Chapter 160: Desperate Struggle for Survival

Paris, 16th Arrondissement

Night had fallen, deep and oppressive.

Outside, cold rain hammered relentlessly against the villa's bulletproof windows like countless icy whips.

In the study, Antoine sat slumped in his leather chair, a bottle of whiskey—more than half empty—on the desk before him.

His son, Philip Bernard, paced the room like a caged animal, his anxiety palpable.

"Father..."

Philip stopped abruptly, turning to Antoine with eyes full of worry. "Louis, that bastard... he's not going to abandon us, is he?"

"Shut up!"

Antoine's head snapped up, his bloodshot eyes boring into Philip. "Louis is your uncle! He's family! How could he possibly abandon us?"

"But Father..."

Philip's jaw clenched. "Don't you see? Everyone's been trashing you online today! And Louis? Not even a statement from his side! He's clearly trying to distance himself from you!"

"That's because..."

Antoine fell silent for a moment, then sagged back against his chair, his voice dropping. "Louis isn't stupid. He knows that publicly supporting me right now would only drag the Valois family down with me."

"But he'll help me privately..."

Antoine grabbed his glass and drained it in one gulp. "After all, I still hold plenty of secrets from back then. If I really go down, it won't be good for him either."

"Besides, he's my brother-in-law. We're in this together. He can't just stand by and watch me die."

Listening to his father's self-reassuring words, Philip opened his mouth, but in the end said nothing.

He walked to the window, staring out into the oppressive darkness, his heart refusing to settle.

Just then—

Click.

The study lights suddenly went out.

The entire villa plunged into pitch darkness.

"What the hell?" Antoine shot to his feet.

"I'll check it out."

Philip had just reached the door when—

BANG!

A muffled gunshot rang out from outside the window.

In the next instant—

A sniper's bullet punched through the study's bulletproof glass and slammed into Antoine's left shoulder with brutal precision.

"AHHH!"

Antoine's scream tore through the darkness as the impact sent him crashing to the floor.

Blood instantly soaked through his uniform.

"Father!"

Terror seized Philip. He scrambled across the floor on hands and knees, pressing his hands desperately against his father's gushing wound, screaming toward the door, "Someone! Get in here! We're under attack!!!"

But outside the door—silence.

Those supposedly elite private bodyguards hadn't made a sound.

"Damn it... It's Leo... that bastard finally made his move..."

Antoine clutched his shoulder, his face white as a sheet, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

Gritting his teeth, he struggled to get up.

But in the next second—

The measured sound of footsteps echoed from outside the study door.

Then—

The door slowly swung open from the outside.

In the dim hallway, a tall figure in a black trench coat, a lit cigar clamped between his lips, walked in with deliberate ease.

Leo.

"You... you..."

The moment Antoine saw Leo, raw terror flashed in his eyes.

He frantically tried to crawl backward, his voice shaking. "Leo... what do you want... I'm warning you... I'm an active French major general... if you dare kill me..."

"Kill you?"

Leo exhaled a stream of smoke, looking down at Antoine sprawled on the floor with cold mockery curling his lips. "Antoine, I think you've misunderstood something."

"That shot just now..."

Leo gestured toward the window. "Wasn't from me."

"What?"

Antoine froze. Philip looked equally confused.

"If it wasn't you... then who?"

"Take a guess."

Leo walked leisurely to the sofa and sat down, looking down at them from his perch. "If I hadn't arrived early tonight, you wouldn't be the only one lying in a pool of blood right now."

"Your son, your wife, and everyone else in this villa..."

Leo blew another stream of smoke into Antoine's face. "All dead."

"No... impossible..."

Antoine's entire body trembled violently, shaking his head in disbelief. "You're lying... you must be lying..."

"Lying?"

Leo pulled a black communication device from inside his coat and tossed it in front of Antoine.

"This came off a hitman I caught outside your villa."

Leo's tone was flat. "If you don't believe me, check the communication logs yourself. Who hired him, who the targets were—it's all crystal clear."

With trembling hands, Antoine picked up the device.

On the screen, an encrypted directive stood out starkly:

[Target: Antoine's entire family. Mission: Eliminate. Time: Tonight. Client: L.V.]

L.V.

Louis Valois!

"No... no... this can't be..."

Antoine's eyes went wide, his entire body frozen as if struck by lightning.

"Louis... he... how could he possibly..."

