I could imagine how happy they were over the last few years. If not for the accident, they would have lived a long and blissful life by each other’s side.
Only in tragedy did their love turn into a story worthy to be told. At that moment, I had wished that I wouldn’t have heard their story at all. At the very least, it meant that they would still be happily alive.
Nevertheless, the suicide note in my hand reminded me that both of them had left this world.
I consoled myself with the thought that there would be no one to break them up wherever they were.
It took me a long while before I could pull myself out of my sorrow. After washing my face, I kept the note in my cabinet before getting changed.
Standing in front of the mirror, I knew that it was time.
I took out my phone and called the only number on the contact list.
Soon, Nathaniel’s voice rang out. “And here I was, thinking that you would never call this number.”
It was obviously a sarcastic statement. After all, that was the only number inside the phone when he gave it to me.
“Where are you?” Not in the mood for jokes, I spoke candidly, “I have made my decision. I want to be the official Mrs. Hall.”
After a brief silence, he asked in an uncertain tone, “Are you sure?”
“That’s what I feel like now. Who knows I might change my mind anytime,” I replied in an arbitrary manner. “Regardless of what it is, I feel like I need to understand you better. If you’re still keen, come back and pick me up.”
“Of course, I’m still keen.” Nathaniel hesitated for a while before adding, “Unfortunately, I can’t come today as a group of important people want to see me personally. Hence, I’ll be out of the country over the next seven days.”
“Don’t you think this a good opportunity to introduce me?” I laid out my bait. “Of course, if you’re confident that I won’t change my mind in seven days, you can go right ahead.”
With that, I ended the call before Nathaniel could even answer.
After that, I sent a message to Benson’s men: It’s time, please lock on to my location.
The moment I sent the message out, I received Nathaniel’s reply: Get yourself changed and wait for me at home.
Having read the text calmly, I walked around the house that used to belong to Anthony and me. Then, I sat patiently in the living room and waited.
Around one hour later, the sound of Nathaniel’s car could be heard. Without any hesitation, I got into the car and sat beside him.
“It’s going to be uncomfortable where we’re going. Are you sure you’re up to it?” Nathaniel asked.
“Don’t underestimate me. I am, after all, someone that caught your eye. I’m not going to disgrace you,” I answered indifferently.
Smirking in response, Nathaniel ordered the driver, “Drive.”
One hour later, we arrived at a golf course on the outskirts of the city. There, we boarded a helicopter and headed for Loang.
Just as Nathaniel had said, he was the only person in the business that was a germaphobe and suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder.
All I saw were men in messy clothing and bases filled with wooden structures. The drug lords there looked like vagabonds while some of the other bases didn’t even have toilets. Hence, one had to do one’s business out in the wild.
The only good thing being by Nathaniel’s side was that I had access to a hot bath before I slept every night.
There, even the children were given guns. To them, human life was worth less than animals.
What shocked me the most were the children. Instead of playing with toys, they gathered in a circle playing poker, where the winner got to shoot the loser to death. After that, the children would drag the loser’s body aside in a nonchalant manner before continuing with their game. Those that survived would go on to join the drug cartel.
During the entire seven days, we went to a total of thirteen different countries and met with most of Nathaniel’s direct competitors.
No one really treated me as Mrs. Hall. Instead, they just assumed that Nathaniel had finally discovered how amazing women are. In fact, they even commented brazenly on my body and looks behind Nathaniel’s back. They were of the opinion that Nathaniel should’ve found someone younger.
Despite how uncouth they were, they treated me with respect on the account of Nathaniel’s status. Moreover, I even managed to avoid all security checks which allowed my phone to continue transmitting my location.
On the afternoon of the ninth day, our trip came to an end as we returned to K City.
After dropping me off at home, Nathaniel went to deal with the problems elsewhere.
As for me, I washed up quickly and picked Gregory up from school before heading to John’s place.
The moment I entered, I handed my phone to Gregory. “Sweetheart, did you manage to trace my location over the last few days?”
“Mmm-hmm.” Gregory nodded. “I saw that you were overseas for a long time. Why didn’t you take me and Audrey with you?”
“I’ll take both of you when I have the opportunity next time.” I tousled his hair with a smile and added, “Now, please help me extract the data of where I have been. Select the places that I have spent more than one hour in.”
“Sure.” Now that he was experienced, Gregory went about it more efficiently. In slightly more than ten minutes, he had completed the task.
“It’s done, Mommy. I have compressed the data into a document and stored it on my desktop. Do you want me to send it to your phone?”
“No.” I carefully stopped Gregory from pressing the send button. Then, I brought out the note with Benson’s number. “Send it to this one instead.”
Although Gregory looked surprised when he saw the number, he did as he was told without any questions.
In less than a minute, the computer prompted that the transfer was a success.
As a result, I let out a sigh of relief.
After all, success was now within our grasp. Watching what had just happened, John interrupted, “Destroy the original tracking program so that you don’t leave a trail.”
John was right. Once the overseas bases were compromised, Nathaniel’s suspicions would definitely be raised. Therefore, it was necessary for me to destroy all evidence.
Looking at Gregory, who was waiting for my answer, I patted him on the shoulder. “Follow Uncle John’s instructions.”
“Okay.” All of a sudden, Gregory seemed to turn into an emotionless android. Turning around, he began furiously typing away on his computer.
While waiting for Gregory to be done, John served me a cup of warm milk. “Drink it. Look at you now, you’re as thin as a rake.”
“Better thin than being shot dead,” I teased him before drinking half the milk.
Despite being annoyed, John’s expression became serious. He suggested, “Now that you have the data, you shouldn’t return to his side. Given how unpredictable he is, he might harm you anytime.”
