Chapter 325 He Knew He Had Succeeded
Saskia was reminiscing about Alexander and Landon's childhood when Victoria cut in, "Mom, I got it done."
Victoria untied the rope around Saskia's feet, but Saskia was too stiff to move. Victoria had to help her lift her feet and get them out. "Mom, just lift your feet slowly," Victoria instructed. "Watch out for the rope in my hand."
"Okay," Saskia replied, "What about you?"
Victoria gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about me, I'm good."
Christopher was eavesdropping on their conversation through the car's front-end monitor. He hadn't expected Victoria to be so capable.
He thought, 'Victoria is smart and beautiful, calm under pressure, and decisive in her actions. Women like her are rare. Too bad, she is about to disappear.'
Saskia held her breath and carefully lifted her leg, managing to move it away safely. Victoria glanced at the front of the car and noticed a small decorative animal on the dashboard with a flashing red dot. She knew exactly what that meant.
"Mom, get out of the car and find a safe spot to wait for me," Victoria said. Saskia was worried but knew staying would only hinder Victoria.
Through the car window, Victoria saw Saskia had reached a safe zone. "Christopher, I know you're watching!" Victoria called out to the empty car. Christopher wasn't surprised she had figured it out.
Victoria checked the time; it was already a minute past when Luke had mentioned, but no large truck had shown up.
"What do you want?" Victoria demanded. She felt something under the car, just the right thing to re-tie the rope as a stress point.
Christopher's voice echoed in the car. "I don't want anything; just felt like watching a show, and the opportunity came up." Victoria frowned but stayed silent.
Christopher's laughter filled the car, making it even more unsettling. "Tell me, if Alexander sees the two most important women in his life disappear and he can't do anything, will he break down? Will he feel useless?"
Christopher laughed again. "It's almost Christmas, a time for family reunions, but now it's a time for separation. Do you think Alexander will like the gift I'm giving him?"
Christopher answered his own question, "I think Alexander will love it."
Victoria suddenly understood Christopher's real motive. He was targeting both her and Alexander. Christopher's twisted words made Victoria very uncomfortable.
Then Christopher said, "Do you think it's safe just because you got her out of the car?"
"What do you mean?" Victoria's hands froze.
Christopher laughed sharply. "Why don't you look up and see for yourself."
Victoria looked at where Saskia was standing, and she was looking back at her. Her eyesight was sharp, and the red dot was obvious. Sure enough, there was a red dot on Saskia's chest, the infrared from a sniper rifle.
"You set up a sniper!" Victoria almost growled.
Christopher laughed. "If you step out of the car now, my guy will blow Saskia's head off."
Victoria was cornered. No matter how fast she ran, she couldn't outrun a sniper's bullet, and she didn't know how many people Christopher had hidden.
Victoria sneered, "Christopher, is this all the guts you have, using innocent people to get what you want?"
Christopher got her point but didn't care. "The method doesn't matter; what matters is the result I want."
Victoria was now sitting in the back seat, with nowhere to hide. Christopher could see her every move. "Actually, I really don't want you to die," Christopher suddenly said. "You're just my type."
Victoria almost rolled her eyes. "Psycho!"
Victoria's left hand was out of the camera's view. She quietly took out her phone from her pocket and placed it behind her. Even without seeing the screen, she knew where to press.
Alexander got another call from Victoria. As soon as he answered, he heard Victoria say, "Christopher, do you know where you lost to my husband?"
Hearing Christopher's name, Alexander knew he was there. Soon, Christopher's voice came through. "Tell me, where did I lose?" Christopher asked, intrigued.
Victoria's lips curled slightly. "You lost because there's no comparison!" In other words, Christopher didn't even qualify to be compared to Alexander in Victoria's eyes.
"Seriously, do you think it's cool to use a sniper against an unarmed woman?" Victoria said, dead serious. "If my husband were in this situation, he wouldn't drag innocent people into it."