"Why couldn't he?"

Leo's laugh was bitter. "You're already finished. To Louis, keeping you alive just means more problems for him."

"Rather than risk you exposing him, he'd rather just silence you permanently."

"That bastard!"

Philip stared at the device's contents, his whole body shaking with rage. "That piece of shit Louis! After everything Father did for him! And he... he wants to kill our entire family?!"

"I told you from the start! That bastard would definitely try to silence us! Now that you're public enemy number one in all of France, as long as you die and take all the blame with you, Louis can wash the Valois family clean!"

"He killed his own older brother—what are we to him?! He never planned to save us! Not for a second!"

Philip's hysterical tirade shattered the last shred of hope in Antoine's heart.

He finally understood.

From the very beginning, Louis never intended to save him.

That reassuring phone call had been nothing but a stalling tactic.

And tonight—tonight was Louis's real plan: eliminate all witnesses.

"Leo... Mr. Ashford..."

Antoine suddenly grabbed Leo's pant leg, his voice breaking with a sob. "Please... save us... I don't want to die... my son doesn't want to die either..."

"Please..."

Looking at this once-arrogant general now groveling before him like a dog, Leo felt not a trace of pity.

"Save you?"

Leo exhaled another stream of smoke. "Why should I?"

"I... I can give you money! I have a lot of money!"

Antoine pleaded desperately. "Everything I've accumulated over the years—it's all yours! Just spare us!"

"Money?"

Leo scoffed. "You think I need your pocket change?"

"Then... then what do you want?" Antoine asked in despair.

Leo fell silent for a moment.

Then he pulled a video camera from inside his coat and tossed it in front of Antoine.

"Record a video."

Leo's voice was ice-cold. "Tell the truth about that bloody night twenty-five years ago. How Louis ordered you to seal off the estate. How you conspired together to murder the previous head of the Valois family..."

"Every detail. Leave nothing out."

"This..."

Antoine's face changed, his entire body trembling.

If he actually recorded this video, he'd be completely betraying Louis, betraying the Valois family.

Even if Leo spared him, Louis never would!

Seeing his father's hesitation, Philip suddenly stood up.

"Father!"

Philip's voice was venomous. "Louis is trying to kill our entire family! What are you still hesitating for?"

"He showed us no mercy—we owe him none!"

"Record it! You have to record it!"

Philip's eyes were bloodshot as he shouted, "I want the whole world to know what kind of monster Louis Valois really is!"

Hearing his son's words, Antoine closed his eyes.

After a long moment, he took a deep breath and slowly opened them.

"Fine... I'll do it..."

Antoine's hands shook as he picked up the camera and pointed it at himself.

The red recording light blinked on.

"I... I am Antoine Bernard..."

Antoine's voice trembled, but remained clear. "Twenty-five years ago, Louis Valois came to me. He gave me a large sum of money to help him assassinate the former family head..."

"That night, I led troops to seal off the perimeter of the Valois Manor and cut all communications..."

"I watched with my own eyes as Louis's men stormed the estate and slaughtered everyone loyal to the former head..."

"I am guilty... but Louis's guilt is far greater..."

"He is the true executioner!"

When Antoine finished, he collapsed like all the strength had been drained from his body.

Philip rushed to support him.

Leo walked over, picked up the camera, and reviewed the recording.

"Perfect."

Leo nodded with satisfaction and pocketed the camera.

"Now... you'll let us go, right..."

Antoine lifted his head, his eyes full of desperate hope.

But what met him was the cold barrel of Leo's gun.

Antoine's eyes went wide.

BANG!

The gunshot echoed.

A bullet hole exploded in Antoine's forehead. He fell into the pool of blood, his face frozen in disbelief.

"Father!"

Philip screamed in terror and turned to run.

BANG!

The second shot.

The back of Philip's skull burst open. He collapsed beside Antoine's corpse.

Leo holstered his pistol and turned toward the door.

"Olivia."

"Yes!"

Olivia emerged from the shadows.

"Clean up the scene. Make it look like Louis silenced them."

Leo's tone was casual. "Then send this video to every media outlet in France."

"Yes, sir!"

Leo, his trench coat billowing behind him, strode out of the villa, his shoes leaving bloody footprints in his wake.

Behind him lay two bodies, still warm.

And in his possession, a video that would nail Louis to the wall—one that would unleash a tsunami tomorrow.