Chapter 750

"Alright," Celeste said in a deep voice. "Let me see Leo first."

They pushed open the hidden door, revealing a staircase leading to the basement.

"Have Leo come to the stairway corner." She stood at the dark staircase and negotiated with the kidnapper.

"Mommy!" Suddenly, Leo's desperate cry echoed from inside.

"Leo!" Celeste ditched everything else and rushed down the stairs.

She ran ahead, and as soon as she reached the corner, there was a loud explosion, and a wave of heat hit her face.

"Celeste!"

"Celeste!"

Damon and Winston's faces changed drastically, shouting in alarm.

The basement was empty. It was a trap.

Had they been more careful, they would have noticed that both the kidnapper’s voice and Leo’s cry were artificially synthesized. But Celeste, in her desperation to save her son, had been too frantic to discern this.

The basement was rigged with landmines. Unfortunately, something went wrong. The mine exploded when Celeste reached the stairway corner, instead of when