Chapter 9

Half an hour later, the auction was about to commence.

I sat next to Xavier, bored out of my mind. I had to drink grape juice because it was good for pregnancy.

Suddenly, events took a dramatic turn.

The soothing classical music stopped suddenly, and was followed by a shadowed announcement delivered in a monotonous tone.

“Everyone, please remain calm! There's a bomb threat!"

After the first scream tore through the silence, the group of celebrities that was so composed moments ago began to shove and jostle their way toward the exit.

“Damn it!” Xavier's expression turned grim. “What's going on?”

His men scrambled over to him. They were sweating profusely when they informed him in a panicked voice, “Don Whitmore! Miss Alice is missing! Someone saw her getting forcibly dragged away by several men in black suits during the chaos!”

“Xavier, there’s a bomb! We have to get out of here!” I grabbed his sleeve and feigned terror.

When he looked at me, a conflicted look flashed across his eyes.

“Grace, listen.” Though he spoke hurriedly, there was still something assuring about his tone of voice, “Get in the car. I’ll have the driver take you back to the hotel.”

“What about you?” I asked coyly despite already knowing the answer.

“I’m going to find Alice.” He let go of my hand without hesitation before turning to his men and barking an order, “Escort the Donna to the car! If anything happens to her, I’ll have you all skinned alive!”

When I stepped out the back door, a rush of cold wind whipped snowflakes at my face. Under the escort of a few soldati, I was taken into a black bulletproof sedan.

It was only after ensuring I got into the car and after it drove away that Xavier turned around and raced back into the venue. He charged in the opposite direction of the crowd, into the hall that could explode at any second.

He must have felt like he was the picturesque hero who was ready to risk it all to save his one true love.

After we were several kilometers away from the venue, the driver suddenly removed his sunglasses.

It was Noah.

“Grace, have you ever jumped out of a moving car before?”

He turned to me with a smile and snapped his fingers.

Three seconds later, we threw the car door open and flung ourselves out into the thick pile of snow lining the side of the road.

Meanwhile, the car continued to steer itself using the automated driving system. It accelerated into a river that was almost completely frozen.

After I got up, I spotted Rosalia, who was running toward me from a distance and crying.

“That was a wonderful jump. Looks like it’s not your first rodeo.”

Noah smiled and draped a thick cashmere coat over my shoulders.

“Donna! I missed you so much!" Rosalia threw herself at me and embraced me tightly, “You've lost more weight!”

“Grace.” Noah held up a black umbrella to shield us from the snow, “No, not Grace. Grace Whitmore is dead from now on. Have you thought about a new name?”

I trudged through the thick snow with them toward an SUV parked by the roadside without looking back.

“There’s plenty of time for me to think about that.”

Meanwhile, Xavier was frantically searching for Alice amidst the frantic crowd.

Finally, he spotted that familiar figure at the back of the hall.

“Xavier! I’m scared!” Alice threw herself into his arms while bawling her eyes out.

Xavier held her tightly. After ensuring that she was not hurt, he was just about to console her when a panic-stricken voice blasted through his earpiece.

“Don Whitmore, it’s disastrous! The Donna’s car just plunged into a river! We’re organizing a search and rescue team, but the water is too deep, the Donna might be…”

Xavier hardly had time to comfort the frightened Alice. Without a word, he turned and staggered toward the exit.

“To the river! Send all of the soldati to the river!” His usual calm demeanor escaped him while he roared into the walkie-talkie, “I’ll have all of you buried with her if you can’t save her!”

Gusts of cold wind continued to blow across the river in Zurosh, transporting flakes of snow.

When Xavier arrived, he was first greeted by the bottomless face of the river, then the faces of his dejected men.

Then, he spotted a pair of “corpses” the men were huddled around. The faces of the corpses had become mangled beyond recognition due to the violent impact.

“Find Grace right now!” He ordered sharply.

“Don Whitmore... that... that's the Donna.” One of the soldati spoke up timidly while gesturing at one of the corpses who looked skinnier than the other.

Xavier came to a halt. Then, he jabbed a furious kick at the soldato.

“Do you have a death wish? This couldn’t possibly be Grace!”

He strode over to the body and wanted to prove it was only a ridiculous joke.

When he crouched low and tremblingly brushed the haphazard hair covering the corpse’s face, his expression dropped.

A nearly broken necklace hung askew over the mangled neck of the corpse.

It was the necklace he had commissioned for Grace. He watched her put it on with his own eyes only hours ago.

“Quit messing around, Grace. I know you're trying to get back at me. Get up, come home with me.

“Please, come back. I'll give you anything you want, just come back…”

He dropped his knees on the snow and cradled the cold, stiff corpse in his arms. Then, he let out an anguished cry.