He Defended Her, I Married His Billionaire Rival

Chapter 3

By the time I walked out of the hospital, it was already afternoon. The sunlight was a bit glaring, and I squinted as I stood by the entrance waiting for a taxi.

A few people walking out of the hospital huddled together, glancing in my direction and whispering among themselves. I vaguely caught snippets like "That's her," "The other woman," and "The first wife is so pitiful."

I lowered my head and pulled out my phone. Without even searching, I saw my own face in the local news feed. The headline was glaringly obvious:

"Crisis Negotiator Suspected of Extramarital Affair; New Lover Steps Up While First Wife is Ill?"

I clicked on the link and saw a video clip of myself outside the hospital when I had come for my prenatal check-up the day before. The video was accompanied by a voice recording of an interview with Serena. Her voice choked with emotion, yet her words remained clear and articulate.

"Ethan and I got divorced because I was sick, and I didn't want to be a burden to him," she wept. "But he promised me he would wait until I got better. Ethan saved this Miss Hart during a bank robbery; I knew about it at the time, and I even comforted her. I just never imagined that she would..."

There were already over ten thousand comments under the video.

A: [She knowingly got involved with a married man and drove his wife to a breakdown. People really will do anything for money and status these days.]

B: [I heard her husband even pulled strings to get her father's surgery done. Truly, no good deed goes unpunished.]

C: [The first wife is so pitiful. She got sick, had her husband stolen from her, and her child is still so young...]

Just as I locked my phone screen, a beat-up van suddenly slammed on its brakes right in front of me, its side door sliding open with a loud clatter. Before I could even react, two hands violently grabbed my arms from behind and dragged me into the vehicle. A pungent cloth was clamped over my nose and mouth, and my struggles quickly faded.

When I regained consciousness, a child's piercing cries rang in my ears. I opened my eyes with difficulty and found myself in an abandoned factory. My hands were tied behind my back, and a piece of duct tape covered my mouth.

The crying was coming from beside me. I turned my head and saw Leo. The boy was huddled in a corner, his face streaked with tears and his clothes dirty, his wrists also bound by ropes. Seeing that I was awake, Leo cried even louder, calling out for his dad.

In the middle of the factory stood three men, all wearing masks. The burliest of the three was talking on his phone, his voice gruff. "Ethan, you can only take one of them: your wife or your son."

The phone was on speaker, and Ethan's voice crackled through the receiver, so tense it sounded like it would snap at any moment. "Don't touch them! I'll agree to whatever you want—"

"Cut the crap!" the man bellowed, whipping out a knife from behind his back and walking over to stand between me and Leo. "Choose: your wife or your son. You have one minute."

The call was still connected, and panicked breathing echoed from the other side, along with Serena's shrill shrieks. "Ethan! Ethan, save Leo! He's our son! I'm begging you!"

Terrified, Leo curled into a ball, sobbing so hard he could barely breathe.

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the line. Then, Ethan's voice sounded again, every word forced through gritted teeth.

"Let my son go."

I closed my eyes.

I wasn't surprised. Actually, I wasn't surprised in the slightest. And yet, the spot where my heart was still felt like it had been brutally pierced through. An icy wind howled into the wound, leaving my entire body shivering.

"Did you hear that?" The man pointed the tip of the knife at me and shot a glance at his accomplices. "You guys can do whatever you want with the woman."

The other two men came over and grabbed me. I fought with everything I had, but the difference in strength was too great. I was quickly dragged to another corner of the factory. The tape was roughly ripped off my mouth, and I panted heavily, watching the cold glint of the knife catch the dim light.

"Not making a fuss... you're pretty sensible," the man with the knife scoffed, tracing the tip down past my collar. "It's a pity being sensible is f*****g useless. Your man still didn't choose you—"

Bang!

The factory doors crashed open, blinding light pouring in. Squinting, I saw SWAT officers flood into the building, swiftly fanning out.

The scene erupted into chaos. The man with the knife cursed and dragged me backward, pressing the blade tightly against my neck. Another kidnapper tried to run but was tackled to the ground by an advancing officer.

"Nobody move!" the man roared as the blade sank into my skin, warm liquid trickling down my neck. "Take one more step, and I'll kill her!"

I was choking from the pressure, my vision blurring. I saw Ethan rush in through the door, his face deathly pale as he stared intently at the knife against my throat.

The kidnapper looked back and forth between Ethan and me, his eyes darting frantically. In that split second of distraction, I used the last of my strength to slam my head backward.

Caught off guard, the man loosened his grip for a fleeting moment. A gunshot rang out almost simultaneously.

The bullet struck the kidnapper, but the sharp blade sliced open my neck, leaving a gaping, bloody gash. Blood spurted uncontrollably as Ethan's agonizing scream rang in my ears.

Just before the darkness consumed my vision, I saw Ethan running toward me. The look on his face was one of terror, despair, and a kind of utter breakdown I had never seen in him before.