Chapter 6
One short sentence made Ryan’s mind roar like a struck bell.
He opened his mouth but could barely force the words out.
“What… what did you just say?”
“You’re joking, right? I’m a top bomb disposal expert. Sophie couldn’t possibly have died in an
explosion.”
His assistant quickly pulled out a file.
“Boss, it’s true. Without a doubt. And… headquarters wants to hold you accountable. They said
someone filed a police report.”
Ryan snatched the file from his hands.
The photo staring back at him was Sophie.
The room tilted, his vision spinning.
The idea that his most beloved child had died-under his watch-was unthinkable.
“How is this possible? There was still time…”
And then, like a knife twisting in his chest, memories surfaced.
[Natalie, do you know what being an hour late means?]
[If you don’t save her now, you’ll regret it!]
Her voice echoed in his head, each word dragging him deeper into the abyss.
Could the countdown really have been shortened by an hour?
Ryan turned slowly toward Hailey.
“Tell me the truth. Did you lie to me about the time?”
“Answer me!”
Chapter 6
5.13%
Her pupils widened, panic flashing in her eyes as she stammered,
“Why would I lie? If the bomb went off early, maybe the kidnappers tampered with it.”
He only half believed her.
But whether or not she was lying didn’t matter-his daughter was already gone.
A tidal wave of pain crashed over him.
“Baby… Daddy’s sorry. I couldn’t protect you…”
Ryan collapsed to the ground, his body shaking with sobs.
No one in the industry had ever seen him like this-broken, stripped of every ounce of
composure.
Hailey rubbed his back, murmuring empty comfort, even as her eyes gleamed with secret
satisfaction.
Without that child, Natalie would be devastated-never coming back.
And Ryan would finally be hers.
But then he lifted his head, eyes suddenly sharp.
“Find out who kidnapped Sophie. I want their life in exchange for hers.”
Hailey’s heart skipped, a chill running through her.
The assistant murmured his condolences and hurried out.
Ryan stumbled home and locked himself in his study for a week, refusing food, living on
nothing but alcohol.
Every so often, he opened his chat window with Natalie-still blank.
She must hate him beyond redemption. She had warned him countless times, but he’d never
listened.
On the floor lay the scattered urn, the pale residue in the fish tank. That had to be her ashes.
Chapter 6
5.13%
And he had thrown them away with his own hands-destroying the last thing his daughter left
behind.
The thought made him slap himself, again and again, until his skin burned and his arms went weak. Even then, he couldn’t forgive himself.
A week later, a court summons arrived,
The plaintiff was Natalie.
She was suing him for allowing Hailey to operate without a license, for endangering lives, for
using their daughter as practice-ultimately causing her death.
After more than a decade in the field, Ryan knew exactly what delaying a rescue meant.
But he had no intention of defending himself.
When he opened the case file, a flash drive slipped out.
He jammed it into his computer.
And what appeared on the screen made his eyes go wide in disbelief.
Chapter 6
5.13%
