<b>Chapter </b><b>465 </b>
The moment Mandy spat out her question, her body was hit with a wave of excruciating pain. It felt like something was gnawing at her from the inside out, biting, tearing nonstop.
Jasmine took her chance. She lunged forward from behind, trying to grab Gracie from her arms.
Mandy lifted her head, barely holding back a scream as she fought the searing pain, refusing to let go of her only leverage.
She was growing more certain now that Shermaine had to be connected to the man <i>on </i>the wanted list. There was no other exnation. In the entire Kingdom of Xyperia, how many people had violet hair? Only one man.
Shermaine stepped forward.
Mandy snapped, “What the hell are you all waiting for? I didn’t pay you to stand there and watch!”
At her shout, the hired mercenaries raised their guns and opened fire on Shermaine.
Mandy had trained since childhood. She knew how to fight.
But Jasmine hadn’t.
Mandy’s fistnded hard, sending Jasmine reeling. Stars burst behind her eyes as she stumbled, barely staying upright before copsing forward.
The weight of Jasmine’s fall knocked Mandy’s arm back. Pain shot through her wrist. She couldn’t hold on. Her <b>grip </b>slipped, and Gracie fell.
In the distance, Shermaine saw it. Her heart dropped when her daughter fell from that terrifying height.
“Gracie!”
Shermaine finished off thest of the attackers and sprinted toward them, heels hammering the ground. She kicked Mandy straight into the pool, hard enough to send her flying. Then she turned toward the edge, eyes scanning desperately for the tiny falling figure.
The woman who never cried, never wavered, had tears shimmering in her crimson eyes. She was already climbing the railing, ready to jump.
Simon arrived just in time to see the chaos. Mandy was iling in the, pool, screaming for help.
The ground was littered with bodies, mercenaries and hitmen alike, sprawled out, twitching or still, blood pooling around them. Their faces had turned
dark red and then purple. All of them were bleeding from the mouth.
It was a massacre.
Simon didn’t have time to care. He dove straight into the pool and dragged Mandy out.
When he looked up, Shermaine was already climbing over the railing, ready to leap.
The bystanders who’d rushed over gasped in horror. Jumping from that height? Into the sea? No one could survive that.’
And the ship was about <b>to </b>set sail.
Simon, soaked and gasping, pushed past Mandy, trying to stop her. He didn’t want her to jump. He didn’t care that she’d had <b>a </b>child, didn’t <b>care </b>who <b>the </b>father was. He wanted her
In fact, maybe it was better if the kid was gone.
“Don’t go, Simon! It’s too dangerous<b>!</b>” Mandy reached for his arm.
But Simon shook her off hard. “Mandy, you crossed the line this time.”
Her face was ghostly pale. “You think I did this for myself? That woman is not someone you can handle. Simon<b>, </b><b>stop </b><b>chasing </b><b>her </b>
But Simon didn’t listen.
And that crushed her. ‘What kind of idiot am I? Willing to risk everything <i>for </i>a man who won’t even trust me<b>?</b>‘ she asked herself inwardly.
Before Simon could reach Shermaine, someone else appeared outside the railing.
The man wore a mask, his features hidden, but his posture calm. In his arms, he cradled a small baby, soft, pale, and no longer crying
Gracie’sshes were long and damp, her violet hair identical to the man holding her,
In the moonlight, the man lowered his head and kissed the corner of Shermaine’s eye.
She blinked. The rigid tension in her spine finally eased. He gently stroked Gracie’s cheek with his free hand, grounding her, pulling her <b>back </b>to <b>reality </b>
Joshua pressed another kiss to her eyelid, his voice low and rough. “Sorry I waste, Sheary.”
<b>AD </b>