Chapter 492 Chapter 492: Have You Been Smoking?
Victor retorted, “Do you wish to meet your end in the city center instead?”
Cristofer questioned, “Don’t you want to accomplish something significant before your time is up? Don’t you want worldwide recognition?”
Victor chuckled, “Haha. Well, I do want recognition, but I don’t want to terrify everyone with a gruesome scene of your death.”
Cristofer simply smiled in response to Victor’s words.
Changing the subject, Victor casually suggested, “Mr. Hans, since you’re here, let’s have breakfast together.”
With that, he pulled Estelle closer, wearing a loving smile. “Star, go prepare a meal for your brother-in-law. This will be his last breakfast. Make something delicious for him.”
Estelle hesitated, her brow furrowing.
“Why are you still standing there?” Victor teased, a smirk on his face. “Hurry up and get breakfast started.”
But Estelle remained in place, her lip tightly between her teeth.
After a brief pause, Cristofer said gently to her, “Go ahead. Anything you make will be fine. Just be careful not to burn your hand while cooking.”
Staring at him, Estelle asked, “Have you been smoking?”
Cristofer raised his hand to his clothes, sniffing them. “Can you smell the scent of cigarettes? That’s strange. The wind is so strong; it should have blown it away.”
“No. You sounded hoarse. So, I know you smoked,” Estelle briefly expanded and silently thought, ‘Your voice is gentle and husky, sounding the same as that when you were Mr. Mysterious.’
Cristofer then smiled bitterly and said, “Sorry. I promised you that I won’t smoke anymore. I broke my promise. I couldn’t help it.”
Taking a deep breath, Estelle didn’t say anything but just looked at him worriedly. She was clear that Cristofer asked her to walk away because he didn’t want her to know what he would talk about with Victor. She didn’t want to walk away simply because she was afraid that she couldn’t help Cristofer in time if Victor hurt him.
Knowing what she was thinking about, Cristofer smiled at her gently and urged, “Go ahead. Don’t worry.”
Seeing the interaction between Estelle and Cristofer, Victor was speechless. “Hey, are you flirting with each other in front of me? Estelle, didn’t you say that you loved me yesterday? Why are you looking at your ex-husband so affectionately? Do you still love him?”
Hearing Victor’s question, Estelle quickly denied, “No, I don’t love him anymore. Cristofer, please leave. I don’t want to cook for you. Don’t come back to bother me.” She was determined to get Cristofer to leave as soon as possible.
Cristofer swallowed hard, his heart aching. After a long pause, he asked in a hoarse voice, “Do you really love him?”
“Whether I love him or not, I want nothing to do with you. Even if I don’t love him, I might fall in love with someone else in the future. Or maybe I won’t love anyone else for the rest of my life. But one thing’s for sure, I won’t love you anymore. Do you understand?” Estelle asserted.
“I understand,” Cristofer nodded.
“That’s good. You can go now. And about transferring your properties to the children, I’m fine with it. But please make sure Victor gets what’s rightfully his,” Estelle added.
Standing nearby, Victor’s anger was mounting. He wrapped his arm around Estelle and, with a stern expression, said, “Since you won’t cook for Mr. Hans, then make something for me. I’ll go back with you. Mr. Hans, could you wait here for a bit?” Without waiting for Cristofer to respond, he guided Estelle back to his house.
Inside Victor’s house, Estelle expected him to lose his temper, but instead, he started searching around. Soon, he retrieved a piece of rope from a drawer.
Seeing the rope, Estelle took a step back, anxious. She asked, “Are you planning to tie me up again?”
Raising an eyebrow, Victor replied, “Do you want Cristofer to live?”
Estelle’s heart raced, a sense of foreboding creeping in. “What do you mean?”
“If you want him to live, then you will die,” Victor declared.
Estelle was shocked. “What?”
“For someone in love, the pain of losing their beloved to death is the most excruciating. You played your part well, breaking Cristofer’s heart once again. But it’s not enough. You’re his beloved. If you die, he’ll suffer immensely for the rest of his life.”
Estelle shook her head slowly and glared at him. “Victor, you’re insane!”
“Yes, I am. Miss Hudson, now you must choose. Will you die, or will he? I’ll give you thirty seconds to think about it.” Victor challenged her.
Estelle remained silent, her face tight with anger.
“Now you have only twenty seconds left,” Victor warned.
“Are you planning to set a fire and burn Cristofer to death?” Estelle asked.
Victor didn’t deny it. “Both his legs are broken. If I set a fire in the forest, he won’t be able to escape. Even if you call the fire department, it won’t save him. By the time they get here, Cristofer will be burned down to ashes.”
Estelle stepped back in horror, and her voice was heavy. “So, either Cristofer or I will have to watch the other burn to death today, is that it?”
“That’s right. You’re so smart. I’ll respect your choice no matter what it is. If you choose to let him die, I won’t hurt you...”
“Tie me up now!!!” Estelle ordered before Victor finished his words.
Shocked by her decisiveness, Victor asked, “Are you sure?”
With a heavy heart, Estelle nodded and extended her hand, gesturing for him to tie her up. She said softly, “I have lung cancer. Even though they removed the affected part, I could relapse and die at any moment. My own life doesn’t matter, but Cristofer must live. He’s responsible for tens of thousands of employees, and Grandpa Gary depends on him.”
Victor hesitated for a moment and asked one last time, “Are you absolutely certain that you’re willing to sacrifice yourself for him?”
Estelle replied firmly, “Yes, I am.”
It was not until Estelle followed Victor into the depths of the forest that she realized just how well-prepared he was for his plan.
Victor had purposely asked Cristofer to stay on the hill where he could oversee the forest. With Cristofer’s legs injured, he couldn’t quickly reach the forest to rescue Estelle if a fire was to start. Furthermore, this location was remote and challenging to cross, making it unlikely that firefighters could respond swiftly.
Victor wore a smug smile as he tied Estelle to a tree trunk using a rope. “You and Cristofer, quite the affectionate pair of lovebirds, aren’t you? To save him, you went to great lengths to stop him from coming here, even pretending to have fallen in love with me and hurting him with your words. And to save you, he came here despite the heartbreak you caused him. What a display of true love!”
Estelle retorted, “Do you envy us?”