Chapter 302 He Forgot His Lover
"No! Alexander, I'm not leaving! I want to stay with you!" Caroline completely panicked. Tears instantly welled up in her eyes as she gripped his arm tightly and wouldn't let go.
"Listen to me." Alexander's tone suddenly became stern. "If you stay here, I'll be distracted. Leave now! Go!"
Caroline was struck by these words, but she had no choice. She bit her lip and backed away, looking back with every step until the forest swallowed her figure.
Alexander stared in the direction she disappeared, and only then did the tightness in his chest ease a little. He turned to look for cover, but the tightly shut door of the farmhouse was slowly pushed open from inside the next second.
Several men in black suits walked out, moving quietly without any unnecessary sound. They spread out and directly blocked Alexander's escape route.
Weapons were clearly hidden at their waists.
The leader was a man about forty years old. Alexander recognized him—it was Oscar, the deputy captain of the Hamilton family's security team, who only took orders from Armando and was known for being ruthless.
Oscar's gaze fell on Alexander's face, his mouth pulling into a cold, hard curve.
"Mr. Alexander Hamilton, are you having fun out here? Mr. Armando Hamilton has been missing you."
Alexander's heart sank.
Oscar's personal appearance meant that Armando had locked onto Alexander's whereabouts and was determined to bring him back today.
What about Caroline... had she gotten away safely?
Alexander used all his self-control to suppress the urge to look back at the forest. He had to trust that she could hide well, and he had to buy her time.
"Oscar." Alexander forced himself to stand straight. "My father sent you? If you have something to say, just say it. You didn't need to bring so many people."
Oscar pulled at the corner of his mouth. "Your father is just worried about you. You've been out here so long, it's time to come home. As for these people... they're just here to make sure you can come with us safely and smoothly. After all, you left without a word before. He's both angry and worried."
"Without a word?" Alexander laughed coldly. "I thought the Hamilton family stopped caring whether I lived or died a long time ago. What, now you've realized this heir is still useful?"
Oscar's eyes flickered slightly, then quickly returned to calm.
"Mr. Hamilton, it's not my place to comment on family matters. My orders are simple—bring you back."
Oscar raised his hand, signaling the bodyguards behind him to step forward. "Please, Mr. Hamilton. Don't make this difficult for us, and don't make your father wait too long."
Two burly bodyguards approached expressionlessly, their hands already resting on the guns at their waists.
Alexander had only one thought in his mind: he couldn't go with them.
Once he returned to the Hamilton mansion, he would be dragged back into all those schemes and power struggles he wanted nothing to do with. Worse, if they found out Caroline had hidden him all this time, Caroline would definitely be implicated.
He'd rather take all the risk himself.
Alexander suddenly retreated two steps, then rushed out in the opposite direction from where Caroline was hiding.
"Stop him!" Oscar's face darkened, his voice suddenly oppressive.
Gunshots exploded almost simultaneously!
Bullets flew past Alexander, hitting tree trunks and rocks, sending debris flying.
They clearly weren't trying to kill him right away—they just wanted to force him to stop and bring him back.
Alexander didn't care. Relying on his familiarity with the terrain, he wove through the forest, constantly changing direction to dodge.
Thorns tore his clothes and skin, blood marks appearing one after another, but he barely felt the pain. There was only one voice in his head: 'Run. As far as possible, take them away from Caroline.'
The sound of footsteps and shouts behind him followed closely, like a shadow he couldn't shake off.
His strength was rapidly draining, his lungs felt like they were burning, but he didn't dare stop.
Once caught, both he and Caroline would be dragged down.
Alexander rushed toward the seaside from his memory.
There was a steep cliff there, with churning sea below.
It was a dead end, but it might also be the only way out.
Jump down, and with good luck he might survive. With bad luck... it was still better than falling into Armando's hands, and at least it wouldn't drag Caroline into this.
Alexander burst out of the forest. A few more steps forward, and he'd reach the cliff edge, about a hundred feet high.
He stopped abruptly, his chest heaving violently, and turned to look back.
Oscar and four or five bodyguards had also chased out. They quickly closed in, blocking all possible escape routes, step by step forcing Alexander toward the cliff edge.
"Mr. Alexander Hamilton, stop this meaningless resistance." Oscar stood not far away, pulling out a handkerchief and unhurriedly wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"There's a cliff ahead, the sea below. You have nowhere to go. Come back with us, and Mr. Armando Hamilton might go easy on you. Why put yourself through this?"
Put himself through this?
Alexander's heart felt like it had been stabbed by something.
To him, Caroline was the only thing he could hold onto during his darkest moments, the person he wanted to protect for the rest of his life. As long as he could be with Caroline, he never felt like he was suffering.
"I'll have a good life if I go back?" Alexander forced out an ugly smile.
"Does he want to lock me up and make me pave the way for his bastard son? Or just make me 'accidentally disappear' to make room for his bastard?"
Oscar frowned tightly, not responding.
Alexander's voice was steady, but each word felt heavy as iron. "Go back and tell my father that I'd rather die than return to that place and become a tool and sacrifice in their power games."
Then he thought bitterly, 'I'm sorry, Caroline. I broke my promise. I can't walk with you anymore. You have to survive. Forget me. Go live the free life you really want.'
Before he finished speaking, Oscar and the others cried out in alarm. Alexander leaned back and jumped off the cliff without hesitation!
As he fell rapidly, the last thing he saw was shocked faces peering over the cliff edge.
"Caroline..."
He silently spoke that name in his heart. The next second, the icy seawater swallowed him whole.
When he opened his eyes again, the first thing he smelled was disinfectant.
Alexander struggled to open his eyes, his vision filled with a blurry white.
"Doctor! Doctor! He's awake!"
An urgent voice sounded nearby, from someone elderly.
Chaotic footsteps approached. Someone pressed down on his shoulders and arms to examine him, a cold stethoscope touched his chest, and a flashlight's beam made him instinctively want to close his eyes.
"Vital signs are stable, but the extent of brain damage is still unclear. We need to continue monitoring..."
Alexander looked blankly at the people bustling around him, his mind completely blank.
Why was he here? What had happened?