In no time, Peter was subdued. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as he was dragged in front of EMPEROR by the men in black.
“Sir, this guy tried to sneak around and take the kid,” one of the men said, kicking Peter hard.
Peter fell to his knees in pain, utterly humiliated.
As he struggled to get up, a black gun barrel was pressed against his forehead, forcing him to lie flat on the ground. A foot in a black sneaker stepped on his head, and a malicious voice sneered, “Trying to get up? No way!”
Peter, with his face pressed against the rough ground, shouted at the men in black, “Let me go! You bastards!”
“Watch your mouth! Do you even know the situation you’re in?” The foot on his face ground down harder.
Blood streamed from Peter’s face, scraped by the uneven ground.
At that moment, another man in black dragged Alex over, a gun pointed at the child’s temple.
EMPEROR smiled sinisterly, “Sylvia, do you see this? Your subordinate and your child are both in my hands. I advise you to kill Franklin immediately! Otherwise, they both die!”
“One for two, it’s a good deal for you.”
“Hurry up!”
“Do it!”
EMPEROR’s expression was maniacal, his eyes filled with excited malice like a snake eyeing its prey.
“No need to kill Franklin, just kill me,” Sylvia said with a cold smile. She threw her gun at EMPEROR’s feet and walked towards him. “I’ll be your hostage. Let the child and my subordinate go.”
“Do you think I’m stupid?” EMPEROR raised an eyebrow at her beautiful but infuriating face. “Sylvia, I want Franklin dead.”
“If you don’t release the child, I won’t kill him,” Sylvia laughed. “Give me back the child.”
“Then… you’ll all die together!” EMPEROR waved his hand, and the entire abandoned factory went dark.
EMPEROR had cut the power!
As Sylvia’s eyes adjusted to the darkness, she heard footsteps and gunshots.
She dodged the bullets by listening carefully.
Suddenly, Franklin appeared out of nowhere and pulled Sylvia into his arms.
They rolled to a nearby pillar for cover.
Franklin held Sylvia tightly.
He whispered in her ear, “There might be an ambush here; otherwise, EMPEROR wouldn’t be so confident.”
As he finished speaking, there was a loud bang!
An explosion erupted!
Flames shot up from the northeast corner of the factory, illuminating the entire space.
EMPEROR and his men had retreated to the overhead walkway, directly above the explosion site.
Suspended from a high rope on the walkway were two figures-Peter and Alex.
The small two-year-old Alex scanned the crowd below with wide eyes as the flames lit up. When he saw Sylvia, his eyes filled with tears.
He couldn’t help but shout to Sylvia, “Sylvia, go! Don’t worry about me. It’s dangerous here! They’ve planted explosives everywhere!”
“Damn it! How does this brat know?” EMPEROR snarled and slapped the man in black beside him.
The man looked embarrassed. “I don’t know…”
“Lower the rope!” EMPEROR commanded angrily. “Lower it all the way!”
The men began lowering the rope.
Peter and Alex were descending towards the burning debris. The flames licked at their feet, ready to consume them at any moment.
The intense smoke filled their noses, and the heat scorched their feet.
“Burn me now if you dare! Torturing me like this doesn’t make you a man!” Peter’s shoes touched the flames and began to burn.
His toes felt searing pain.
But he endured it. What was a little fire?
He wasn’t afraid of death.
Alex looked down at the fire below. His small face was tense as he spoke in a firm voice, “I’m not afraid either.”
Despite his words, his eyes were red, holding back tears.
He didn’t want to cry!
He didn’t want to cry in front of the bad guys.
He didn’t want Sylvia to see him weak.
His small wrists were bound by ropes, suspended high above.
The ropes had already cut deep red marks into his wrists, causing him immense pain.
But he wouldn’t cry out in pain or show weakness to the bad guys.
A child’s skin is delicate; blood seeped from his wrists, staining the rough ropes red.
It was excruciating!
Yet he remained silent.
Sylvia’s heart ached at the sight. “He’s just a child, EMPEROR. Let him down. Take me instead!”
“Sylvia, it’s too late! If you had killed Franklin earlier, I might have spared the child. But now it’s too late! Can’t you see? There are explosives everywhere. In ten minutes, they’ll all go off! Then today next year will be your death anniversary!”
EMPEROR’s eyes gleamed with madness; he was completely insane.
He had lost his mind long ago when his child and Winter died!
Now he wanted Sylvia and Franklin to pay with their blood!
Seeing Sylvia’s frantic eyes and Franklin’s anxious expression made him laugh hysterically.
His maniacal laughter was terrifying. Franklin gritted his teeth. “I’ll go get the child.”
Sylvia instinctively grabbed his arm. “He’s crazy; are you too? You’ll die.”
“Do you expect me to watch the child die?” Franklin held her tightly for a moment before letting go. “This started because of us; the child is innocent. If something happens to me, seize your chance.”
Sylvia nodded heavily; she understood his meaning.
She felt sad. “Franklin, we don’t have our own child yet. You mustn’t die.”
Franklin cupped her face. “Don’t worry; if I die, I’ll die by your side.”
His deep eyes stared into hers. “I love only you in this life and beyond. Whether alive or dead, I love only you.”
Hearing this made Sylvia’s eyes well up with tears.
In the dark light of the fire, she found his lips and kissed him hard.
Franklin didn’t expect Sylvia to kiss him under these circumstances.
She kissed him!
He was momentarily stunned.
Sylvia kissed him deeply before pulling away. Her clear eyes shone as she looked at him. “If we survive this, let’s have a baby!”
Franklin stared at her in shock. “How? You have Love Parasite…”
“If we can’t conceive naturally, we’ll use science!” Sylvia looked at him determinedly. “We have to try.”
“Alright!” Franklin kissed her passionately. If it weren’t for the wrong time and place, he would have…
Sylvia pushed him away after catching her breath.
Franklin held her tightly for a few more seconds before letting go and striding towards EMPEROR with long steps.
His tall figure was imposing against the firelight like a god ready to face anything!
“Franklin, what are you doing? Don’t think I’ll let them go if you come over! Hahaha!” EMPEROR had lost all reason; his eyes were blinded by hatred and pain.
His twisted face screamed, “Lower them! Burn them! I want to see Franklin and Sylvia’s child turn to ashes! I want them reduced to dust!”
“Hahaha!”
“Shoot! Kill Franklin!”
“Kill Sylvia! They killed my wife and child; they must pay double!”
Sylvia froze at the mention of wife and child. “I don’t even know you; when did I harm your wife and child?”
“See? She won’t admit it! Sylvia! My child died before seeing this beautiful world because of you and Franklin!” EMPEROR’s eyes burned with hatred as he stared at Sylvia as if he wanted to skin her alive!
“A scheming woman like you should be in hell! You don’t know who I am? Hahaha!” EMPEROR laughed maniacally. “I’ll let you die knowing.”
“I am…”
Before he could finish, Franklin coldly interrupted him. “You are Clark!”
Franklin had suspected this since the ski resort incident when EMPEROR seemed familiar.
When Clark mentioned that Franklin and Sylvia caused his wife and child’s deaths, Franklin immediately thought of Clark.
“So that plastic surgeon who died shortly after your escape was killed by you.” Franklin’s voice was icy as he stood about five meters from EMPEROR without any weapons. “If you’re really Clark, I must tell you something.”
“Alex is-” Franklin began to reveal the truth when EMPEROR interrupted with a crazed laugh, not listening to Franklin at all. He shouted, “Lower them! Burn them!”