Ruan Jiaojiao had never expected that Hortez would shoot her.
The sharp pain in her thigh, mixed with a whirlwind of fear and anger, shattered her last shred of composure. Gone was any trace of elegance or dignity—she collapsed to the ground, screaming uncontrollably.
“Hortez, you monster, you beast—!” she shrieked. “You shot me! Why don’t you just die? Isn’t it enough that you’ve trapped me in this hellhole? You’ll rot, you’ll die a terrible death, you—”
Her outburst was cut short as she fainted from the shock and pain.
With her charade dropped, Hortez’s demeanor also changed. His face twisted with raw hatred and darkness stripped of any trace of gentleness. Quickly and roughly, he grabbed a cloth, wrapped her injured leg in a makeshift bandage, and carried her away, retreating with a face set like stone.
Two loyal subordinates covered their escape, holding off the pursuing forces while protecting Ruan Jiaojiao from further harm. Through sheer grit and firepower, they forced their way out of the crematorium. The attackers, unwilling to harm Ruan Jiaojiao, only chased and blocked their path, hesitant to resort to extreme measures.
Hortez became certain then—the people behind this assault wanted him dead and Ruan Jiaojiao captured. This was no mere power struggle; it was an attempt to take what was his. A furious determination steeled his resolve. Even if it meant his death, he would never let anyone else take her away from him.
“Hortez, surrender! Your outposts and reinforcements have all been taken down. Release Ruan Jiaojiao and we’ll let you walk away!” blared a voice from a loudspeaker as the pursuers closed in.
Ignoring them, Hortez floored the accelerator. His car rattled violently as gunfire whizzed past, and his two men leaned out to shoot back. But soon, one was hit, collapsing back into the car. The other, panicking, cursed Chester for failing to send reinforcements. “Chester must have sold us out! All our men at the crematorium—gone!”
“Shut up,” Hortez growled, his face dark and grim. Betrayal or not, it didn’t matter. Whoever had orchestrated this wanted him dead and had cut through his entire operation like a knife through butter.
His anger seethed. After everything he’d built since fleeing Country M, he was finally close to achieving something great—only for it to be snatched away again.
But even as hope dwindled, he steeled himself. If he had to die, he would take Jiaojiao with him. She was his, and they would fall together.
Meanwhile, Marceau and Wright received grim reports on the situation. Marceau, livid that Hortez was using Ruan Jiaojiao as a shield, hurled his phone in frustration, while Wright, though cooler, insisted firmly, “Ruan Jiaojiao’s life comes first. No risks to her safety.”
Marceau grabbed Wright’s collar, furious. “Are you trying to let Hortez escape with her, you bastard?”
Wright didn’t flinch, shoving him back. “Think, Marceau. As long as Jiaojiao lives, we’ll have more chances. But if she dies, we’re done for.”
Defeated but simmering with rage, Marceau finally ordered, “Send everything we’ve got. Kill Hortez’s men, burn his drug factories, leave no one alive!”
The team unleashed its full firepower. Explosions rocked Hortez’s drug factories and estates, reducing them to scorched earth. His men scattered in terror, many cut down as they tried to flee. In the manor, the three Ruan brothers—Ruan Yanshun, Ruan Yanxu, and Ruan Yanwei—helplessly watched the chaos unfold from their beds, their battered bodies unable to move. As a bomb exploded nearby, they finally met their end, buried in the ruins of the empire they had tried to create.
In the chaos, Ruan Jiaojiao, barely conscious, awoke, groggy and disoriented. She found herself on the edge of a cliff, Hortez holding her close as a group of armed figures closed in.
“Help! Please help me!” she screamed, but Hortez clamped a hand over her mouth.
“Jiaojiao,” he murmured, a twisted smile on his face. “Are you afraid of losing me… or afraid of never leaving?”
On the other side, Marceau and Wright watched the scene, helplessly tense. Seeing the wound on her leg, Marceau grabbed the loudspeaker, trying to negotiate with Hortez.
“Hortez, listen to me! I’m Marceau, I’ll give you whatever you want—just don’t hurt Jiaojiao!”
Ruan Jiaojiao’s face lit up, eyes brimming with tears. “Gege Maso, save me…”
Hortez sneered, his grip tightening on her throat.
“‘Gege Maso’? You think I’d let you go that easily?” His hand squeezed harder as her breaths grew shallow, her face paling as she struggled.
“Let her go, Hortez!” Marceau shouted over the loudspeaker, his heart breaking at the sight of her suffering. “You beast! If you want to live, let her go!”
Hortez laughed darkly. “Marceau, you’re behind this, aren’t you? Clever of you. I didn’t know you had the brains or help to pull this off. But know this, if I die, Jiaojiao dies with me.”
Marceau’s face contorted with rage, but he kept his voice steady. “Listen, Hortez. I’ll arrange a car to take you wherever you want. Just release her.”
Wary but hopeful, Hortez demanded Marceau make the arrangements immediately. However, just as the promised vehicle arrived, a single, distant gunshot rang out.
A sniper’s bullet, fired from hundreds of meters away, hit Hortez squarely in the head.
Blood splattered, and Hortez fell, dead before he hit the ground.
For a brief, horrified moment, everyone was still.
Without Hortez’s grip, Ruan Jiaojiao slipped over the edge, disappearing down the cliff.
Marceau and Wright stared, hearts twisting painfully. A wave of overwhelming despair surged through Marceau, suffocating him as he watched her vanish. He wanted to scream, to rage, to die in her place.
And then… nothing.
A surreal numbness settled over him, washing away his despair like sand swept by the tide. The overwhelming sorrow faded, and Marceau found himself strangely detached.
Wright, too, stood dazed, his earlier passion for Ruan Jiaojiao replaced by a hollow emptiness. He even wondered why he’d once been so captivated by her.
As they stared into the chasm below, each man felt as though the grip Ruan Jiaojiao had held over them was slowly but surely unraveling.