“Hmm?” I shook my head at once. “No, with me there, he won’t try to flee. This matter has tormented me for years. It’s time we end this.”
“Since you have made up your mind, you should just get it done. Don’t worry about Gregory, Emma and I will take care of him,” John finally relented.
Just as he finished, Gregory was also done. John jolted for a moment when he tried to reach out and stroke Gregory’s hair. After switching to his good hand, he completed what he set out to do.
Concerned by what I saw, I asked softly, “Have you been going to the physio recently?”
“How can I not?” John replied in a half-joking manner. “Emma would skin me alive if I don’t.”
I didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. “In that case, you’d better obey her.”
John shrugged his shoulders without saying a word.
After a few days, I received a message from Benson: The operation has begun.
I deleted it and pretended that nothing had happened while I continue to stay by Nathaniel’s side.
Ever since we went overseas together, he lowered his guard against me and brought me along wherever he went.
One week later, Benson, in collaboration with other foreign forces, finally raided the bases, dealing a significant blow to Nathaniel’s organization. Consequently, Garrett ordered Nathaniel to bring me in for questioning, but all he did was end the call in silence.
Two days later, when Nathaniel and I returned home, we saw Garrett, who was supposed to be overseas, sitting in the living room. At the same time, the entire house was swarmed with armed bodyguards in suits which felt extremely intimidating.
Upon hearing footsteps, Garrett turned to look at the door with a piercing gaze. From the look in his eyes, I could tell that he seemed intent on tearing me apart.
Under normal circumstances, Garrett would stay overseas to avoid the police. But this time, he took the risk of returning personally due to Nathaniel’s refusal to carry out his instruction.
Meanwhile, Nathaniel paused at the door momentarily before holding my hand and leading me in. Standing beside the sofa, he greeted respectfully, “Mr. Jensen.”
In response, Garrett gradually stood up and slapped Nathaniel on his face. At the same time, he gritted his teeth and berated, “Nathaniel, do you know what sort of present you have given me? Hmm? The attacks on our bases have caused me to suffer a massive loss!”
The final slap even threw Nathaniel’s face to the side.
Turning his face back in silence, Nathaniel didn’t utter a word of protest.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to quell Garrett’s anger. After giving me the side-eye, he returned to his seat in annoyance and ordered, “Kill that woman.”
With that, all the bodyguards in the house raised their weapons. It was followed by the sound of cocking guns echoing through the house.
All of a sudden, Nathaniel screamed at the top of his lungs, “Go ahead and fire if you want everyone here to die!”
Holding back from pulling the trigger, everyone looked toward Garrett for further instructions.
However, before Garrett could say a word, Nathaniel revealed his trump card. “The entire house has been planted with enough explosives to level it to the ground. Mr. Jensen, please don’t force me into a corner.”
Suddenly, I felt a chill down my spine when I realized that Nathaniel had such a terrifying plan in place.
As a result, I wondered if there was a limit to what he was capable of doing.
Meanwhile, although Garrett’s men didn’t fear death, they were not willing to lose their lives because of me.
Having heard the threat, Garrett raised his gaze at Nathaniel and fell silent in thought.
After a long while, he regained his senses and sneered, “Looks like I have raised nothing but a worthless dog. Instead of catching prey, you end up biting me instead. Well done, Nathaniel. Well done.”
Just as he spoke, he sprang up from the sofa and glared at Nathaniel face to face. Both of them were within striking distance of each other.
Even though Garrett was shorter than Nathaniel, he made up for it with his commanding presence. At that moment, both of them were standing toe to toe against each other.
“I’m not going to be fooled. After all, you’re not going to die for this woman.” Narrowing his gaze, Garrett’s murderous aura intensified.
Staring right at him, Nathaniel retorted steadily, “Mr. Jensen, why don’t you try me?”
With their eyes locked, the tension in the atmosphere reached a crescendo as an invisible psychological battle began. It felt as if all hell would break loose at any moment.
After a staredown that lasted a minute, Garrett wavered. Raising his hand, he signaled for the guns to be lowered.
He understood how desperate one could be when forced into a corner, let alone the fact that Nathaniel’s methods were never conventional. Therefore, a kamikaze attack by him was entirely possible.
“Do you think you can protect her?” Mr. Jensen scoffed. “The factions in Southeast Asia alone will never let her live!”
“Drop the scare tactics, Mr. Jensen. I’m not a three-year-old.” Nathaniel broke out into a faint but dangerous smile. “As long as you don’t bring it up, they have no evidence to accuse her of being involved. Even if you have the evidence and hand it over in an attempt to rebuild your empire, no one will trust you after that. You’re a smart man. I’m sure you know what’s best for everyone. In the end, you will still protect me. What happened overseas is just your excuse to dispose of Sienna, am I right?”
Garrett was stung at how Nathaniel saw through him. It took him a long while before he regained his composure and responded sarcastically, “You are indeed a sharp man. As I said before, only you are qualified to be my heir. Unfortunately, you have used your wits in the wrong place this time. The only thing that awaits you now is death!”
“Perhaps, you might be disappointed again,” Nathaniel smirked.
“Hmph! Retreat!” Garrett snorted and left with his men. Once they were gone, Nathaniel released me. He then dropped onto the sofa and heaved a long sigh.
After glancing at him, I turned around to head upstairs.
“Aren’t you going to thank me for saving your life?” Even though Nathaniel was resting with his eyes closed, he was entirely aware of all my movements.
I would have uttered my thanks if it was anyone else. Just not him.
“In that case, I should really thank you for burying such a huge amount of explosives in my home without my knowledge. Mr. Hall, if you had detonated them earlier, you wouldn’t need to agonize over a trivial matter such as my gratitude,” I sneered while suppressing the rage inside me.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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