Feeling the murderous intent in the air, Duncan's expression turned grim, and his whole body tensed up.
"Mr. Mercer, I came here today with sincerity to make a deal. If you intimidate me and scare me off, I'll have no choice but to abandon the deal and leave with my people."
"Leaving? It's not that easy!"
Lance's cold voice rang out.
At that moment, his rationality disappeared the instant he saw 'Deanna' injured.
Hearing this, Duncan realized something was wrong. His expression changed slightly as he immediately walked over to 'Deanna', pulled out a dagger from his subordinate's waist, and held it against 'Deanna's' neck. "Lance, I know you must have people ambushed around here. You can try and see who's faster, your men or my knife!"
Meanwhile, a few kilometers away from the dock, Gunner also saw this scene through binoculars. Coupled with what he had just heard Lance say, he couldn't help but shout, "Lance, calm down! Do you want to get Deanna killed?"
Hearing Gunner's scolding through the wireless communicator, Lance regained some of his composure. He glared at Duncan and gritted his teeth. "As long as you release Deanna, I'll let you leave."
"No, no, no." Duncan shook his head, looking distrustfully at Lance. "I'm afraid you'll change your mind once I release her. So we'll complete the transaction first; I'll leave by boat and then release her."
Lance listened, and the pressure around him dropped to an extreme low, making the air feel like it was about to freeze. At this moment, Gunner's voice came through the wireless communicator in his ear. "Agree to his terms."
"Fine, I agree," Lance finally conceded to Duncan's demand. He then signaled his men to bring ten carts filled with money to the boarding stairs. Duncan also sent his men to receive them. Of course, he didn't forget to have them check everything thoroughly before starting to move the goods.
After dozens of trips back and forth, they finally loaded everything onto the boat. As the boat began to leave the dock, Lance shouted, "Now you can release her!"
"Of course, catch her!" Duncan said as he handed 'Deanna' over to his subordinate, who then threw her off the boat. Duncan and Brent immediately retreated into the cabin.
Seeing 'Deanna' thrown off the boat, Lance was furious and roared, "Get her!" At that moment, he hated himself for being powerless and unable to save Deanna immediately.
With a splash, 'Deanna' fell into the water. Shannon and Nightingale quickly followed, diving into the sea and swimming towards Deanna as fast as they could. In no time, they pulled 'Deanna' to the surface.
By then, Lance had also been pushed to the shore by Xavier. Before he could speak, Shannon's serious voice came through. "Boss, this woman isn't Missus. Have Mr. Martinez intercept that boat."
"I knew that bastard wouldn't release her so easily," Gunner's cold voice came through Lance's communicator.
Lance's face turned even darker as he gritted his teeth. "Damn it, he tricked me!"
Meanwhile, inside the cabin, Duncan and Brent looked smugly at the boxes of money in front of them.
"Hah, everyone says Lance is formidable and decisive in killing. But look at him now; he fell for a beauty trap and handed us all this money."
"Indeed, truly foolish," Brent nodded with a smile before changing the subject. "Now that you've got the Miller family's assets back, our next step is to set up a research institute and develop the special medicine we obtained earlier. With support from above, just like the Martinez family has backing them up, we can see how long they can remain arrogant."
Hearing this, Duncan's eyes turned cold as he glanced over. Just as he was about to speak, his trusted aide rushed in from outside. "Master, bad news! We're surrounded!"
Duncan and Brent were shocked and stood up immediately. "What's going on?"
"We've been deceived! Gunner wasn't held up at all; now he's leading people to surround us," the aide explained briefly.
Duncan and Brent's faces darkened as they exchanged a glance and said in unison, "Break through! Tell the pilot to speed up and everyone else to arm themselves on deck for a forceful escape."
Despite their efforts, they couldn't break through. The disparity in strength was too great. To ensure they captured them, Gunner had mobilized all of the Martinez family's guards, including Lance's men. In total, there were nearly a thousand people and over twenty boats.
The scene was overwhelming.
Under such circumstances, Duncan's attempt to escape was nothing but a dream.
About an hour later, Lance finally saw the captured Duncan and Brent. He glanced at them briefly before looking away, not seeing the person he wanted to see.