Chapter 173: Throw Miss Wilson into the Sea

Evan immediately ran over and scooped Claire up into his arms. The pain was so intense she felt like she might pass out. "Evan, it hurts so much... Is the baby... Am I going to lose the baby...?"

"Don't talk. Save your strength. I'll find a car and get you to the hospital right now. Don't be scared—I'll be right here with you."

Cradling Claire in his arms, Evan rushed toward a nearby car. The owner approached when he saw Evan coming. After a quick exchange, Evan climbed into the vehicle with Claire, and the driver immediately sped out of the valley.

……

Nicholas had been waiting by the shore the whole time. He had no idea what Claire was planning—he was just following her instructions, waiting here.

Suddenly, a car pulled up in front of him. Two bodyguards stepped out, dragging someone between them. Nicholas recognized her instantly—it was Harper.

He knew these bodyguards too. They worked for Claire. There was no need to ask—Claire had clearly sent them to bring Harper here.

One of the bodyguards addressed him. "Mr. Carson, Miss Martinez asked us to deliver Miss Wilson to you."

Nicholas didn't move to take her. He still didn't know what Claire expected him to do. "What does Claire want me to do?" he asked.

The bodyguard relayed Claire's instructions. "Miss Martinez said you should throw Miss Wilson into the ocean. That way, she'll never show up again. Oh, and there's a yacht over there for your use."

She wanted him to kill someone. Throw her into the ocean. There was no way Harper would survive that—especially not in her current state, completely unconscious.

Nicholas hesitated. If it had been anything else, he might have agreed on the spot. But asking him to actually kill someone? That was something he'd never done before.

The bodyguard spoke again. "Mr. Carson, Miss Martinez also said that if you don't take Miss Wilson out to sea and throw her overboard, it means you've got feelings for Harper. That she's not the one in your heart anymore."

Nicholas closed his eyes. He felt like Claire was putting him in an impossible position. And Claire—she'd always seemed so gentle and kind to him.

How could she try to have Harper killed outright? Harper had already divorced Evan. She shouldn't be a threat to her anymore.

But he'd promised Claire. He'd agreed to help her. What was he supposed to do now?

The bodyguard's voice cut in again, reminding him, "Mr. Carson, you gave Miss Martinez your word. You should keep it."

Nicholas's shoulders sagged. Resigned, he took the unconscious Harper from the two bodyguards. "When you get back, tell Claire that after this, I'm not helping her anymore."

Half-carrying, half-supporting Harper, Nicholas got her onto the yacht. He knew how to operate one of these. Claire had really thought of everything. He let out a bitter laugh.

Back on shore, the two bodyguards started talking quietly after Nicholas boarded the yacht.

One of them said, "Should we still go through with the next part? Mr. Carson probably won't actually throw Miss Wilson into the ocean."

The other replied, "Didn't Miss Martinez already predict that? Just follow her orders. We're her bodyguards."

They'd taken her money—they had to do the job. One of the bodyguards pulled out a remote control and pressed the button.

Claire had already guessed that Nicholas might not throw Harper into the ocean, so she'd had a bomb planted on the yacht ahead of time. The moment Nicholas took Harper aboard, the bomb would be activated.

In other words, from the very beginning of her plan, Claire had never intended for Nicholas to survive either. She was truly ruthless in pursuit of her goals—willing to kill even Nicholas, someone who'd always been on her side.

Nicholas steered the yacht out onto the water, though he didn't head for the deep sea—just a relatively secluded spot. Looking down at Harper, still unconscious, he found himself torn again.

He was a playboy, sure. He spent his time partying, never took anything seriously. But he'd never hurt anyone before.

He crouched down in front of Harper and reached out his hand. Just as it was about to touch her, he pulled it back.

Then he sat down. He couldn't do it. He pulled out his phone, thinking he'd send Claire a message, only to find he had no signal. With a sigh, he put the phone away.

Since he couldn't go through with it, he'd just take the yacht back. When he saw Claire, he'd explain everything properly and convince her to give up this idea of killing Harper.

This was illegal. He couldn't do it.

That's when Harper woke up. She rubbed the back of her head, which ached. She must have been kidnapped.

Looking down, she noticed there were no ropes binding her. Her kidnappers were being awfully considerate—they hadn't even tied her up?

"You're awake." Nicholas noticed Harper stirring and crouched back down beside her.

Harper glanced at Nicholas, then looked around. She confirmed she was on a yacht. So right now, she was out at sea. From the looks of it, she and Nicholas were the only ones on board.

Her gaze landed on Nicholas, wary. "You kidnapped me?" she asked. "Brought me out to sea—what are you planning to do?"

"It wasn't me." Nicholas shook his head. Then he told Harper everything—the whole situation, including the fact that he couldn't bring himself to go through with it.

So it was Claire who'd kidnapped her. Claire really did have it out for her. Even after the divorce, she still wasn't satisfied—she wanted Nicholas to throw her into the ocean to feed the fish.

At least Nicholas still had a shred of conscience left. Otherwise, she wouldn't have even woken up—she'd already be dead at the bottom of the sea.

That's when Harper heard it—a ticking sound, like an alarm clock. She didn't ask Nicholas about it. Instead, she started searching the yacht herself. She found it quickly—a timer bomb with less than one minute left on the countdown.

The bomb was fixed to the yacht, and she had no idea how to defuse it. "Nicholas, do you know how to disarm a bomb?"

"I don't. Please don't tell me that thing is a bomb." Nicholas's eyes widened. He could read the countdown. Did this mean Claire hadn't planned on letting him survive either?

Harper's lips curved into a slight smile, one eyebrow raised. "Correct. It's a timer bomb. And it's going off in less than a minute."

"What do we do now? Neither of us knows how to defuse a bomb. Are we just supposed to sit here and wait to die?" Nicholas panicked. He'd never imagined he'd die so young.

Harper grabbed Nicholas's shoulder, stopping him from pacing. "There is one option. We both jump into the ocean right now. If we jump, we've got a fighting chance."

It was already nighttime. Out there in the vast, dark ocean, who knew what dangers lurked? Jumping in might just mean living a few minutes longer.

Nicholas hesitated. This wasn't the deep sea, but the water was still deep enough. What if they jumped in and ran into sharks? Wouldn't they just be delivering themselves straight into a fish's mouth?