The message was clear: Christopher was just a cowardly, spineless jerk who picked on the weak. Christopher was left speechless.
On the other end of the phone, the others exchanged glances, shocked that Christopher had set all this up. Then they heard Victoria say, "Let's make a deal."
Christopher replied, "Go on." He neither agreed nor disagreed.
"If I guess the sniper's position correctly, you let my mom go," Victoria said. "After all, you've known her as Saskia for over twenty years, and she's never done anything to harm you."
Christopher didn't doubt Victoria's words. He didn't expect Victoria to secretly call and relay information to Alexander. There was a few seconds of silence before Christopher's voice came through. "You're not playing any tricks, are you?"
Victoria chuckled. "See, that's another difference between you and my husband. Have some confidence in yourself." Her tone was light but dripping with sarcasm. "I'm right here; what tricks could I possibly play?"
Christopher was speechless again. Caleb and Garrett admired Victoria; even in such a tight spot, she still managed to belittle Christopher.
Christopher didn't believe Victoria could guess correctly. She had only glanced once from such a distance; there was no way she could know. Even if she guessed, it would be a coincidence, and the decision was still in Christopher's hands. "Speak!"
Victoria pretended to think for a moment and then mentioned two positions. "The three o'clock direction from my current position, or the hill at six o'clock."
On the other side, Alexander had put the call on speaker. He signaled Quentin, who immediately understood and started checking.
Christopher's laughter echoed again, followed by applause. Victoria pretended not to hear and patiently said, "One of the two guesses has to be right. I hope you'll keep your word."
Christopher said, "But I never agreed to your terms; I just let you speak."
Victoria frowned, pretending to be angry. She knew he wouldn't agree. "You are kidding me?!"
Christopher's sinister laughter rang out again. "No matter what, I'm giving this gift today."
At that moment, a deafening noise and the sound of strong winds came from above. It was a helicopter approaching. At the same time, Saskia, standing in the safe zone, turned pale and ran over.
"Victoria, get out of the car!" Saskia shouted. She wasn't reacting to the helicopter but to the two large trucks barreling towards the car with Victoria still inside.
Victoria saw Saskia running towards her and also caught sight of the trucks in the rearview mirror. Without hesitation, Victoria bolted out of the car.
Saskia and Victoria ran towards each other. Almost at the moment Victoria grabbed Saskia's hand, a loud explosion erupted behind them. Victoria and Saskia felt their ears ring and sensed a wave of heat from behind them. The people in the helicopter saw them engulfed in a ball of fire. If Caleb and Garrett hadn't quickly grabbed Alexander, he would have jumped out of the helicopter. It was quite high; jumping without equipment would mean certain death.
"Don't be impulsive!" Garrett said. "I just saw Victoria jumping over the railing with Saskia."
"Quentin, get them ready to rescue in the river!" Caleb ordered, turning to Quentin.
Alexander couldn't give any orders as he realized he arrived just a moment too late. Ellington and Sophia arrived simultaneously with Alexander and saw Victoria jumping into the moat with Saskia.
Ellington shouted, "Find them! I want to see them, alive or not!"
Sophia watched Ellington, who was on the verge of an angry outburst. She hadn't seen this side of Ellington for so long that she had almost forgotten he was a ruthless black market leader who wouldn't even spare his own family.
Since his revenge, Ellington hadn't lost control of his emotions because no one could provoke any emotions in him anymore. At this moment, Christopher's screen turned black.
Christopher knew he had succeeded. The timing was perfect, a result of Christopher's meticulous planning.
Christopher had initially planned to send the video to Alexander, but after learning that Alexander knew about his plan, he changed his mind. Watching it live was much more thrilling than a video. In the spacious room, a chilling laugh echoed.
The river's current was swift, its depths unfathomable, like a giant whirlpool concealing endless dangers. No swimmer, no matter how skilled, could withstand the perils of nature.
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