Filed to story: The CEO’s Wife Is a Secret Boss Novel (Allison & Jeremy) Free Online
“Choose one between the two. You can only exchange one life with yours. Whoever gets to live, it all depends on your choice.”
Without hesitation, Landon yelled in a hoarse voice, “I’ll never make a pick! I want to save both of them!”
“Landon Harper, are you trying to get your hands on both of them?” Cackling manically, Preston turned to face Angelina, who was held on the springboard. “Angelina, your hard work and loyalty are worth it. Look! He’s keen to make you his mistress!”
“You bastard! Vile son of a bitch! You’d better shut your fucking mouth!” Angelina bellowed at Preston. “If you want revenge, take my life! Release Madam!”
“Stay still!” Frank jabbed the back of her head with the muzzle of the gun.
“Tsk tsk. She’s a feisty bitch.” Preston shook his head.
Even as pain seeped through every part of Angelina’s body, she remained fueled by rage. She yelled at Landon, “Mr. Landon, don’t mind me! Save Madam¡ªyou must save her!”
“I want both!” His eyes took on a murderous look as he reiterated his stance with determination.
“Landon, you own a lot. Stop being greedy. You can’t have your cake and eat it,” Preston said flatly with a ruthless look in his eyes. “If I can’t have my two arms, you don’t get to enjoy two ladies. It’s unfair to me, don’t you think?”
“Let go of Lauren and Angie, and I’ll agree to whatever conditions you set.” Landon refused to back off. “I can offer you anything¡ªmoney, stocks, or even the company!”
“Look at you! You should have come around earlier. Alas, it’s too late.” Preston stopped smiling. “Since you cannot come to a decision, I shall help you make a pick.”
Then, he pressed another button on the remote control. A hole opened up in the bottom of the tank, and water started bubbling out of it.
Since Lauren was chained up in a kneeling position, it wasn’t long before the water reached her calves.
Landon felt as if someone had stabbed him in the chest. Growling, he tried to throw himself against the glass, even cutting it with a blade, but nothing worked.
“Stop wasting your energy. I specifically had this tank made for Ms. Lauren. It’s made of bulletproof glass, and it’s pretty airtight too.” Preston looked gleeful at Landon’s wretched state.
“Preston, I’m going to kill you!” Landon charged at Preston without a care about his life. Preston immediately grabbed his gun and shot the ground near Landon three times.
“Mr. Landon, don’t go over!” Angelina’s heart leaped into her throat.
Panting heavily, Landon turned toward the glass tank, and his heart pounded wildly when he found the water had reached Lauren’s thigh.
“It takes only 10 minutes to fill the tank with water. A human can only survive three minutes underwater. I assume it will take less than that for Ms. Lauren because she’s unconscious and does not exhibit survival instinct.” Pointing the gun at Landon, Preston laughed so hard that he trembled.
Preston continued, “To be honest, I hope you’ll pick Angelina because I dream of seeing Ms. Lauren drowning in the tank I specially designed for her. That will be such a tragic but beautiful sight, don’t you think?”
The water kept bubbling from the hole, and it had filled the tank up to Lauren’s chest. Time ticked by. Landon stood in front of the tank, pounding against the glass in agony as he called out to Lauren. Even at this moment, he refused to make his pick. He would have gladly died if he could save both Lauren and Angelina, but he couldn’t possibly choose to save one of the two.
All of a sudden, they heard a dull noise that shook the building. One of Preston’s men rushed in in panic. “M-Mr. Preston, the police have surrounded the area! They’re coming in!”
“What are you afraid of? We have enough ammunition and hand grenades. It will take the police a while to get to us.”
Surprisingly, Preston had the time to laugh at the situation. He quipped, “I’m afraid time is running out for someone here, though. My dearest nephew, haven’t you made your choice?”
The water in the glass tank had reached Lauren’s chest.
“Mr. Landon!” Angelina urged him in a quivering voice. Their worried eyes met, and time and space seemed to come to a stop.
He remembered saying to her, “Angie, come work for me.”
She had once said to him, “Mr. Landon, I will stay loyal to you no matter the circumstance.”
At that moment, she smiled at Landon through tears as she recalled their first encounter. The mirage of the teenage boy who made her heart flutter overlapped with Landon’s handsome figure.
“I do not want you to hesitate. No matter what happens, always choose Madam,” she gently muttered a heartfelt remark to Landon that sounded like a grand and touching farewell.
She added, “You and Madam must live happily forever after.”
