Chapter 90
Evelina shot Aurora a look laced with scorn, igniting a fiery mix of humiliation and rage in the latter's chest.
No one but Aurora understood the lengths she'd gone to in order to win Jasper's affection.
Seething, she locked eyes with Mara, who raised the grip of her weapon, poised to strike Evelina once more.
But this time, Evelina was ready.
Despite having her arms bound behind her, she launched her head forward, crashing it into Mara's face before the blow could land.
The collision was brutal and took Mara by surprise.
Blood spilled fromn her nostrils, and the world spun around her.
Nearby captors cursed under their breath, stepping in to make Evelina pay.
But she met their threats with defiance and a smirk. "Half a billion is riding on my safety. Who among you is bold enough to touch me?"
Any harm to her, and that fortune would be lost forever.
lan felt a mix of admiration and frustration-why antagonize them now?
Still, he had to intervene. "Mara, you know Mr. Russell doesn't forgive. If Evelina gets hurt, you're finished."
Jasper was obsessively territorial. Anything that once belonged to him remained off-limits-even if he'd let it go.
And Evelina had been the first to truly spark his desire.
"So what? If he's so powerful, let him show up and save her!"
Although her bleeding had stopped, Mara's fury had only grown. She leveled the gun at Evelina's face, growling, "Jasper, if you're so brave, come out now-or I'll end her!"
This time, the threat was real. Her expression was murder itself.
Even Evelina felt a wave of dread, as if death were brushing against her skin.
"Enough!" Jasper's voice rang out, clear and commanding.
He appeared without warning, like a force of nature, and Aurora's envy ignited like dry tinder.
What spell had Evelina woven around him?
Was he seriously risking everything for her?
"Stay back, or she dies!" Mara's confidence cracked the moment she locked eyes with him.
"Set her free, and I'll grant you a clean end," Jasper warned, his tone glacial and unrelenting.
Mara's grip faltered as she asked, "Where are your men?"
She had kept count-Jasper had arrived with lan and four guards.
Now she held lan and one of them. But where were the others?
"Why don't you guess?" Jasper answered coolly. At that moment, two masked figures staggered in, bringing with them a wounded man.
A bullet had torn through his forehead; his mask lay shattered, and life was slipping from him.
He was Mara's cousin. Their eyes met one final time before his went dim.
"Angelo! No! Wake up!" she screamed, her voice breaking, tears flowing uncontrollably.
The ones who brought him in pointed accusing fingers at Jasper. "It was him! The Russell family's bodyguards killed Angelo and freed the captives in the kitchen!"
Consumed by grief and fury, Mara aimed at Jasper. "I'll shoot you myself!"
Instantly, three crimson dots marked her forehead-snipers had her in their sights. Mara froze, unable to move.
"Let them go," Jasper commanded, glancing coldly at Angelo's corpse. "Or you'll share his fate."
"Don't move!" barked another kidnapper, gun trained on lan and the remaining guard.
The rest followed suit, weapons drawn on Cary and the other high-profile hostages.
The tension thickened-neither side dared to act first.
"Alright, I'll release them," Mara said coldly, shattering the silence as she shoved Evelina and Aurora toward Jasper. "Two lives on the line-you get to save just one. Choose now, and the other one dies on the spot!"Her unhinged laughter rang out like a warning bell. "Well, Mr. Russell, who's it going to be?"