Chapter 1180 - 1180

This sudden turn of events was clearly something none of the three had expected.

Especially Noelle Meyer—she was extremely worked up and shouted angrily, "Adonis Forrest, what are you doing? Didn't you say you'd let us go?"

Adonis Forrest's gaze was still resting on that document.

He muttered, "Noelle, sometimes I really wonder how you managed to make Seaview Group so big and shiny. What are we? We're businessmen. Never heard the saying 'there's no business without deceit, no deceit without business'? A businessman never tells the truth. Think of this as the last lesson I'm giving you on your father's behalf."

After he finished speaking.

He waved his hand.

Someone brought out the ropes they had prepared.

They tied the three of them up tight, arms and legs.

After being trussed up in unison and dumped right in the middle of the living room.

Edison Meyer was pushed over beside them.

Of course.

He wasn't bound.

Because he'd had a stroke and couldn't move at all.

Next.

More men carried in metal drums, and at a glance it was obvious they were filled with gasoline.

At this point.

Dirk Carter understood as well.

From the very beginning, Adonis Forrest had never intended to let them go.

He was going to set a fire and burn this whole house to the ground, and the four of them would die in the blaze. As for how to handle things afterward, it was obvious he already had his countermeasures thought out.

As long as your methods are dark enough.

You can gloss over anything.

Including murder.

"Adonis, you said once we got Seaview Group, you'd give me a billion, right?"

Faced with the prospect of her father and sister about to be killed.

Rebecca not only failed to wake up.

She even looked excited.

Adonis Forrest handed the document to Selene Linden.

He reached out and stroked Rebecca's face, saying, "What a pretty face. Honestly, I'm a little reluctant to part with it. But your sister and father are both here—if you don't accompany them, that'd be a little hard to justify, wouldn't it…"

With a swoosh.

Rebecca's expression changed instantly.

Before she could say anything.

The two men in black beside her moved.

Without another word.

They tied her up too.

"Adonis Forrest, what are you doing? You said as long as I helped you, you'd give me the money. You… you lied to me…"

During all this.

She kept roaring.

And kept struggling.

But a weak woman was no match for two grown men.

Once they finished tying Rebecca up.

Adonis Forrest let out a cold laugh.

He said, "Sorry, but I, Adonis Forrest, hate traitors more than anything. If you can betray your father and sister for money, then one day you'll betray me for money or something else. I'm not about to keep a ticking bomb like you at my side. Go with your father and sister—on the road to the underworld, you can watch out for each other."

That was the last thing he said.

Once he'd finished.

He clasped his hands behind his back and strolled away, utterly at ease.

Rebecca was also thrown down beside them.

Unlike Noelle Meyer.

She kept sobbing and whining, muttering, "I don't want to die, I don't want to die…"

As if she'd gone mad.

The remaining men in black.

Splashed gasoline over the sofa, the curtains, and even poured some over their bodies.

The last to leave.

Was the young man who'd been following Adonis Forrest all along.

Once everyone else had withdrawn.

He took half a candle out of his pocket.

First he lit the candle with a lighter.

Then he said, "I've done the math. This piece of candle will take about seven or eight minutes to burn down. So in the seven or eight minutes you have left, you can tell each other your last words."

After throwing out that line.

The young man turned and walked away.

On his way out he also closed the front door of the house.

Fire is a symbol of warmth, a symbol of hope, but right now that little flame not far from them was a death warrant for the five of them.

Once the candle burned down to the base.

The flame would ignite the gasoline.

Next.

A huge blaze would roar up, and it might even explode.

In that case.

The five of them would die in the sea of fire, without even a scrap left behind.

"Dirk, I'm sorry. And Elbert, I'm sorry to you too. It's clearly my family's mess, and yet I've dragged you both down to die with me…"

Noelle Meyer sniffled as she spoke.

Dirk Carter's heart, naturally, was a wasteland of grief.

He hadn't imagined his life would end like this.

The ropes were tied very tight.

He'd already tried for a long time, but it hadn't done a thing.

Even if they wanted to move somewhere and use a corner of the wall to cut the ropes, there wasn't enough time.

Since that was the case.

There was nothing left but to accept fate.

He let out a long breath and said, "All right, it's not that unjust a death. Didn't we say before, 'to die beneath the peony is to be a happy ghost'? With the two of you beauties for company, I won't be lonely…"

With that.

Dirk Carter bowed his head.

A flood of memories surged through his mind.

Especially Dorothy and the child.

A wave of guilt crashed over him.

He thought, if I'd known it would end like this, I should've called them.

But it was too late for everything; whatever he said now would be pointless.

"My daughter, my daughter… Noelle… Rebecca… mustn't die… mustn't die…"

Suddenly.

A thick, muddy voice sounded in his ears.

Dirk Carter and the others all lifted their heads.

They saw Edison Meyer in the wheelchair growing agitated.

Though his facial muscles were still twisted and his mouth still crooked, those slurred words were indeed coming from him.

"Dad…"

Noelle called out in wretched despair.

"Mustn't die… my daughters… mustn't die…"

The wheelchair was shaking more and more violently.

With a thud.

Edison Meyer toppled out of the wheelchair.

He hit the floor hard.

"Dad…"

Noelle Meyer's cries grew louder.

That sound seemed to give Edison Meyer strength.

A miracle happened.

Paralyzed by a severe stroke, almost unable to move, he somehow started crawling, using both hands and feet, toward the candle.

His movements were slow.

But he was indeed inching closer.

Hope of survival flared again in everyone's hearts.

They stared, utterly focused, at pitiful Edison Meyer on the floor.

No one knew how much time passed.

At the very moment the candle was about to burn out.

Edison Meyer suddenly opened his mouth and swallowed the flame.

Yes, you saw that right.

He clamped his mouth down over the fire.

That scalding, flickering flame went out completely in its final instant.

With a crash.

The front door was slammed open.

Elbert Rivers burst in.

Outside, he'd already smelled the gasoline.

He and the men Manuel Brooks had brought moved in cautiously and untied Dirk Carter and the others.

With their help.

All five of them were pulled out of danger.

By then.

Dawn was just beginning to break.

The sun cast a halo along the horizon.

Dirk Carter had never found a sunrise so beautiful.

He couldn't help but sigh from the bottom of his heart: It feels so good to be alive…

Yes, it feels good to be alive.

Only if you're alive can you strike back…