Christopher was absurdly calm given the circumstances. He stared intently at Bella, who was still sleeping soundly. "You can take Bella away, but not now."

A sharp look came upon Jace's eyes. "Are you going to defy the Boss's orders?"

“Like I said, you can do it, but not now." Christopher suddenly covered his mouth and coughed violently.

When he removed his hand from his mouth, he clenched his fingers which were smeared with fresh blood. "So much has happened between us, all that love and resentment... Today is the time that I will finally settle the score with Justin after drawing it out for so long. What am I to do if Bella is not by my side at such a crucial moment?"

Jace's eyebrows were locked into a tight frown. He cast a puzzled look at the madman who seemed to have lost his senses in his final hours.

"What are you going to do?"

"I know that the Boss has always had feelings toward Bella. He just was never willing to express them."

Christopher stopped coughing, then he started to slowly and gracefully button up his shirt as if this was just another ordinary day. "But like me, he will never have her heart, even if he does manage to claim her. It's all just a fantasy. Reality always wins in the end. Her heart will always belong to Justin, unless..."

Something icy gleamed in Jace's eyes, and then he asked in a grim voice, “Unless?"

"Jace, if you do swear loyalty to the boss, I want you to do as I say."

Upon reaching this note, Christopher took Bella's hand and lowered himself to kiss the smooth back of her hand. He lovingly stroked her skin with the tips of his fingers before declaring, "Consider this my last action to repay the boss for saving my life."

The terrain of Rose Island was not as rugged as the other undeveloped islands.

Justin and Drew nimbly cut across the jungle at breakneck speed. They were agile as panthers and ferocious as a pair of tigers.

Both of them were top graduates of the military academy. Justin was especially experienced in being deployed in field operations in the wilderness.

As long as Bella had not been secretly evacuated from the island yet, it was only a matter of time before they found her.

Before they delved into the jungle,

they had gotten in touch with Asher and sent him the coordinates of the island through the Sky Eye surveillance system. He had

subsequently scanned the vicinity of the island for more intel.

There were no other yachts or speedboats detected along the coast.

Even if Christopher were to put Bella on a boat to get away, he could barely get out of Sentania's seas before they locked onto his position.

In other words, his only option for escape was by using a plane.

However, the island was relatively small, and the roar of the engine would nearly instantly give away his position.

"Justin, there's a big villa up ahead!"

Drew had been scouting the area with his binoculars and spotted a white building covered with a bramble of vines burrowed deep within the jungle. Justin took the binoculars from him and scoped the same area. He could feel his heart beating like a drum against his chest, ready to burst out. "Do you think Bella and Christopher are in there?!"

Drew's eyes glowed with hope. His voice was trembling with equal agitation and hope. "We have been running around here for long enough and haven't been able to spot a building until now. This has to be it!"

Justin was wearing a pair of black military gloves. He balled his hand into a fist and thumped it against his chest while calling out. "Send our location to your brother! We're going to go in there and investigate!"

As soon as he spoke, both of them stiffened and stopped at the same time.

They heard the crunch of boots against snapping branches. It sounded especially eerie in the middle of the quiet jungle.

Soon, they spotted Jace, dressed in a black T-shirt, black overalls, and boots. There was a foreboding sense of doom emanating from him as he walked out of the depths of the jungle and approached the two intruders.

Every measured step he took was filled with murderous intent.

He brazenly exposed himself without the slightest consideration for stealth. It seemed as if he was completely unconcerned about Justin and Drew recognizing him.

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