as she grabbed Lila's hand, there was a large explosion behind her. She and Lila felt like their eardrums
Lucille knew she had no choice but to jump into Solnine River when grabbing Lila's hand. They had a sea of fire behind them and an unfathomable river before them.She could only choose the river. It was filled with unimaginable danger, but at least there was still a sliver of hope for survival. She was willing to risk everything for that sliver. Comparatively, the explosion left them with no hope.The explosion, the impact from the trucks crashing into the car, and the hidden sniper could all cause fatal damage. Lucille couldn't guarantee survival, especially since she had Lila with her. She wouldn't give up so easily, though.After falling into the water, Lucille held Lila's hand tightly. The impact of the explosion and the sudden loss of gravity made Lila pass out the moment they fell in the water.Lucille fought to stay conscious with sheer willpower. She pushed Lila toward the water's surface. The current had brought them downstream; Lucille ignored the pain in her back and loo
"Hey, Spence, where are you going?" Ethan quickly grabbed hold of Spence, stopping him from moving forward.Zachary, along with Seamus, Mack, and the others, had already followed the rescue team down. Ethan stayed above to keep an eye on Spencer. In his condition, there was no way they could let him go down there."Let me go!" Spencer shot him a sharp look. "I'm going down!""No way," Ethan insisted. "Don't worry. There are professionals down there, and Zach's with them too."Spencer pressed his pale lips together. "Don't make me say it again." His cold presence was overwhelming, making everyone feel uneasy."Spence, I'll go down. You and Dad wait up here," Seth said. His usual laid-back attitude was replaced with a rare seriousness.Spencer shook off Ethan's hands and said, "Keep an eye on Dad!"With that, he headed toward the path the rescue team had taken.Solnine River's currents were rapid. With it being winter, a chilling wind swept through the area. It was already 5:30 p
"Captain Cornell, Captain Cornell..." The walkie-talkie on Boaz's shoulder crackled to life."We just found a woman's coat and a pair of shoes 1,500 feet downstream."Boaz replied, "Roger. I'll be there shortly."Spencer and the others overheard the message. Spencer was the first to step forward and board one of the rescue boats. Ethan and Zachary followed closely behind. Boaz had no choice but to join them. Technically, family members couldn't join the rescue. But given who these men were, he couldn't say anything.Another 20 minutes passed with no progress.Meanwhile, in a nearby villa, Andrew's face was grim as he rushed inside and hurried upstairs. "Miss, something terrible has happened..." Andrew was still in shock after receiving a call from Tobias.The person in the wheelchair was also agitated. She coughed violently before angrily rasping, "I told you to keep an eye on her, not to let her die!"Andrew was at a loss for words. He'd never expected things to go so wrong