Kicked Out, Flash-Married, and Now He Won't Let Me Go

Vivian Lowell sensed a conspiracy lurking behind this entire situation.

Was it aimed at her?

Vivian wasn’t sure. Just as she hesitated to speak, Julian Faulkner had already assured her, "Don’t worry, I’ll figure something out."

"Since we’ve confirmed Rachel is there, then..."

Julian’s promise to "figure something out" clearly meant he didn’t want Vivian to risk her own life.

A man-made trap always had a solution. At worst, they could just do what they did in the movies and send in a bomb disposal expert.

"Julian, I..."

Vivian tried to protest.

On the other end of the line, Vance Wyatt murmured, "President Faulkner, it might be too late. We found a countdown device here. The timer is set for two hours.

"The police just contacted us. They said that if they are to dispatch the relevant experts, two hours might not be enough. President Faulkner, over here..."

Hearing Vance’s words, Vivian fell silent for a moment.

Things were already very clear.

The other party had calculated everything perfectly; they were just waiting for Vivian to walk right into it.

"I have to go there."

"But..." Julian was reluctant.

Vivian smiled at him. "Yes, it’s dangerous for me to go. But Vance and so many others are there. It’ll be fine.

"You have to trust me, don’t you? Besides, you still need to pick up Grandma from the hospital today. If neither of us shows up, she’ll definitely realize something is wrong, and that won’t be good for her condition.

"Julian, just go to the hospital with peace of mind. Leave Rachel to me."

Julian was out of options.

Since Vivian had put it that way, he could only agree for now.

"Alright then. Stay safe."

Julian was still worried, but since they had no other choice at the moment, this was how it had to be.

Vivian and Julian went their separate ways for the time being.

She drove Julian’s car toward Vance’s location, while Julian headed to the hospital to accompany Grandma Faulkner for a final checkup.

If everything looked good, Grandma Faulkner could be discharged today.

Driving along the way, Vivian didn’t overthink it. She had deep faith in Veridia’s public security and firmly believed this incident would be resolved.

And the mastermind hiding behind the scenes would surely be caught and brought to justice.

An hour later, Vivian arrived at the location.

It was a small wooden cabin perched on a cliff in a mountainous forest, deep in the distant suburbs of Aethelburg. The trees here were towering, and because it was still early, a thick layer of mist shrouded the mountains.

It looked like a place entirely isolated from the rest of the world.

"Mrs. Faulkner, you’re here."

Vance had been waiting for Vivian. Seeing her arrive, he immediately went up to greet her and gave her a brief rundown of the situation.

Through the cabin window, they had already spotted the trapped Rachel. Just as described in the text message Julian received last night, she was tied to a chair.

Rachel’s mouth was taped shut with black duct tape, rendering her mute. Her mental state seemed relatively stable for now; she probably didn’t know about the bomb yet.

"How much time is left on the countdown?"

Vivian asked Vance to take her to check the situation. Right in a dirt mound by the cabin’s entrance, she saw the so-called countdown device.

It looked just like the ones she had seen in TV shows. The timer showed fifty-five minutes and thirty-nine seconds.

Watching the countdown tick away, Vivian asked again, "The bomb disposal experts can’t make it?"

Vance nodded. "When we discovered the bomb, we immediately asked the police to send someone over. However, because it’s so early, the professional team they contacted can’t get here right away.

"I was out of options, so I could only inform President Faulkner and you first. After all, the person inside... is Ms. Faulkner."

Vance also knew about what happened last night. However, things had changed. If they were overthinking things and had misunderstood Rachel, failing to rescue her now would leave a heavy burden on their consciences.

Vance had merely proposed the only available solution at hand. Besides, the bomb disposal experts were rushing over; it wasn’t a given that they wouldn’t make it in time.

"I understand. Where is the fingerprint lock? Let me take a look."

With that said, Vivian shifted her gaze upward.

The fingerprint lock was right on the door, positioned much like a standard home smart lock. It featured a dedicated area for fingerprint recognition.

"Our men have already tried. An incorrect fingerprint triggers the alarm system. If the number of errors exceeds a certain limit, the bomb will likely detonate immediately."

Vance felt utterly helpless.

The scene had already been cordoned off with police tape. Quite a few trees had even been chopped down to carve out a designated "safe zone."

This was a mountainous forest. If the bomb exploded and ignited the trees, triggering a wildfire, it would be disastrous.

"Mrs. Faulkner." A nearby police officer walked over at that moment and said sternly, "If you are certain about using your fingerprint to open this door, please put on our protective suit first.

"We will also stay right here on guard to ensure your safety."

The officer was very responsible and handed the protective suit to Vivian.

Vivian nodded. "Give me a moment, I’ll go put the suit on right now. You’ve already set up a shelter nearby, right? Once the bomb goes off, there’s no telling how powerful the blast will be."

Hearing this, the officer nodded and pointed to a pit off to the side.

There, a temporary shelter had been built out of sandbags. If things went south, everyone here would take cover inside to evade the explosion.

Seeing that everything was ready, Vivian went to put on the protective suit.

Just as she finished putting it on, Vivian’s phone chimed. Her heart trembled. She had been wondering what she should do if these were truly the last few minutes of her life.

Then, the message arrived.

Vivian picked up her phone and saw it was a text from Julian.

"I’m keeping Grandma company during her checkup. While eating breakfast just now, she asked why you weren’t here. I told her you had business at the company and went back for a meeting.

"She said that no matter how busy you are, I must remind you to eat well. Don’t be afraid. Everything will definitely be fine."

Julian’s words floated on the screen.

As Vivian read these two sentences, she could perfectly imagine Julian saying them. Though his tone might be slightly faint, it would undoubtedly carry deep concern.

She could also picture his slight frown, looking so worried for her.

She would be fine.

Vivian thought to herself, ultimately deciding to reply to him first.

"Mhm, I know. Um... Julian, when I first founded the company, I actually secretly put your name down. I figured that since you invested in me, you should definitely be a shareholder too.

"If I’m no longer around, I’ll leave the company for you to run, okay? You’re so capable, I’m sure you’ll manage it well. Leo has great design talent too, so with her around, I wouldn’t worry about the company not getting any orders.

"Even though we agreed before to get a divorce once the Lowell family’s matters were settled... Robert Lowell and his wife aren’t in prison yet, but I don’t think it’ll be long now.

"If they get sentenced, would it be time for us to divorce? After this incident is over... if Grandma is in good health, let’s find an opportunity to break it to her, alright?

"I’m not an unreasonable person. I wouldn’t use Grandma’s illness as an excuse to keep clinging to you. We’re friends, aren’t we?"

Vivian felt like she was leaving her dying words.

However, no matter what, in this second chance at life, the person who had helped her the most was indeed Julian.

She didn’t want to owe him anything.

It was better to make things clear first. If something happened to her, he...

Vivian decided not to dwell on it any longer. She put down her phone and walked toward the door.

Standing before the wooden door, Vivian felt her heartbeat quicken significantly as she pressed her right index finger against the fingerprint lock.

There was no one beside her.

Vance and the police officers were all temporarily taking cover inside the sandbag pit. Vivian felt utterly helpless about having to play the "minesweeper" like this, but who asked the culprit to specifically set the password using her fingerprint?

The pad of her finger soon touched the lock.

From inside the door came a very faint electronic beep, sounding remarkably like the click of an unlocking mechanism after a "password success."

Did it work?

Vivian instinctively glanced down at the countdown device on the ground.

The device had stopped!

It really worked!?

Her heart pounded even faster as she reached out to push the door open.