The Substitute Bride: Idiot Or Not?

As for the man in the pig mask saying that he wanted Xavier's life earlier, it was merely an empty threat to scare the latter.

Unexpectedly, the man came with bombs.

Having extorted twenty million in a single go, he naturally didn't want to die. Instead, he wanted to live a leisurely life with that windfall.

"You win, Xavier Fairchild! I don't want to die yet! Everyone, hurry up and retreat!"

When he had made a decision, the other kidnappers breathed a sigh of relief and swarmed to the door.

They all wished they had wings and could immediately fly out from the wreck, away from that dangerous place.

Alas, they grew all the more frantic in their anxiousness. All of a sudden, the man who was in the front realized that the door couldn't be opened.

"F*ck! The latch has rusted and couldn't be budged!"

"How d*mn useless! Kick it with your leg if you can't budge the latch! Are you f*cking stupid?"

"Move, move! Let me have a go at it since I'm strong!"

Regretfully, that was an iron door and couldn't be kicked open easily.

When the first person failed to kick open the door, a second person charged over while cursing. Things swiftly turned chaotic.

At just that precise moment, a smoke bomb rolled into the middle of the room without warning.

The hatch was still locked. There was only a tiny, broken window, so the cabin was almost an entirely enclosed space right then. In a trice, black smoke permeated the air.

Smoke bombs were harmful to the human body. Not only would it cause visual impairment, but it would also produce massive amounts of irritating dust and toxic gas after combustion. If inhaled in large amounts, one would likely be poisoned and fall unconscious.

Winnie was closest to the window. In such a dangerous situation, her first instinct was to make a break for it. But this time, she didn't forget to snatch the remote control from Xavier's hand.

As for his claim of the remote control being connected to his heartbeat, she absolutely didn't believe such absurdity.

Only that group of foolish kidnappers would fall for his trick. If the bomb's timer were truly connected to his heartbeat, the sensor must be attached to his pulse like a bracelet worn at the wrist at all times. However, he was holding the remote control in his palm. As such, how could it possibly be linked to his heartbeat?

For that reason, she had no plans of returning to save the man after climbing out through the window.

That sc*mbag planted bombs on me and was ready to sacrifice me anytime, so I'd be mad to care about him!

But just as she got off the wreck, she discovered that the bombs were fake.

When she jumped off, one of the glass tubes got loose and fell to the ground.

It shattered into a million pieces. Yet, there was no explosion.

On a closer look, the blue liquid even contained glitter. It looked all the more like a piece of decoration instead of a bomb.

Argh! D*mn him! Winnie gritted her teeth.

That fake bomb even fooled me! His acting earlier was really realistic that it seemed just like the real thing!

Livid, she glanced back over her shoulder at the wreck behind her.

I still heard movement from within when I climbed out just now, but there's nary a sound now. Don't tell me everyone inside has been poisoned to death? But that doesn't make sense. After all, it was just a smoke bomb, not a poisonous gas bomb.

Just as she was planning to make her way back, a car abruptly sped past her and screeched to a stop.

Before she could make out the person in the car, Christopher had already swung open the car door and gotten out.

He looked Winnie up and down, his brows knitting together. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but the others are still in there. Hurry up and go with me for a look."

Suddenly, Christopher glimpsed the "bombs" on Winnie's bulletproof vest. "Wait! Stay still first. There are bombs on you?"

"They're fake. Why don't you take a look?"

Christopher instantly crouched in front of Winnie. Only after checking them meticulously did he breathe a sigh of relief. "Indeed, they're fake. You're really too gutsy."

"It's a long story. Hurry up and call a few people to kick the hatch open."

"Okay. Go and wait in the car first."

"No, it's okay. I'll tag along."

Christopher opened his mouth, wishing to counter that it was dangerous.

But on second thought, this is Winnie Garland. I've never seen any woman as brave as her!

He whipped out his gun and shielded Winnie behind him. "What's the situation like in there? How many people are there, and do they have weapons?"

"There are six kidnappers. Two ofText property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

them have guns. Then, there's a hostage and a benefactor. But

before I came out, someone launched a smoke bomb. There's no movement inside right now, so they might all have passed out."

"Understood!" Christopher rushed to the front of the hatch with two SWAT officers and kicked open the door in no time.

The moment the door was opened, clouds of smoke poured out. One could vaguely see a number of people lying around on the ground.

Shortly after, other police officers hastened over and carried the people in the cabin out.

The last person they carried out was Yulissa.

Winnie stared at the unconscious woman for a long while.

Out of the blue, she asked Christopher, "Oh yes, have you done a toxicology test on the blood sample I gave you previously? What are the results?"

A frown marred Christopher's countenance. "The results are as you expected. She's likely a long-time addict."

"Chris!" While they were talking, a SWAT officer headed toward Christopher with a syringe and a small, silver briefcase in hand. "These were found inside a while ago." Christopher took the briefcase. As soon as he opened it and took a look, his brows creased deeply, for there were dozens of medicine bottles arranged neatly in there.

Winnie merely took a gander before she likewise frowned. "There are a lot of drugs here. It makes me doubt the veracity of Yulissa's kidnapping. I think they might be in cahoots. Consequently, the kidnapping might have been a ruse."

"I'll interrogate them strictly later."

"Okay." Nodding, Winnie added, "I won't be going to the police station to give my testimony at that time.

I'm still amissing person now, soet

can't make an appearance. You can tell your colleagues that I'm

informant and needs to be.

your

protected. I believe you can still do

as much, yes, Captain Bennett?"

Although she was still wearing a mask, Christopher could see the laughter dancing in her eyes. Unbidden, he smiled as well.

"Don't worry. I'll protect your identity well."

Winnie stretched out two fingers and saluted the man. "Great! You're pretty handsome when you smile, Captain Bennett. You should consider smiling more often." Christopher's heart skipped a beat. Just as he was about to say something, someone abruptly shouted, "Crap! The kidnappers jumped into the river and escaped!" Christopher cast a glance at Winnie and jumped into the river before he had time to say anything.

Just then, Louis arrived with Xavier's bodyguards. Josiah was also with them.

They headed straight for Xavier. When Josiah caught sight of the unconscious man, he opened the medical box he carried everywhere.

When he noticed Winnie standing around as though everything was fine, he bellowed at her, "Why are you still spacing out? Come over here and lend me a hand!"