“No¡ª”
In a split second, Landon seemed to have understood something. His heart nearly stopped.
Angelina had turned around without warning and shoved Frank onto the ground. Three gunshots rang in the air, followed by his blood-curdling scream.
The two of them leaped into the air and wrestled with each other. After a few flips in the air, they landed hard in the empty pool.
“Angie!”
The water stopped flowing into the glass tank at the same time.
Landon, dragging his limp and trembling body to the pool, jumped into it. In a trance, he scooped Angelina’s body out of the pool of blood and hugged her tightly.
“Angie… Angie…” He sobbed uncontrollably as he repeatedly called her name.
“Mr. Landon, I’m here.” Unfortunately, he would never get to hear her reply again.
“Aw, what a touching moment between master and servant. I’m so moved.” Preston faked a bitter sigh.
“See, my nephew? I’m a man of my word. I told you to pick one out of two and¡ª”
Halfway through Preston’s gloating, he saw the grieving Landon grabbing Frank’s gun from the ground and repeatedly firing shots at him.
Preston was shot in his thigh. The second shot knocked the gun out of his hand.
Kneeling on the floor, he grimaced and tried to pick up his gun. However, Landon had jumped onto the platform and rode on him before shooting him in the left shoulder.
At this point, Landon had one bullet left. He pointed the muzzle at Preston’s forehead.
Landon was mortified when he saw the water in the tank rising and reaching Lauren’s neck.
“Stop it! Make it stop!” he yelled, nearly losing his mind.
“I-It won’t stop! It was never my plan to stop the water from filling the tank. It was just to fool you.” Huffing and puffing, Preston flashed an evil grin at Landon. “I never planned to live anyway. All I wanted was for you and the people you love to die.
“Anyway, your little servant did not die in vain. Had she not bought some time, Ms. Lauren would have died minutes ago.”
The tank was filled with water at that moment. Lauren, still unconscious, bobbed in the water with a pallid complexion. Her dark hair floated and moved like seaweed in the water, creating a hauntingly beautiful scene.
Landon picked up the gun and yelled as he shot at the glass. He had run out of bullets, yet the glass remained intact.
It was at that precise moment that Preston haltingly scrambled up from the ground and pointed a gun at the back of Landon’s head. He sneered. “Time to reunite with your dad in the afterlife, you bastard!”
A gunshot echoed in the pool area. However, it was Preston who fell lifelessly onto the ground after being shot.
The special forces flooded the pool area, firing two shots from their laser guns at the bulletproof glass. The tank instantly shattered into pieces as water gushed out.
Two members of the police sacrificed their lives in the rescue operation.
It turned out that Preston had been colluding with underground forces to smuggle military artillery using his power as the executive director of Harper Group. Since he possessed heavy artillery, it made the rescue operation more challenging.
Thankfully, the micro camera that Landon carried with him recorded the gory and ruthless battle.
Thanks to him, Cyrus managed to equip his men with advanced weapons to break the tank and save the hostage.
However, Lauren was on the brink of death when she was sent to the ICU. Her pulse was weak, and she was in critical condition after drowning and suffering organ injuries from the beatings.
Nearly everyone from the Taylor and Walsh families showed up at the hospital, crowding the corridor outside the ER.
Newton, deep in grief, wept at the hospital. He would have collapsed if not for Javier’s and Ben’s support.
Mandy, Lyla, Silas, Tatiana, and Sean were present too. Only Colene, who had been keeping Winston company abroad all year, was absent. Mandy sobbed uncontrollably as though it was her daughter who got shot.
Landon should have been recuperating at the hospital due to the severe injuries he had sustained. However, instead of doing so, he went to the police station with Cyrus to cooperate with the investigation and to identify the bodies.
Lauren’s abduction and Cornelius’ and Angelina’s deaths rocked the Harper Group. He did not have the luxury to take a breather because the company would fall apart for real.
Alyssa and Jeremy did not go to the hospital. Instead, they waited at the police station the entire day without eating or drinking.
During the wait, Jeremy helped Landon deal with the aftermath of the abduction. He helped to share the burden of warding off external attacks and controlling the public discourse. Thanks to his help, the situation soon stabilized.
Meanwhile, Alyssa was busy calling up Jonah, Silas, and Cyrus to take action against the scoundrel, Freddy Hodgson, and those who backed him.
“Lyse, Dad heard about Lauren,” Jonah revealed with pain in his voice. “Dad wanted Landon to ask for help whenever he needed it. Dad will provide support if the Harper Group is struggling in any way.
