He Brought His Mistress, I Brought My Lawyers Chapter 33

He Brought His Mistress, I Brought My Lawyers Chapter 33

Amid that scream, the fatal rope on the video suddenly snapped taut, stopping barely a foot above the sea.

Old Mr. Charles’s body swung violently in the air, the cold seawater almost licking his shoes.

If it loosened again, even for a second, the consequences would be unimaginable.

“I’ll marry you.”

Avery’s voice was hoarse. Two streams of hot tears slid down her cheeks. Her eyes were red, but what burned inside them was not sorrow. It was a towering hatred born of utter desperation.

“Don’t touch my grandfather,” she said through clenched teeth.

Her grandfather was in the hands of this madman. She didn’t dare gamble.

She could only cling to her one hope: the emergency call she had sent the moment she was kidnapped.

*Julian, you have to have gotten it.*

A victorious smile appeared on Ethan’s face. He waved with satisfaction at the person on the phone, and the video disappeared.

“I knew it. You still love me,” he said, bending down in a nauseatingly gentle voice.

He personally untied the rope that had cut bloody marks into Avery’s wrists and murmured beside her ear, “Be good, Avery. On the way to City Hall, don’t make things hard for me.”

The words were like a cold snake, raising goose bumps all over her body. She felt only a bone-deep chill.

The drive from the Newport estate to City Hall was only fifteen minutes. Under Ethan’s orders, the driver took less than ten.

Ethan held Avery’s arm tightly and brought her into the solemn building. He had clearly arranged everything. The moment a clerk saw them, he came forward enthusiastically and led them to a quiet office.

Avery deliberately slowed her steps, every one feeling as though she were walking on knives. In her heart, she prayed Julian’s name over and over.

“Miss Caldwell, please sign here.” The clerk smiled broadly and handed her a pen, pointing to the blank signature line on the marriage application.

Avery stared at the blank space, her body stiff as a statue.

Ethan noticed her hesitation. He bent close to her ear and threatened in a voice only they could hear, “Your grandfather’s yacht is still at sea. An old man his age, out in the sea wind for too long… his heart might not hold up.”

Avery lifted her eyes and glared at him, her icy gaze sharp enough to cut him to pieces.

The hand holding the pen trembled violently. Her fingertips were cold, almost unable to keep their grip. Despair drowned her like a tide, her heart sinking inch by inch.

Just as the tip of the pen was about to touch the paper—

Woooo—woooo—

A sharp siren grew nearer, cutting through the quiet of City Hall.

The clerk’s hand, holding the stamp, froze midair.

The next second, the office door was thrown open. Julian rushed in with a group of uniformed state police and suited FBI agents.

“FBI! Nobody move!” the lead agent shouted.

Several officers rushed to Ethan and quickly twisted his arms behind his back. The lead agent took out his badge and announced coldly to Ethan’s bloodless face, “Ethan Ward, you are under arrest on suspicion of interstate kidnapping, false imprisonment, and endangering another person’s safety.”

The instant those words fell, Avery’s taut nerves snapped.

Her body swayed, and the next second, she fell into a broad, warm embrace.

Julian held her tightly, his deep eyes filled with pain and apology.

“I’m sorry. I’m late.”

“My grandfather—” Avery grabbed his arm, her voice trembling.

“He’s safe.” Julian stroked her back, soothing her. “The Coast Guard has him. He’s being examined now.”

Only then did Avery’s heart finally fall back into her chest.

On the other side, a handcuffed Ethan stared at the unsigned marriage application on the desk. Unwillingness and madness tangled in his eyes, which were so red they seemed ready to bleed.

Avery saw his gaze.

She slowly pulled out of Julian’s arms and walked to the desk.

She picked up the marriage application and, under Ethan’s near-bursting stare, tore it apart with all her strength.

The action was no different from crushing, in public, the last insane fantasy Ethan had that she still loved him.

He lifted his head blankly and met her eyes, which were filled with hatred and resolve.

She threw the paper scraps at his feet and said coldly, “Ethan, there hasn’t been a future for us for a long, long time.”

With that, she turned and walked to Julian, taking his hand without hesitation and lacing their fingers tightly together.

Facing everyone in the office, and facing Ethan’s utterly shattered expression, Avery announced clearly and firmly, “The person I love now is him: Julian Reyes.”