The Imposter Bride (Natalia and Magnus)
Chapter 385

Lucius threw back his head and laughed uproariously. His hand triumphantly brandishing a remote control. "See this, Magnus? Did you think I was still the hothead I used to be? I've wired this whole ship with explosives! One push of this button, and we all go sky-high together!"

Cold sweat trickled down Magnus' forehead. He knew he had been outmaneuvered because he couldn't be as ruthless as Lucius. Magnus wasn't afraid to die, but he couldn't bear to watch his wife and son perish with him!

"It's just me you hate. Let them go, and you can do whatever you want with me," Magnus said, tossing the pistol aside without a second thought and walking towards Lucius with resignation.

"Ha! How the mighty have fallen, Magnus! Always too proud, and now look at you!" Lucius crowed as he picked up the discarded gun, pacing around Magnus before kicking him behind the knee. "Get on your knees!"

The sharp pain forced Magnus to the ground. He struggled to rise but stopped at the sight of his son Jonas bound and helpless. Gritting his teeth, he endured the humiliation.

Lucius pressed his foot down hard on Magnus' back and laughed mockingly. "Look at you, Magnus, actually on your knees! Oh, Grandpa would be heartbroken to see this!"

His tone darkened as he continued, "That damned old man always favored you. Everything was done for you, and what about me? I'm your elder brother, yet I never received his affection. I was always forced to live in your shadow-why? I'm going to show everyone that even someone as esteemed as you has to lick my boots!"

With the gun pointed at Magnus' head, Lucius snarled, "Clean my shoes with your tongue. Maybe if I'm in a good mood, I'll spare your lady and brat, and maybe you'll get a closed casket!"

Magnus clenched his fists; fury boiled within him. He was about to go for broke against Lucius when he caught a glimpse of Hector stealthily untying Jonas. To buy Hector time, Magnus swallowed his rage, engaging Lucius in a dangerous dance of words. "So what if I'm on my knees before you? Does that really mean you've beaten me?"

"Crack!"

Lucius' manic fury answered Magnus' defiance as he smashed the pistol against Magnus' forehead, delighting in the blood that started to flow. "You're about to die! Of course I'm the winner." Blood dripped down, blurring Magnus' vision as it soaked his lashes and splattered on the deck.

"Magnus!" Natalia screamed in anguish. "What do you gain from this, Lucius?!"

As Lucius' pistol struck Magnus' head, Natalia's heart shattered. She desperately tried to break free from James' hold, intent on saving Magnus, but James held her tight. "Natalia, you can't go there! There are explosives!"

"Let me go! I have to save him!" Natalia struggled furiously against James' grip, but it was futile.

She turned and pounded on James' chest in despair. "Let me go! Let me save him!"

"Your safety is my responsibility, Natalia. That's the only way Magnus won't have regrets," James said firmly, unfazed by her beating.

"Regrets? What regrets? Why are you saying that? He has to be okay. He'll come back. Take it back!" Natalia shouted desperately over the roar of the wind, "Lucius, you can't kill him. Let him go!"

But the wind carried her pleas away, powerless against the distance separating them from the deck.

What did it all matter? Magnus managed a faint smile. As long as Jonas was safe that was all that mattered. He saw Hector had freed Jonas and was now taking him away from the danger.

"What are you smiling at? You're about to die, and you're smiling?!" Lucius, incensed by Magnus' defiant grin, kicked him until he lay sprawled on the deck. Then he turned his gaze toward where Jonas had been tied. "Today, I'll send you and your son to..."

Lucius' threat was cut short when he saw the spot where Jonas had been, was now empty. He dropped Magnus and sprinted toward the scene, only to replace Hector lying on the deck, lowering Jonas to safety. "Damn you !" Lucius bellowed in rage.

Hector, focused solely on Jonas' safety, carefully lowered him until the boy was down to the lower deck, only then letting go.

Lucius, with his bargaining chip escaping, was consumed by fury. Without hesitation, he raised his gun and aimed it at Jonas on the lower deck. "Go to hell!"

Little Jonas, unaccustomed to such terror, froze under the gun's gaze, forgetting to run. "No-!" Natalia screamed from afar. Her maternal instinct erupted. She broke free from James and raced toward Jonas on the lower deck. "Run, Jonas, run!"

Lucius on the ship's deck gave Jonas no chance to escape. He pulled the trigger with a cruel smile and a monstrous gleam in his eye. At that critical moment, Hector lunged, grabbing Lucius' leg and pulling with all his might, throwing Lucius off balance and sending him crashing to the deck.

The bullet roared out as he pulled the trigger, but it didn't head for Jonas. Instead, it veered off course, striking the ship's deck with a dull thud.

Natalia dashed forward like a woman possessed. Her body was brimming with unimaginable strength as she sped to the lower deck and enveloped Jonas in her arms. "Jonas, mommy's here! Don't be afraid!" Above on the deck, Lucius and Hector were were locked in a vicious brawl, while Magnus had already walked over from the side, searching for the remote control.

"Bang!" Another gunshot pierced the air, and a pale-faced Natalia, still reeling from shock, anxiously eyed the three trembling men on the deck. Her heart was in her throat at the thought of someone getting hit. But this time, Lady Luck turned her back on them. The cold, merciless shot struck true, burying itself in Hector's chest, and piercing his crisp white shirt. A glaring red stain bloomed ominously.