"So, you’re the one who put explosives in our bunker?" Troy asked, watching closely for Elena’s reaction.
Ethan swiftly positioned himself in front of his wife, attempting to shield her from the threatening glares directed their way.
However, Elena gently tapped his arm, signalling with quiet confidence that she could handle the situation herself.
She looked at them calmly, with a steady gaze, as they had their guns aimed at her.
There were at least ten of them, and she knew that fighting back wouldn’t be a smart move.
So, she replied with a blatant lie. "What bunker? If you’re going to point fingers, at least make it credible. And lower those guns. Trust me, I wouldn’t hesitate to go down with all of you if it means we can perish together."
"Heh, big talk! Why should I listen to you?" Troy shot back, tilting his gun and preparing to fire.
He was convinced that this group knew precisely who was responsible for the chaos in City B.
The standoff between the two parties persisted, with neither side willing to back down.
Elena caught sight of the smug expression on Vivian’s fiancé, Marc, convinced that his long-awaited revenge had finally arrived.
With a sneer, she replied, "You’re quite amusing, believing Marc’s lies. Do you know why he’s so angry with me? It’s because I exposed his infidelity to Vivian, and now he’s cursing me and plotting his revenge."
Elena was weaving a story to sow discord among them, buying time for Uncle Anthony and Adrei to escape.
It would be easy to slip away if there were only three of them left: Xander, Ethan, and herself.
If she tried to force or attempt a bold fight, it would put her at a disadvantage—unless she used her space, which she was determined to keep a secret.
Troy turned to Marc, demanding an explanation.
"Boss, don’t believe her; she’s just making excuses," Marc said, glaring at Elena.
But Elena wasn’t finished yet. "Tsk. You keep insisting that I’m the one who did it, but where’s your proof? Just your empty words. How ironic!"
Troy was about to respond when Trixie demanded that Elena be shot; once she was gone, she believed she could have Ethan for herself.
"Cousin, what are you waiting for? Just kill her! She’s nothing but a con. Look at how manipulative she is—Brother Ethan is already dancing in her palm!" Trixie screamed, furious at how overprotective Ethan had become of Elena.
Hearing this, Elena almost laughed at Trixie’s ridiculous imagination.
She turned to Troy with a mocking expression and said, "See? Your cousin seems to be delusional. Perhaps they conspired to take me down because they have their own motives, and you, being easily deceived, accepted it wholeheartedly."
Elena tried to recall the name Troy from her past life, but she couldn’t remember anything about him; in fact, she realized she had never encountered him at all.
Troy was angry at being mocked by Elena, but he was even more furious with Trixie for making him feel like her subordinate.
He had had enough of her antics, but his grandfather had insisted that he bring Trixie back alive and well; otherwise, he would no longer be considered part of the family.
The past few days had never been easy for him. In addition to dealing with the disaster, his cousin was causing trouble and making demands left and right, which only added to his frustration.
"Shut up! Why are you so obsessed with that man? Should I kill her first to snap you back to your old self?" he snapped.
"Don’t you dare lay a hand on my man!" Trixie shot back.
Elena was stunned by how Trixie referred to Ethan as her own. She wondered what her husband had done to make Trixie so obsessed with him.
Curiously, she looked at Ethan and used her [Telepathy] skill to ask him a question.
"What happened between you two? Why does she act ?"
Seeing his wife’s puzzled expression, he almost leaned in to kiss her, but then he realised they were in the middle of a tense situation and didn’t want to be misunderstood.
So, he quickly replied, "No, I don’t know her. I swear, wife, you’re the only one for me."
"Why are you so defensive? Is there something going on? Explain properly, or you’ll be sleeping on the couch."
"I would never lie to you, wife. Maybe, because I once declined her marriage proposal, and that’s why she’s obsessed with my rejection?"
"Is there really such a thing? How did I never know about this? You’d better explain it later."
"Alright, I’ll tell you later, wife. Just don’t get angry anymore."
Elena wasn’t angry; she always believed in her husband. She just wanted to understand the source of Trixie’s obsession.
She knew Ethan would never do anything that could be misinterpreted, so the real issue was Trixie, who kept insisting that Ethan was her man.
The standoff, which was initially supposed to be between Elena and Troy, had now shifted to a heated argument between Troy and Trixie.
They started by arguing about Ethan, but soon their discussion turned to their past grievances.
While they were caught up in their argument, Vivian approached Elena once again, trying to persuade her to come back.
Elena brushed her off at first, but then she smirked and agreed, "Fine, I’ll visit later. Where is your location?"
Unaware of Elena’s true intentions, Vivian quickly provided their address with excitement. "We’re currently staying at the Blackshear Hotel. You should visit us as soon as possible, cousin. We miss you!"
Elena rolled her eyes but nodded, matching her actions, "Sure! I’ll visit soon.
’You should prepare well; who knows, it might be your last.’
Soon, Marc whispered something to Troy, drawing his attention back to the confrontation.
"Are you done now?" Elena asked, her patience wearing thin as she longed to return home.
Killing them was not an option, especially with so many armed and ready to fire. It was best to find a way to escape for now.
"No matter what, since you’ve already pissed me off, then go to hell," Troy shouted, raising his gun once more, ready to pull the trigger.
"I told you to stop threatening me. Which part of your brain doesn’t understand the context?"
In response, Elena pulled a bomb from her mini bag, making it clear that if she went down, she would take them all with her.