Chapter 964
Rosalie still felt pain in the spot where she was hit earlier.
She did not even know how many punches the man had thrown at Lillian. All she could do at that time was protect Lillian’s belly from the abuse but not the rest of her body.
Lillian panted hard, her face heavily bruised, and one of her eyes could not be opened. Even if Rosalie hated the man with her whole being, she still promised calmly, “Yes, I can guarantee it!”
“Just wait and see. You will regret it if you take her word for it. In for a penny, in for a pound. We have to keep suppressing them for a chance to escape!” Madeline hurriedly said, fearful that the men she hired using a small fortune would betray her.
Following that, another voice sounded. “I can also promise that if you let my wife and her friend go now, everything is negotiable. However, if you insist on finishing what you started, just like she said, then prepare to surrender your life today!”
The crowd was startled by the newcomer’s voice. Their gaze tracked the voice’s origin, only to see some people had already rushed to the rooftop from the only entrance, blocking their exit to the floor below.
Among the newcomers stood Jonathan.
Despite being surrounded by bodyguards and security guards of the Youngblood family, Rosalie could still spot Jonathan in the crowd at a glance.
He only wore a thin shirt without a coat. His hair was disheveled from the strong wind generated by the helicopter’s spinning rotors. The expression on his handsome face was cold. Even when she met his gaze, she could not discern the look in his eyes as if they were shrouded in darkness.
Regardless, she felt at ease as long as she could see him.
The mercenaries’ gaze darted from Jonathan to Rosalie as if contemplating something.
They knew they were fish in a barrel by that point. Helicopters were flying in the sky, and the exit was blocked. They had nowhere to escape.
Their trump cards were just two hostages.
“Okay then. Why don’t you let us out of the building and transfer 2 million dollars directly into our designated account? Then, we will hand Mrs. Youngblood and her friend to you,” the leader of the mercenaries said, trying to negotiate.
“Deal!” Jonathan agreed without hesitation. “The two women must not be harmed, though!”
“That will depend on whether we can leave this place without trouble,” the mercenary replied.
Their conversation had excluded Madeline. At the moment, Madeline was already an abandoned
pawn.
Humiliation crossed Madeline’s face. She realized that even if those mercenaries could leave without a hitch, they would not take her along. She would end up being extremely miserable in that case. The thought of that had her suddenly dashing over to Rosalie, who was closer, and pressing a dagger against her neck.
“Don’t come any closer. If anyone even takes a step in my direction, I will kill her right now!”
The atmosphere of the scene immediately changed. Even the air seemed thickened with tension.
The mercenaries’ expressions turned grave. They wanted to rush forward to stop Madeline. After all, they had to rely on Rosalie’s life to preserve theirs and get the money.
However, Madeline had no intention of letting them approach her. She merely dragged Rosalie as she trudged along the edge of the rooftop. “If any of you dare to come closer, I will slice her neck. Worse comes to worst, none of us gets to live. It’s not a total loss for me to take the lady of the Youngblood family to hell with me. The issue now is whether you, Mr. Youngblood of Strico, are willing to let your wife Mrs. Youngblood die!”
Jonathan looked at Madeline icily. The expression on his face was so cold it was as if it had frosted over. He took a step, then another toward Madeline. “You can try and see whether I am willing or not.”
Seeing Jonathan draw closer, Madeline panicked. “Don’t come any closer! I will slit her throat if you take another step toward me!”
At the end of Madeline’s threat, the dagger in her hand immediately cut Rosalie’s neck, leaving a long, bloody wound across it.
Rosalie whimpered in pain as dark red blood flowed from the cut to the lapel of her clothes.
Jonathan’s expression darkened. His hand, hanging by his side, slowly tightened bit by bit and formed a fist, betraying his feelings. “You should be thinking about how to negotiate with me instead of dragging her to die with you. I can let you go with these people. Madeline. I can also give you a car and let you leave Strico, but… no further harm can come to my wife.”
Jonathan threw out one term after the other, slowly baiting her with his impassive voice like the devil’s. “It seems that Rosalie is really important to you, Mr. Youngblood,” Madeline stated.
“She is my wife, so I will protect her,” Jonathan said indifferently, as if everything he did were just his obligations as a husband. It seemed like he was silently letting Madeline understand that it would be useless to threaten him with Rosalie’s life.
“Really? Let’s see how you’re going to protect her, Mr. Youngblood!” Madeline shouted as she slashed. another deep cut across Rosalie’s neck with the dagger.
Before the previous laceration on Rosalie’s slender neck could stop bleeding, a new wound marred the smooth skin and began to bleed profusely.
Jonathan frowned. “Madeline, you have a death wish. Hurt her again, and you won’t be able to leave
Strico!”
“Haha! Jonathan, I have never once believed that you would really let me leave Strico. What can I even do if I escape from Strico with how the Tall family currently is? Instead of spending the rest of my life as a loser. I’d rather do something noteworthy!” A sinister grin stretched across Madeline’s face. “Say, I’m sure it’ll be big news if I dragged the lady of the Youngblood family to hell with me!”
Jonathan’s face darkened. It was evident Madeline was no longer thinking clearly. He could lure a sane person with various terms and conditions, but the method would be useless against a madwoman. Lillian shouted at Madeline right then, “Shouldn’t you be going after me? Let Rosalie go and take me instead if you need a hostage! She has nothing to do with the feud between us!”
Madeline sneered at Lillian. “I would have chosen to hold you hostage if Callum was here. Sadly, the person who showed up is Jonathan instead!”
As she spoke, she dug her nails into the bleeding wounds on Rosalie’s neck. An intense wave of pain swept over Rosalie all of a sudden.
