Chapter 174: Back Home
Alexander hesitated no longer, lowering his head to carefully trace each wire's path.
He grabbed paper, sketching a simple circuit diagram and clearly marking each connection.
Without realizing it, another 15 seconds had passed.
Alexander had already eliminated 9 wires.
Five remained—two detonation wires, one power wire, and two others of unknown purpose.
He visually measured the length of each of the five wires.
The more critical the circuit, the shorter its design.
The longer wires were more dangerous.
Each wire differed by mere millimeters.
Time ticked away second by second.
Alexander concentrated intensely, cold sweat streaming into his eyes and blurring his vision, but he couldn't spare a moment to wipe it away.
Grace tenderly wiped the sweat from his brow.
While Alexander still hesitated between the five wires, the alarm system began beeping, entering its final countdown phase.
Alexander drew in a sharp breath, taking out his wire cutters and gently lifting the only two wires he hadn't definitively identified.
The cold gleam of the cutters reflected on his face, momentarily blinding.
One of these two wires should be wrong—or possibly, both could be wrong...
If he was mistaken...
Alexander's throat constricted, his fingertips trembling slightly.
"Grace..."
Fear suddenly overwhelmed him.
Grace suddenly cupped his face, kissing him tenderly on the lips and whispering softly, "Alexander, I trust you. I told you—my life is in your hands. I don't regret it."
"Mm..."
Alexander said, "Grace, I love you."
Grace choked up, unable to speak, only nodding frantically as tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Do what you think is right!"
Time was running out.
If only he had a little more time, he could definitely figure it out. Now, he could only gamble.
Alexander gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, took a breath, and in the final three seconds, decisively cut the shortest wire.
As the piercing alarm sounded, Alexander's heart suddenly raced with panic. He barely had time for any additional thought. He couldn't even wonder whether this wire was right or wrong—he only knew he wasn't ready to lose her, couldn't bear to lose her.
He suddenly pulled Grace tightly into his embrace.
Grace instinctively tried to push him away.
After all, though the bomb was small—only powerful enough to blow through someone's neck—with him holding her so tightly, so close, he'd be injured in the blast too!
Especially hearing such a piercing sound...
Her heart nearly leaped into her throat.
However—
Two seconds later.
The indicator light on the collar suddenly went dark.
Alexander and Grace remained locked in their tight embrace. Jeremy, who had been too tense throughout to make a sound for fear of disturbing Alexander's concentration, was the first to react when he saw the collar's light extinguish. He asked in a daze, "Did it work?"
If the collar hadn't exploded, then it was successful?!
Alexander released Grace. He looked at the collar but didn't relax his vigilance, nor did he immediately pry the collar open. He examined it carefully, and only after confirming that he had indeed cut the power wire did he breathe a sigh of relief, his hands shaking.
"It seems to have worked."
In that most tense moment, at that critical juncture, he seemed to have exhausted all his mental energy.
His nerves immediately relaxed, bringing the exhaustion that follows a great battle, his mind completely blank.
Grace asked, "Alexander, did it work?"
Alexander replied, "It should be safe now. Don't move—let me check once more."
"Okay."
Alexander carefully examined everything, checking the wires he hadn't had time to eliminate earlier.
Ten minutes later.
Alexander finally reached his conclusion. The two wires he'd left until the end were both safe, while the other three wires he'd eliminated were all connected to the detonator!
In that final moment, if he had hesitated even a few seconds longer, Grace would have died.
With the power wire cut, there was no electrical current to trigger the detonator.
For safety's sake, he cut all remaining wires before removing the collar.
Grace finally felt truly relieved.
Until the very last second before the collar was removed, she had worried the bomb might still detonate. Only when the collar was finally off did she feel as though she'd been reborn!
Grace hugged him tightly. "Alexander, thank you."
Alexander said, "You're injured—don't move around."
Grace said emotionally, "Alexander, we're going home..."
Alexander nodded. "Yes, we're going home."
Going home...
She could finally go home.
Grace nestled in his embrace, finally letting down all her defenses, and lost consciousness.
...
Two days later.
Hospital.
In the spacious, luxurious private room, Grace slowly opened her eyes.
After this long sleep, waking up felt like emerging from another lifetime.
In her ear, she heard a news broadcast from a phone.
"The International Maritime Safety Authority announced at 3 AM local time: Interpol, in coordination with International Ocean Rescue, responded to a massive explosion on a cargo vessel, resulting in the ship's complete sinking. The accident caused 302 fatalities, and as of press time, 53 people remain missing. International salvage teams are conducting emergency rescue and recovery operations in the area..."
Grace turned her head. Alexander sat in a single armchair beside the bed, eyes closed, his phone displaying a news webpage. In the video, the entire sea area was shrouded in smoke.
On the endless ocean surface, oil slicks floated as fires continued spreading.
Two massive ships surrounded the area where the ill-fated cargo vessel had sunk, lowering speedboats for salvage operations.
Dozens of speedboats raced across the water, clearing floating oil pollution as quickly as possible.
"Mommy?"
From nearby came Max's gentle voice.
Grace looked to her left. Max and Liam were lying on the bed, watching her with wide eyes.
Seeing that Grace had truly awakened, Max's expression filled with relief, "Mommy's awake!"
The moment Liam saw Grace wake up, he immediately ran to Alexander's side, tugging forcefully at his sleeve.
Alexander instantly snapped awake.
Liam announced joyfully, "Grace is awake!"
Alexander looked toward Grace, springing from the armchair like a shot and moving closer: "How do you feel? Are you in pain anywhere?"
Grace's consciousness hadn't fully returned; her mind felt foggy: "A little dizzy..."
Alexander said gently, "You just had surgery—you received local anesthesia."
Grace said, "I'm so sleepy..."
Perhaps the anesthesia still had residual effects—she felt like sleeping.
Alexander said tenderly, "Sleep if you want to. Don't worry—we'll stay right here with you, never leaving your side."
Max and Liam leaned against the bed. "Mommy, you sleep. Liam and I will keep watch over you!"
Liam nodded emphatically.
Alexander said, "I won't leave." His voice suddenly seemed to grow more and more distant.
Grace's eyelids grew heavy once again, and she drifted peacefully back to sleep.