Chapter 706

Alexander turned his head and caught sight of Natalie, pinned to the ground.

The bomb she'd clutched moments ago now spewed a soft stream of white smoke, harmless as rist.

Daniela lay cradled in Cedric's arms, the two of them sprawled on the ground like survivors of a crash.

Alexander stood frozen, shell-shocked and dazed.

His brain fumbled to make sense of what had just unfolded before his eyes.

What had he just done?

In the most crucial moment, he had turned his back on Daniela, choosing his safety over hers.

That wasn't how it was supposed to go.

He believed he was the kind of man who'd risk it all for Daniela-no questions asked.

Just now, panic had taken the reins.

He couldn't bring himself to say it, but he'd been absolutely terrified.

The moment Natalie came charging at them, his mind went blank. All he could do was run.

His instincts screamed at him to flee-to survive, to dodge the blast he thought was seconds away.

No one had said a word about the bomb being fake.

Cedric.

Cedric had to know. He must've realized the bomb was a fake.

That had to be the reason he'd acted so fearlessly.

Otherwise,how could he ignore the instinct to flee? Why hadn't Cedric run away? Alexander couldn't accept that.

The more he thought about it, the more anger started to boil inside him.

What was Cedric trying to prove with that stunt?

Was this all some grand act to expose his fear-to make him look weak?

Fueled by frustration, Alexander stormed back, fury in his steps.

Daniela gave Cedric a soft nudge, a quiet signal to get up. He picked up on it instantly and rose to his feet.

Daniela stood too, brushing the dust from her clothes as she rose.

Cedric looked at her, worry lacing his voice. "Are you alright?"

Daniela nodded her head.

Cedric's tone was filled with regret. "I'm sorry. I didn't know it was fake. I just acted on impulse."

Daniela opened her mouth to speak, but Alexander charged over, his voice sharp with blame. "Cedric,you're a damn hypocrite! You knew that bomb wasn't real, didn't you?"

Cedric turned to Alexander, a crease of confusion on his brow. "I didn't know."

Daniela knew he was telling the truth-Cedric hadn't known a thing. Only she and Carol knew Natalie's plan to make the bomb.

She hadn't mentioned it to anyone else-she didn't think it was necessary.

The gunpowder had been swapped out for flour, turning the bomb into nothing more than theater. Cedric didn't need to know.

But Alexander wasn't buying it. "You had to know! Otherwise, how could you have reacted so fast and jumped in to protect Daniela?"

Alexander was losing it.

He kept repeating, over and over, that it couldn't be true. Absolutely impossible!

It was one's instinct to protect themselves.

The only thing that made sense was that Cedric knew the bomb was fake.

"I've got it! You sent Natalie, didn't you? This whole heroic rescue was your idea, wasn't it?" Alexander thought he'd cracked it. The pieces seemned to fall into place in his mind.

He laughed manically, as if losing his mind. "Cedric, you're such a schemer! Daniela, Natalie's just a pawn in Cedric's game!"

Daniela had no patience for this. The only reason she'd even spoken to Alexander was because she was waiting for Natalie to make her move. Now that Natalie was caught, she had no desire to waste another second on him.

She glanced at Carol and ordered, "Take her inside."

Carol hauled Natalie off, while Daniela readied herself to head inside the villa.

But Alexander stepped in front of her, blocking her way. "Did you hear me? This is all part of Cedric's plan.How else could Natalie escape from prison and make a bomb? It's all a bad joke! You've been tricked!"

Alexander was fuming mad, but Daniela stayed cool, unaffected.

She shot Alexander a cold look, then said something that froze him in place.

"I planned all of this."

Alexander's angry shouts stopped dead in their tracks.

He stared at Daniela, his face pale with shock, as if his whole world had collapsed. "What did you say?"

Daniela said it again, each word sharp and deliberate. "I planned everything."

Alexander was baffled. "Why? What's the reason?"

Daniela answered, "I needed to lure Natalie out. I only told Carol about the plan. Does that make sense now?"

With that, she turned and walked into the villa.

Cedric stood frozen, still trying to process what he'd just heard.

It wasn't until Daniela called out for him to come home that Cedric snapped back to reality.

"You knew everything from the start, didn't you?" Alexander yelled, still in disbelief. "You must have!

Everything that happened today-it's all part of the plan!"

Cedric answered honestly, "I didn't know."

Alexander sneered. "Who do you think you're fooling? If you didn't know, how could you have protected Daniela without a second thought? Weren't you afraid of dying? Don't tell me you weren't scared of dying.I don't believe it. Everyone's afraid of death!"

"I was terrified," Cedric admitted, without a moment's hesitation.

Alexander was stunned. "What did you just say?"

"I said I was terrified," Cedric repeated; his voice steady but his hands trembling slightly in the bright sunlight. "I was scared out of my mind."

It had been a bomb, after all.