Chapter 141 Venting Anger
Philip looked at the knife that had fallen in front of him, a hint of crimson seeming to flash in his eyes. After a brief silence, he asked, "You threaten me with her. Do you think Douglas will let you go?"
Edward's tone sounded mocking yet pressing. "I started following our father in the business world when I was eighteen, and it's been twenty years now. For these twenty years, I've been living a glorious life, but now I've fallen to the point of being like a rat. I don't want to live this drastically different life for even one more day. Living like this is worse than dying, so do you really think I'm that afraid of death?"
Edward's words were actually a psychological game intended to manipulate Philip.
At this critical juncture, weren't they just betting on who could go further?
He kept talking about death, intentionally creating the impression that he was truly resolute and prepared to go to extreme lengths.
But Edward wasn't entirely confident about this gamble.
After all, based on Edward's past understanding of Philip, how could a mere woman make Philip give up everything he had painstakingly obtained?
Philip was a profit-driven person who valued interests above all else.
But Edward also understood that, at this point, he had no choice but to gamble with Regina.
As time ticked by, seeing Philip remain unmoved, Edward grew anxious.
He bent down, feigning a bit of guilt as he looked at Regina at his feet. "Sorry, Ms. Valrose. I know this is a terrible path, and at first, I didn't intend to hurt you. I just wanted to use you to threaten Philip to returning what rightfully belonged to me. However, after today's events, as Philip himself said, whether you live or die, your husband will not allow me to escape unscathed. So the best solution is that I should take you with me to die. I want Douglas to understand that if it weren't for Philip, I wouldn't have done this to you. This way, none of us will have a good time, and I can get my revenge."
Of course, Edward still held onto the hope that if he could regain everything from the Sterling family, he would still have the power to contend with anyone.
Even it needed to provoke Douglas. He had to take a gamble and try once.
Beneath Edward's elegant and steady facade of decades, there was a paranoid and twisted heart.
Just as Edward aimed the knife at Regina, Philip was quicker, picking up the knife that had fallen at his feet.
This action took everyone by surprise.
"I choose."
Before anyone could react, Philip held the knife in his right hand and pressed it against the bulging veins of his left wrist. With a swift motion, he severed three veins in his left hand!
Regina's pupils dilated in shock as she stared at the bloody scene before her.
As Philip attempted to transfer the knife to his left hand to resume severing the veins in his other hand, he realized that the hand with the severed veins was now too weakened to hold the knife securely.
The knife fell to the ground.
His bloody hand trembled as he tried to pick it up.
"Philip..." Regina called his name hoarsely. "Don't gamble with him."
Regina believed Edward wouldn't dare to kill her.
Of course, she couldn't say this directly to Philip now, as Edward was already at a level of madness, and anything she said could provoke him.
However, she had noticed that Edward had deep concerns.
During the hours she was kidnapped by Edward, she overheard him receiving three phone calls.
They were from Edward's wife and son.
She heard the child on the other end calling out "Daddy" in a clear voice, saying he was scared, and she heard Edward's wife crying, begging Edward not to do anything foolish.
Of course, she also saw the hesitation on Edward's face and the fleeting tears in his eyes.
He wasn't without attachments in this world.
He had his wife and son behind him. He wasn't as fearless of death as he claimed.
So, Philip didn't need to risk becoming disabled to gamble with him.
Edward couldn't afford to gamble either.
"What? Why did you stop?" Edward frowned as he saw Philip pause. "Continue."
Then, he glanced at Philip's bloody, trembling hand and pretended to be thoughtful. "Oh, so you're already a cripple who can't even hold a knife. How about this? I'll have someone help you."
Edward's gaze initially fell upon one of the bodyguards nearby. He was about to signal the bodyguard to do it, but Philip suddenly spoke, "If it's going to be severed anyway, I should at least choose who does it, right?"
"You want to choose an executioner?"
"Yes."
"Who do you want to choose?" Edward asked, his eyes glancing at the pale-faced Regina tied at his feet.
Sure enough, he heard Philip say, "Regina."
Regina held her breath.
It felt like a dark cloud was pressing down on her, making it hard to breathe.
He smiled self-deprecatingly, looking into her eyes. "These six years, I owe you a lot. Now you can take it as revenge, as payback."
'Revenge? Payback?'
But after breaking up with him, she never thought about these things. She only wanted to part on good terms and live her own life.
Edward loved watching such scenes.
He took a dagger and cut the ropes binding Regina's hands and feet, then handed her the knife, his voice sounding quite gentle. "Ms. Valrose, please. Don't worry. As long as I get what I want, I won't hurt you. If you cripple him, and I get the stock transfer agreement, you can walk out of here unharmed, and we can pretend nothing happened, okay?"
Regina shook her head.
Edward pretended to sigh helplessly. "He hurt you. You don't need to feel any burden. After all, he deserves all of this. If you can't, I'll have to let my men do it."
"Regina," Philip endured the pain in his hand and called her name again, almost coaxingly. "Come here."
Regina looked up, seeing the crimson in his eyes.
In that moment, she seemed to understand something.
She took the knife and walked towards him.
The short distance felt incredibly long.
Sweat covered her palms.
Finally, she stood in front of him and stopped.
