"Alright," Joshua replied without wasting words.


    Ste''s focus remained on Eason as she calcted the odds of using him as a hostage to escape the pce.


    Just as everyone''s attention was fixed on Ste and Eason, another gunshot suddenly rang out.


    A bullet lodged itself in Eason''s heart.


    Everyone was stunned by the sudden turn of events.


    Standing so close, Ste was sttered with his blood.


    A man dressed in ck stood in the shadows, where the light couldn''t reach. He


    held a silenced pistol, a wisp of white smoke still curling from the barrel. His expression was cid, like a cold, emotionless assassin.


    Princess Wright let out a terrified shriek. "Ah!"


    Queen Wright''s face went white, and she fainted on the spot.


    Only King Wright retained some semnce ofposure.


    "Doctor!" he roared hoarsely. "Get a doctor, now!"


    Ste nudged the still-dazed Noah. "Go, quickly," she whispered.


    Noah, as if waking from a dream, took the opportunity to slip away in the chaos.


    This was the first time Abby had experienced such a life-or-death situation. All the color had drained from her face, and she looked as if her soul had left her body. If Gideon and Wilbur weren''t supporting her, she wouldn''t have been able to stand.


    "That Eason... is he dead?" she murmured.


    As Joshua called Harold, he replied, "Not yet, but the bullet hit his heart. He probably won''tst long."


    Noah frowned at Joshua, his expression unusually serious.


    "Eason is the future king. Killing him like this will cause a lot of trouble. The Wright family won''t let you off easily."


    Joshua nced at him. "If I didn''t kill him, how would we get out of the pce?"


    Noah was taken aback. "You shot Eason just to create chaos so we could escape?"


    Before Joshua


    could answer, Harold


    picked up. "Mr. Gardner, everything


    is ready. But the pce has


    antiaircraft defenses and numerous guards The helicopter can''tne. You have to get outside the pce for pickup."


    "Understood," Joshua said and hung up.


    By now, Noah had processed it further.


    "Even if you wanted to create a diversion, you didn''t have to kill Eason. Injuring him would have been enough. Don''t tell me... your hand slipped and you missed?"


    Joshua put his phone away. "If I didn''t want to kill him, why would I aim for his heart?"


    In other words, he had fully intended to kill Eason.


    Noah couldn''tprehend it. "He''s the future king. Why did you have to kill him?"


    Joshua''s expression was indifferent.


    "There are many reasons to


    eliminate him. As you saw, creating


    chaos was just one Second, if he


    ved, he would likely be an


    asset to Aurora. Better to eliminate a


    potential threat, just in case."


    Abby stared nkly at Joshua as he calmly uttered the words, "Better to eliminate a potential threat, just ing case." It was in that moment she truly understood that this was the real Joshua, the head of the Gardner family, not the bodyguard she once knew. The rumors about him were not exaggerated.


    As Abby stood frozen, she heard Joshua''s voice again, as cool as water.


    "Of course, those aren''t the main reasons for killing him."


    Noah looked at the formidable man before him and instinctively asked, "... There''s a more important reason?"


    "The most important reason," Joshua said, "is that he dared to point a gun at Star. For that, he had to die."


    Noah and Abby were both profoundly shaken.


    Joshua paid him no more mind, turning instead to Ste. "Star, you go first with Abby and the others. Noah knows the pce well; he''ll get you out of here."