Chapter 173 Grace, I Love You
Maybe there were 120 seconds until detonation. Or 60 seconds. Or perhaps... he only had 30 seconds.
A bead of cold sweat rolled down Alexander's forehead.
He quickly regained his composure and said to Jeremy, "Get me the bomb disposal kit."
Jeremy didn't dare hesitate for a second and immediately retrieved the bomb disposal kit.
Alexander opened it with practiced ease and carefully examined the explosive device in the collar.
Grace's heart began trembling. She touched the collar with her hand, as if suddenly realizing something, and her entire body started shaking.
Perhaps out of fear of death, tears suddenly streamed down her face. "Is the bomb going to explode?"
Alexander said, "Any bomb can be disarmed if you know how."
Grace asked, "What if there's not enough time? Am I going to die?"
She felt as if her own life had entered a countdown state.
She was afraid to die, but even more afraid of never seeing Max and Liam again.
Suddenly, she felt the threat of death silently enveloping her.
Death, once so distant to her, was now right before her eyes, stark and merciless.
She could even imagine the scene of her neck being blown apart.
Alexander looked up at her with serious eyes. "Grace, trust me now. Don't think about anything else."
He moved closer to her, pressing his ear to the collar, holding his breath as he located the source of the sound. Then he picked up a small knife and carefully pried open a cover panel with the sharp blade.
His movements made her heart race so fast it felt like it would jump out of her throat.
Deep down, she felt despair, convinced the bomb couldn't be disarmed and that she was destined to die. She didn't want to waste time and treasured every minute, every second.
"Alexander, I'm going to die. I might never see Max and Liam again."
She wanted to cup his face and look at him properly one more time. "Let me look at you one more time."
Alexander said, "You're not going to die."
"But what if I do?"
"If you die, I'll follow you."
Grace actually smiled at this. "If you die with me, what about Max and Liam? Are you going to abandon them?"
Alexander said, "Grace, if it weren't for this, I might never have realized that I can't live without you."
Even as he spoke, his hands never stopped working.
Soon, he opened the device, revealing intricate components.
He studied them carefully and finally found the trigger mechanism.
This meant that the moment he had loosened the screw earlier, he had triggered the linked mechanism. If he tried to pry the collar open directly, it would snap the detonation wire and cause an immediate explosion.
Alexander stared at the delicate, densely packed wires, his Adam's apple bobbing.
"When I served in special operations, I learned some bomb disposal techniques, but my knowledge isn't comprehensive."
He drew in a sharp breath, speaking rapidly. "These days, most bomb disposal is done by robots, but we don't have that luxury now."
The bomb device in Grace's collar wasn't actually complex—its construction was quite simple. But often, the simpler the construction, the harder it was to disarm.
Alexander lowered his head and slowly peeled away the device's thumbnail-sized outer casing.
His hands were already working quickly, but it still took a full ten seconds.
Before they knew it, 60 seconds had passed.
Alexander could now confirm that this bomb had a 300-second countdown mechanism.
Standard international timing was typically 30, 60, or 120 seconds, but custom timing required special calibration, with 300 seconds being the most common default.
After removing the outer casing, the device's densely packed internal wiring was completely exposed to his view.
Grace didn't dare speak throughout the process, only closing her eyes and trying her best to calm herself down.
Alexander continued studying with intense concentration.
From his understanding, bombs were categorized as detonator-based, electrically triggered, or using black powder.
If it was detonator-based, he could simply remove the detonator component.
Black powder was even more elementary.
Besides these, there was nitroglycerin—extremely powerful and temperamental, exploding at the slightest vibration.
Then there were octogen, cyclotol, tetryl, C-4—these high-end explosives with particularly complex construction, all strictly regulated.
These bombs were very difficult to disarm. Internationally, robot disposal was commonly used, with extremely low success rates.
After studying it, Alexander determined that the bomb in the collar was electrically triggered. This type required wire cutting.
The disposal method required cutting the detonator wire, removing the battery, and severing the power circuit. Most detonation current was direct current—destroy the power source, and you could disarm the explosive device.
It sounded simple enough.
But all the wires were the same color.
Which was the power wire, which was the detonation wire, which was the detonator wire—there was no way to tell them apart.
Alexander scanned quickly—there were more than ten wires alone.
Among these dozen wires, one was the detonation wire.
Beyond that, there was another risk—even if he didn't cut the detonation wire, there was still a chance of triggering a capacitive reverse detonation.
Alexander stared at the row of wires, hesitating to make his move.
Seeing the cold sweat constantly beading on his forehead, Grace realized this bomb seemed extremely tricky.
Her nose stung with emotion. "Alexander, don't be afraid. I believe in you."
Alexander's jaw tightened.
Afraid.
How could he not be afraid?
Perhaps he was even more afraid than she was.
Alexander looked up, gazing into her eyes. "Grace, I love you. So much."
He didn't know if he'd have another chance to say these words if he kept them buried in his heart.
So he wanted to tell her.
Grace's face went still, her eyes reddening as tears threatened to fall.
Alexander's voice was hoarse. "If I had known I would love you this much, I never would have let you leave seven years ago. I wouldn't have divorced you. I would have kept you safe, hidden away from everything."
As he spoke, he cupped her face and pressed a tender kiss to her forehead.
Grace choked out, "Alexander, I love you too."
"Then live. We're going home together." Alexander kissed away the tears at the corners of her eyes, his gaze filled with unprecedented tenderness and devotion. "Max and Liam are waiting for us to come home."
Max. Liam.
The two names sent ripples through her heart.
She felt an even stronger will to survive.
She wanted to live!
But now, her life was in his hands.
Jeremy anxiously counted down the seconds nearby. Watching this scene, though his heart ached, he had to speak up: "Mr. Hayes, only 60 seconds left."
Grace said, "Alexander, do it. You don't need to have any reservations. Whether you're right or wrong, my life is in your hands. I don't regret it. If I die, remember to tell Max and Liam that I love them."
With that, she closed her eyes.