A Vengeful Ex-Wife
Chapter 73 I Don't Care If You Die

Maria suspected that Stella had been eavesdropping on them.

Standing next to her, James realized Maria had dragged him into more drama. Again.

Suppressing the urge to strangle his ex, he glared at Stella, whose face paled dramatically. He said slowly, "You just insulted Maria's taste. You do know we were married before, right?"

Maria chimed in, "So, Miss Qin, what are you trying to say? That my bad taste led to my marriage to James? What do you really think of my ex?"

The two echoed each other, making Stella burst into tears on the spot. She never expected that Maria could be so clever. She drew James into the conversation and turned the tables on Stella. "No! No! Mr. Xi, of course not. How could I ever say such a thing? I didn't mean it like that!" She tried hard to explain.

Pondering this for a bit, James called his secretary and said, "I'm not happy with that contract we have with Qin Group. Rearrange an open tender."

"Yes, Mr. Xi." Realizing her remarks made Qin Group lose a hundred-million-dollar account, Stella panicked. She couldn't know that James wasn't done. A few days later, HL Group outbid Qin Group on another contract.

As soon as Alina walked over, she heard his decision about Qin Group. She was taken aback, biting back the question on the tip of her tongue. She originally wanted to ask James why he told Maria he was no interested in her.

Trembling in fear, Stella left the hall early. She had to get home as soon as possible and admit her mistake to her father, or she would be so dead.

After dealing with trifles, James was about to have a reckoning with the woman who used him, but Maria was already gone. Maria stepped towards the exit at the back of the exhibition center and hurriedly followed a group of men who were about to leave through the same exit.

James was not interested in what she was going to do next. He wasn't staying long anyway, so he sent a message to Lorenzo. "I'm ready to go.

A little while later, James checked his watch. Something wasn't right. Lorenzo was usually on time. Eventually, he showed up, out of breath. He ran over to James and whispered in his ear, "Mr. Xi, something happened outside. Let's go through the exit out back."

James' first instinct told him that Maria was at the heart of whatever Lorenzo was talking about.

Alina chose this moment to use the ladies' room. James decided to leave her there and take off now. He asked Lorenzo to wait for her and drive her back in another car.

Things were more serious than James had imagined. As soon as he walked out of the back exit of the exhibition center, something flew at him and chipped the wall behind him. When he looked closer, he could see a bullet embedded there. He wouldn't have been able to dodge that. Lucky the unknown assassin was a bad shot.

He didn't hear a thing. Someone was using a gun with silencer.

He glanced at the seemingly quiet, peaceful street nearby. It was still quiet, but there was a flurry of activity as furtive figures stole to and fro.

He noticed Maria wearing a half mask. The hemline of her black dress was tied around her waist, her legs wrapped in black silk stockings. She hid in a corner, reloading her Desert Eagle. When she was ready, she rushed out without hesitation.

James' bodyguards formed a human wall to protect him. The CEO watched his ex move in silence. In less than two minutes, his Harkim roared over and stopped in front of him, waiting for him to get in. As he moved, his eyes focused on the woman, chased by four fully-armed men.

Maria ran along the road trying to avoid gunfire. At last, she caught a glimpse of the Harkim. As soon as James was safely inside, she quickly climbed to the car roof, spun, and vaulted into the back seat as fast as she could.

However, before she could get belted in, several weapons were pointed at her head.

Maria grabbed James with a spare hand and said, "Tell them we're on the same side."

James was confused. Since when had he sided with her?

Before he could say anything, the group of men who had been chasing Maria found the Harkim.

Armed to the teeth, they rushed over and surrounded the car. More of James' bodyguards rushed out of the darkness and encircled them.

Assessing the situation, those men lowered their weapons. One of them, seemingly the leader, said, "You okay? We're looking for a woman wearing a half-mask, Mr. Xi. If you see her, please hand her over to us. Thank you!"

The man was pretty sure the woman they were pursuing was in James' car, as he could see the bodyguards in the car pointing their guns at someone.

Ignoring the barrels of the guns pressed to her head, Maria whispered to James, "Don't forget Lawrence asked you to keep me alive. If you hand me over, I'll be a corpse before sunrise. How will you explain that to him?"

'She's got one foot in her grave but she's still threatening me.' This thought made James extremely unhappy. Leaning back in his seat, he said in a calm voice, "Don't worry about that. You're just a woman. I don't care if you die."

He had lost control once and saved her life, and he was forced to take care of her. He wouldn't make that mistake a second time.

"Okay! All right! I got it. If you don't want to save me, at least ask your men to put away their weapons. This is extremely uncomfortable."

James agreed. With a wave of his hand, he ordered his men to sheathe their weapons and stop menacing Maria.

She took a deep breath and looked at the man seriously, her eyes full of disappointment and disdain. "Thanks for confirming my suspicions." She threw the pistol into the glove compartment of his car as she ran out of bullets. She took off her high heels and armed herself again.

"James Xi, you really are a heartless man, aren't you?" To avoid James actually handing her over, she jumped out of his car.

While the men were talking with James' bodyguards, they paid Maria no mind. She spun and cast a glance at the motionless man in the car before she disappeared in the shadows. Noticing the movement, the group switched on the lights attached to their weapons and fanned out, searching for Maria. Their beams knifed through the dark.

The Harkim was parked on the roadside. A bodyguard asked in a low voice, "Excuse me, Mr. Xi. For your safety, may I advise we leave the area? We'll drive Ms. Tang back home safe and sound in another car."

The man sat in the back seat, fully relaxed. He didn't answer the question.

The bodyguard thought he might be waiting for Alina, so he stopped asking.

Time passed. Ten minutes later, Alina still hadn't shown up. Afraid that James would be in danger, the bodyguard broke the silence. "Mr. Xi, we can't stay here long. How about I go replace Ms. Tang?" This time, James replied with two words, "No need."

Then he fell silent again.

"James Xi, you really are a heartless man, aren't you?" Maria's words echoed in his ears.

Was he really such a bad person?

Probably.

Alina spotted Lorenzo as soon as she emerged from the ladies' room. "What's up?" she asked. "Mr. Xi asked me to drive you back home!"

Alina was a little surprised. "Where is he?"

"Mr. Xi had to leave early to take care of an urgent matter."

Alina couldn't believe her ears. She had chosen a set of jewelry worth tens of millions dollars and was going to ask James to pay for it. How could he leave so suddenly? "Where is Maria Song?" "I don't know," Lorenzo answered truthfully. "Did she leave with James?"

"No."

Alina knew that Lorenzo wouldn't lie to her, so she gave up on that set of jewelry she wanted and left the hall with him.