Negotiator's Lie, Wife's Goodbye

Zack was still dazed and muttering, "Kimberly… Kimberly…"

I pulled at the corner of my lips in self-mockery as my fingers unconsciously tightened around the luggage handle.

Even at this point, I was still fantasizing that he would call my name.

Kimberly raised her brows at me smugly. "Did you hear that? When Zack gets drunk, the only name he calls is mine."

She deliberately dragged out her tone as she mocked me. "Some people should stop being so delusional."

I lowered my head and looked at my bandaged right leg. I suddenly remembered that on the day of the explosion, the first person Zack rushed to was Kimberly.

Just like now, when he was drunk and muddled, the name he subconsciously called was still hers.

"Right," I said softly.

Then, not knowing whether I was answering Kimberly or warning myself, I said, "I should have understood long ago."

I turned and left, walking out without a trace of hesitation. My phone screen lit up at the perfect time—GBC had sent the final confirmation email.

"Ms. Serenity Jones, tomorrow at 8:00 am, the private jet will be waiting."

My fingertip hovered over the screen before I finally typed, "Please prepare a new identity for me. Let the name Serenity Jones disappear along with my past."

"Understood."

The moment I saw the reply, it felt as if something inside my heart clicked shut forever.

I picked up my phone, ready to book a ride to the airport, when a towel soaked in chemicals suddenly covered my mouth and nose.

Before my consciousness faded, I heard someone say, "That's her—Zack's wife."

…

When I woke up again, the stench of rust made my nostrils sting.

Under the swaying incandescent light above, a masked man was adjusting some live-streaming equipment.

"Awake?" He kicked at the chair I was tied to. "Your husband sure was hard to meet."

I recognized the voice—it was the younger brother of the gangster from the explosion case. He was also the fugitive wanted on the news.

"You caught the wrong person," I rasped out with an unusually calm voice. "Zack and I are already divorced. Legally, we have nothing to do with each other."

Ethan Calloway laughed coldly. "You said you got divorced? Am I just supposed to believe you?"

"Look at this." I motioned for him to see my bandaged right leg. "This was the injury I suffered while he stood by to protect another woman. Are you sure you want to use me to threaten him?"

Ethan eyed me with suspicion as the tip of the knife grazed along my neck.

I continued, "How about we make a bet? If Zack doesn't show up within ten minutes, it proves I mean nothing to him. According to Article 234 of the Criminal Law, you'll get an extra charge for kidnapping an unrelated person. You still have time to let me go now."

While Ethan hesitated, the factory's iron door was suddenly forced open, and glaring police lights flooded in.

I heard Zack shouting through a loudspeaker, "Let her go!"

Ethan suddenly gripped my chin, forcing me to look at the live-streaming camera.

"You said you were divorced, but he still showed up. Looks like you're quite important to him. How about this? If he refuses to let my brother come in and exchange for you, I will let the whole nation see how the negotiation expert's woman is stripped down!"

The moment the camera went live, the live comments were already flooding in like crazy.

"Isn't this the reporter who deserved to be blown up?"

"With burns like that, who does she think she can seduce?"

"Strip! We're waiting to see that!"

Ethan sneered as he flicked open my first button with the tip of the knife.

"Zack! I'll give you 30 seconds to decide. Do you want your career, or your wife's dignity?"

Through the blinding police lights, I saw Zack's figure frozen outside the police cordon. His white shirt was soaked with sweat, and his tie hung crooked around his neck.

In all these years, it was the first time I had seen him so disheveled.

Ethan sneered as he cut open my second button, and the livestream comments instantly went into a frenzy.

I heard Zack's footsteps suddenly stop through the loudspeaker, and right after came Kimberly's sickly sweet voice.

"Zack." She tugged on his sleeve and shook it. "You know I only need one more case to become official. Let me handle this one, okay?"

Through the dust-covered glass window, I saw Zack swallow hard.