pter 173
Alex watched as Sophia and the others walked out.
Jasmine and Raymond had already left, leaving him alone.
He took a moment to steady his heart, his mind racing with thoughts of Charles. He had just released the monster
back into the water, and now it had only grown bigger and even more dangerous.
Suddenly, a beautiful woman approached his table, pulling out a chair and sitting down in front of him.
“Jasmine?” Alex looked at her, surprised. “How do you know I’m here?”
“I know everything that happens in Vancouver,” Jasmine said smoothly. “It’s hard not to notice when the biggest hotel and restaurant in the city changes its name.” She gestured for a red wine to the waiter.
“I’m starting to regret asking you to release Charles,” Alex admitted.
“Don’t.” Jasmine tilted her head, her eyes sharp.
“Even without you asking, I might have released him anyway. You just added the tipping point.”
“My mother already thinks I’m too cruel for doing all this to my own brother–especially after he got stabbed. She nearly kicked me out of the family. If I didn’t return Charles to his position, I would’ve been disowned.”
Alex didn’t know if Jasmine was saying this to ease his guilt or if she truly meant it.
She was the type to do anything for him.
“Let’s just say we gave him a second chance.” Jasmine lifted her glass as the waiter served the wine. She swirled it slowly before taking a sip. “But if I catch him again… maybe there won’t be a next time.”
“There might not be a next time,” Alex sighed, rubbing his temple. “He’s getting smarter and more dangerous. Someone might just decide to erase him instead of giving him another chance.”
Jasmine laughed, low and amused. “I heard you’ve cured some very important people, and a lot of them still owe you. If you asked them to take care of Charles, I doubt he’d live to see the next sunrise.”
“Why would I want to do that?” Alex frowned, though the thought had crossed his mind before.
Jasmine exhaled slowly, her gaze steady. “Reason? He’s into Sophia. Isn’t that everything you asked me for help with? Sophia Lancaster.”
The air grew heavy between them.
Will he really kill Charles because of Sophia? The thought gnawed at Alex.
That woman already asked him to stay out of her life. They have no connection anymore. And if he truly loves her… he should give her freedom.
Before he could dwell on it further, a bodyguard in a dark suit stormed into the restaurant, his face tense with
urgency.
“Miss Kingston! There’s bad news!”
Jasmine’s brows lifted. “Yes? What is it?”
“It’s Miss Kelly! She has been kidnapped!”
1/3
+25 BONUS
Jasmine’s expression darkened instantly. “What did you just say?”
The bodyguard swallowed hard. “We were keeping an eye on her in secret, just as you instructed. But an unknown group stormed in our secret location and took Miss Kelly. We had ten men protecting hier–six are dead, and the other four are in the hospital!”
Jasmine’s grip on her wine glass tightened. “Do you know who’s behind this?”
“Charles.” The bodyguard hesitated before correcting himself. “I … but the one who let them into Vancouver and led them to Kelly’s secret location was Charles.”
mean, the kidnappers are Jericho Kane’s people
“Jericho Kane?” Jasmine’s frown deepened.
“Yes. They left a ransom note. They’re demanding that you and Mr. Alex meet them at Kane Mansion in Vermont.”
Jasmine’s jaw clenched. Her blood burned with fury. So this is it. The real enemy hiding behind Charles has finally come clean.
Jericho Kane. The man who had been using Charles as a pawn against his own family.
Her nails dug into her palm. How dare he target Kelly? How dare he drag her into this war?
This had gone too far.
“Contact all the Kingston family,” Jasmine ordered coldly. I need our strongest fighters as backup. Since Jericho wants a war-” she exhaled sharply, eyes gleaming with rage- “I’ll give him one.”
An hour later, Alex and Jasmine stood in a private hangar, the sleek jet before them ready for takeoff. The engines hummed low, cutting through the crisp night air.
Alex’s gaze shifted to the burly man standing beside Jasmine. Behind him, about thirty fighters stood at attention.
The man’s muscles rippled under his clothes, his knuckles rough and hardened with years of combat.
He was no ordinary bodyguard—this was a man who had seen war.
“Alex, sorry to bother you,” Jasmine said as she approached him. “I owe you one for lending a hand to save Kelly.”
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