Chapter 157
When Herman arrived at Leandro’s apartment, he was dead set against Leandro’s decision to
personally deliver the ransom.
But nobody, including Herman, could change Leandro’s decision
As he helped Leandro put on his bulletproof vest and tracker, he muttered under his breath, “Who the
hell is this Seraphina? She’s a real trouble magnet. It wasn’t long ago that we had that Balch incident,
and now you’re risking your neck for her again…”
Leandro gave him a side–eye, “Do you think that’s appropriate talk for a cop?*
Herman looked back at him, then at his own actions, saying. “Do you think this is appropriate? You’d
better come back in one piece this time. If anything happens to you, I’ll pay for it with my future.”
With all the preparations complete, Leandro didn’t respond, but turned to leave.
“Leandro Herman was still worried, “we’re not sure if the kidnapper has any other motives. Be careful.
I’ll be right behind you. If anything goes wrong, you have to let me know asap”
Leandro nodded, turned to leave, but suddenly looked back
Up on the second floor, Valerio was sitting on the floor, hands gripping the railing, watching him with
hopeful eyes.
After a brief eye contact between the father and son, Leandro finally left.
Valerio’s grip on the railing tightened, but he remained sitting quietly
Leaving the apartment, Leandro met up with Keen at a nearby bank, collected the prepared money,
said a few words to Keen, and then drove off.
Keen watched the car leave nervously. A minute later, Herman’s car stopped in front of him and Keen
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtimmediately got in.”
The exchange was to take place at a construction site in the outskirts. It was desolate, making it easy
to hide and observe the surroundings, and also easy for a quick getaway.
From the moment he received the call to driving alone here, Leandro had almost no hesitation.
He had his attachments, but this situation just came at him, and he felt he had no other choice.
Leandro parked in front of the building, then got out.
The surrounding was eerily quiet, with no sound other than the wind.
He stood by the car for a few seconds, saw no sign of anyone, and then walked into the unfinished
building.
The unfinished building made of steel and concrete was equally deserted, with no safety measures at
doors, windows, or stairs. Leandro ascended the 16 floors, step by step.
The room was semi–open, devoid of doors and windows. In the midst of this space was a lone chair,
and on that chair sat Seraphina She was bound to it, yet her face remained uncovered–no blindfold or
gag in sight. Her demeanor was eerily calm, almost as if she thought it was a mere jest.
As footsteps echoed, Seraphina lifted her gaze. Spotting Leandro, she chuckled, “You really showed
up?”
Leandro locked eyes with her briefly. Without a word, he dropped a bag of money and started
advancing.
“Hold on!” Seraphina’s voice held a warning, her face steady, “There’s a bomb strapped to my hand. I
have no idea when it’ll detonate. I’d hate for you to get caught in the blast.”
Leandro paused for a moment after hearing her words, but continued moving towards her.
“Leandro!” She called out again, “This is not a joke.
Leandro walked straight up to her, checked her safety, and then looked at the bomb on her hand.
It was a simple homemade bomb, remotely controlled, meaning it could explode at any time.
Leandro squatted down next to the chair.
Seraphina struggled to turn her neck and saw him taking out a small set of tools from his clothes–
originally intended for emergencies, but now, was he going to defuse the bomb?
She became instantly nervous, “Leandro, don’t mess around! These people are obviously targeting
you. As long as you leave, I’ll be fine! What are you trying to defuse? It goes off, we’re both toast!”
“I’m wearing a bulletproof vest. A bomb this small won’t kill me,” Leandro said calmly
Seraphina was speechless
After a while, she said, “Can you at least remove the bomb from my hand before you defuse it?”
She was, after all, not wearing a bulletproof vest!
“Didn’t you say you’re not afraid to die?” Leandro asked.
“If I want to die, of course I’m not afraid, Seraphina replied, “But dying for your sake, I don’t think it’s
worth it, and I don’t want to.”
Leandro’s hand paused for a moment in the midst of defusing the bomb, then said, “Even if you don’t
want to, suck it up”
Seraphina was left speechless.
For Leandro, a graduate of engineering, the bomb’s structure was too simple. He understood all the
mechanisms at a glance, and defusing it was a breeze. In less than two minutes, he had disarmed the
remote control on the bomb.
Once he confirmed that the bomb on Seraphina’s hand would no longer explode, Leandro began to
untie the ropes on her.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmHowever, just as he had untied half of the ropes, another sound echoed in the quiet space tick, tock,
tick, tock….
It was the sound of a bomb being activated remotely! There were other bombs here!
Leandro’s face turned serious instantly Without thinking, he pushed Seraphina off the chair and
shielded her with his body.
Boom!
A loud explosion later, the room was filled with flying dust!
Herman and Keen’s car was parked a few hundred meters away from the building. Hearing the loud
noise, the two looked at each other and immediately drove to the base of the building.
After getting out of the car, Herman told Keen to wait in the car and hurried up the stairs.
When he finally arrived at the 16th floor, Leandro was leading Seraphina down the stairs.
They were both covered in dust and looked dirty, but no one seemed to be hurt.
“Are you okay?” Herman asked anxiously.
Leandro only responded with a, “Hmm”
Herman glanced again at Seraphina. She was pressing her hand to her chest, clearly rattled, and gave
him a little wave.
Herman shifted his gaze and saw the money bag that Leandro had tossed on the ground earlier. He
opened it to find the money neatly stacked, untouched.
This was a bit odd. Herman looked at Leandro, then back at Seraphina, “Are you sure this isn’t some
sort of prank?”
The kidnapper didn’t show up, didn’t take the money, and just let Leandro rescue Seraphina so easily.
Seraphina was dusting off her clothes. When she heard this, she looked up at Herman, “What are you
implying? That I kidnapped myself and threatened myself with a bomb? I’m not that bored!”