Dumped My Cheating Ex. Now I'm Sleeping Next to a Billionaire CEO novel Chapter 1556

Ben offered a bleak, empty smile, his face etched with absolute resignation. "He told me he was doing this to protect me. I have been secretly gathering evidence, and his men nearly caught me several times. They put this thing on me to prevent me from leaking the lab's secrets to the outside world." A tragic gleam flashed in the old man's eyes. "I have been enduring this hell, just praying for the day an outsider would break in so I could pass these secrets on. Today, when I saw Dean carry you inside through the glass, I knew God had finally opened his eyes. My chance had come."

Terrified of wasting even a single second, Ben hurriedly rolled down his pant leg and pushed Emmy by the shoulders toward the door. "Enough talking, we cannot delay any longer! Follow me to the exit right now. Once that little beast realizes you are gone, he will bring his men hunting for you!" Emmy swallowed her pleas for him to come along, sheltering the manila envelope against her chest as she quickly followed Ben out of the room. Ben was clearly familiar with the layout. He led Emmy exclusively through blind spots in the surveillance, utilizing air vents and abandoned passageways.

They navigated a labyrinth of darkness until the salty tang of the ocean breeze finally reached their noses. Beyond the iron grate at the end of the passage, the pitch black night sky was faintly visible. It was the dead of night. In the distance along the coastline, the muffled sounds of artillery fire and roaring helicopter engines echoed through the dark. But just as they were about to step onto the final flight of stairs leading to the surface, an elevator door behind them chimed and slid open without warning. Two armed guards charged out. The blinding beam of a flashlight instantly pinned Emmy's retreating figure.

"Over there! Catch Emmy!" one of the guards yelled. "The boss gave orders that she must not escape!" Hearing the furious shouts behind them, Ben's aged face turned completely ashen. He violently shoved Emmy up the stairs. "Run!" Emmy stumbled, immediately reaching back for him. "Uncle Ben!" But instead of following her, Ben turned around and blocked the narrow entrance of the passageway. His frail hand reached into his jacket and pulled out a military combat knife.

"Run away!" Ben roared hysterically at Emmy, the blood vessels in his eyes bursting from the strain. "Our Sparrow family has committed too many sins in this lifetime, and we have failed you and your mother! Just make sure you survive and get that evidence out. Consider it a father paying the ultimate price to atone for his worthless, animal of a son!" With that final cry, he raised the combat knife and charged fearlessly straight at the two heavily armed guards.

"No!" Emmy screamed in horror. But there was absolutely nothing she could do to save him, not while she clutched the most critical evidence in the world against her chest. She could only grit her teeth and run desperately toward the surface exit. As she cleared the passage, a series of dull, heavy thuds sounded from behind her, accompanied by the old man's muffled groans. Tears streamed from Emmy's eyes. In the very second she burst onto the surface, she cast one final look back.

In the shadowy light of the corridor, the elderly Ben was already pinned to the ground. His face was covered in blood, but his hands maintained a death grip around the legs of the two guards, refusing to let go. The guards seemed hesitant to kill him outright since he was the boss's father. Frustrated, they repeatedly and ruthlessly stomped their heavy military boots onto the old man's head and body. "Let go, you old bastard!" one of them spat.

Seeing that Emmy had already made it through the door at the end of the passage, one of the guards finally lost his mind with panic. He abruptly drew his own combat knife, a vicious glare in his eyes, and plunged it savagely into Ben's abdomen. The sickening sound of flesh tearing echoed as blood instantly soaked the floor. Ben's body convulsed violently, yet his hands still clawed desperately at the guard's trousers. He struggled to lift his head, peering through blood blurred eyes toward the direction Emmy had fled. Mouthfuls of crimson blood spilled over his lips as he used his absolute last breath to silently mouth a single word to her. Run.

Emmy's eyes instantly burned red as large tears splashed onto the manila envelope. She did not dare look back again, clutching the items to her chest as she turned and dashed madly into the endless night.