Chapter 671 Red String
Emma suddenly flung open the car door, clutching Seraphine as she stepped between the two opposing groups.
"Enough!" Her voice trembled, but was resolute. "Michael, you can't keep me here. I have to leave!"
"Have you forgotten that George tried to kill our child? You're carrying my baby, and he won't tolerate you!"
"The child isn't yours. I'm telling you the truth today—nothing happened between us that night!"
Michael's pupils contracted sharply. "What did you say?"
"The incense that night was laced with hallucinogens. Nothing happened between us. The baby I'm carrying is George's."
Surprisingly, Michael's tense shoulders relaxed slightly. A fleeting look of relief crossed his eyes, quickly replaced by a dark expression. "So, you've been lying to me all this time?"
"I had no choice but to lie! You imprisoned me, threatened me, and used Seraphine to control me. If you knew this was George's child, ask yourself, could you accept it?"
Emma was right; he couldn't accept it.
Michael's mouth tasted bitter. Forcing something never brings sweetness. He suddenly realized that his obsession with Emma over the years might have been driven by possessiveness.
Did he really love Emma?
Michael's gaze involuntarily drifted to the figure standing by the SUV, still as stubborn as he remembered. He was willing to let Emma go, but what about Celeste?
Would she leave him, too?
Did all the things she said when she confessed her love mean nothing now?
Did she really not love him anymore?
Celeste keenly sensed Michael's gaze. She let out a cold laugh and suddenly strode towards him.
"Celeste!" Oscar tried to stop her but was shrugged him off.
In the shocked eyes of everyone, Celeste walked up to Michael, suddenly pulled a handgun from her waist, and pressed it against his temple.
"Let them go." Her voice was icy.
Michael actually smiled. "You finally came close to me."
"Cut the crap!" Celeste's hand trembled slightly. "Let them leave."
"Fine, but I want something in return." Michael stared deeply at her.
"What do you want?"
Before Michael could answer, Seraphine timidly peeked out from behind Emma. "Daddy..."
Although Michael had used Seraphine as a bargaining chip, he genuinely loved her, and Seraphine could feel it. She had always liked Michael as her dad.
Michael wasn't heartless. "Seraphine, Daddy is letting you choose. Do you want to stay with Daddy or go with Mommy?"
Seraphine bit her lip, her big eyes full of confusion. "I want to be with both Daddy and Mommy."
Emma knelt down and hugged Seraphine. "Seraphine, don't call him Daddy anymore. He doesn't deserve to be your dad. Lucas's dad is your real father."
Seraphine was stunned, her little face scrunched up. "Lucas and I have the same dad? But Daddy is so good to me."
Seraphine's young mind couldn't process such complex relationships.
Michael let out a bitter laugh. "Go with Mommy."
He reached out to Celeste. "I want you to stay. If you stay, they can go."
"Fine, but," Celeste picked up the gun, her voice cold, "staying doesn't mean I forgive you."
With Oscar's protection, Emma got into the car with Seraphine. Before they left, Seraphine pressed her tearful face against the window, looking at Michael. "Daddy."
Michael stood there, watching the car disappear into the night.
Celeste stood beside him, her gun still in hand.
"Celeste," Michael asked softly, "I wronged you back then. If..."
"No ifs." Celeste interrupted, her voice choked. "I love you, Michael. But I will never forgive you."
The night wind lifted her long hair, revealing a face both strange and familiar. Michael reached out to touch her, but she pulled away.
"What does it matter if you don't forgive me? I can still imprison you by my side." Michael sneered.
His face was cold, but inside he mocked himself. He was truly a pathetic man, relying on force to keep someone.
Even someone who once loved him deeply now despised him.
"Haven't you had enough of this imprisonment game? Michael, let it go." Celeste finally put away the gun. "If you imprison me, someone will submit evidence of your crimes to the police. That evidence is enough to put you in prison for life."
Michael slowly walked to Celeste's side and took a USB drive from her pocket. "Just this?"
"I've made ten backups. If I don't return today, by tomorrow morning, they'll be on the desk of Interpol."
A flash of lightning illuminated the fury in Michael's eyes. He grabbed Celeste's chin, his grip so tight it hurt. "Do you know what happens to those who betray me?"
Celeste was forced to look up at him, a mocking smile on her lips. "Kill me? Then do it." She leaned closer, her red lips almost touching his. "Just like you dealt with those traitors, one shot to kill me?"
"You think I won't?" His voice was hoarse and terrifying, his hot breath on her face. "I can make you wish you were dead."
"Of course you can," Celeste sneered, tears of defiance in her eyes. "What wouldn't Michael dare to do? You even dare to lie to your own heart!"
At that critical moment...
A gunshot tore through the rainy night. Celeste's body jerked, blood instantly staining her white shirt. Michael's pupils contracted, and he instinctively caught her falling body.
"Celeste?" His voice had never been so frantic.
"Find that bastard!" He roared at his bodyguards. "I want to kill him myself!"
Ninety feet away on a hillside, a sniper packed up his weapon and whispered into his earpiece, "Mission accomplished." He then disappeared into the woods.
Michael carried Celeste into the back seat, blood pouring from her chest, staining the leather seats.
"Drive! To Golden Birch Hospital! Now!" He shouted, pressing down on the wound with one hand and dialing his phone with the other. "Have the chief surgeon waiting in the ER!"
Celeste's pale face showed a bitter smile, her blood-stained fingers gently caressing his cheek. "I never thought I'd die in your arms."
"Shut up!" Michael's eyes were red, his voice breaking. "I forbid you to die! That's an order!"
In the speeding car, Michael's gaze fell on the faded red string on Celeste's wrist. How did this string end up on Celeste's wrist?
Memories flooded back like a tide.
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