chapter1636

"Alright," Joshua replied without wasting words.

Stella's focus remained on Eason as she calculated the odds of using him as a hostage to escape the palace.

Just as everyone's attention was fixed on Stella and Eason, another gunshot suddenly rang out.

A bullet lodged itself in Eason's heart.

Everyone was stunned by the sudden turn of events.

Standing so close, Stella was splattered with his blood.

A man dressed in black stood in the shadows, where the light couldn't reach. He

held a silenced pistol, a wisp of white smoke still curling from the barrel. His expression was placid, like a cold, emotionless assassin.

Princess Wright let out a terrified shriek. "Ah!"

Queen Wright's face went white, and she fainted on the spot.

Only King Wright retained some semblance of composure.

"Doctor!" he roared hoarsely. "Get a doctor, now!"

Stella nudged the still-dazed Noah. "Go, quickly," she whispered.

Noah, as if waking from a dream, took the opportunity to slip away in the chaos.

This was the first time Abby had experienced such a life-or-death situation. All the color had drained from her face, and she looked as if her soul had left her body. If Gideon and Wilbur weren't supporting her, she wouldn't have been able to stand.

"That Eason... is he dead?" she murmured.

As Joshua called Harold, he replied, "Not yet, but the bullet hit his heart. He probably won't last long."

Noah frowned at Joshua, his expression unusually serious.

"Eason is the future king. Killing him like this will cause a lot of trouble. The Wright family won't let you off easily."

Joshua glanced at him. "If I didn't kill him, how would we get out of the palace?"

Noah was taken aback. "You shot Eason just to create chaos so we could escape?"

Before Joshua

could answer, Harold

picked up. "Mr. Gardner, everything

is ready. But the palace has

antiaircraft defenses and numerous guards The helicopter can't lane. You have to get outside the palace for pickup."

"Understood," Joshua said and hung up.

By now, Noah had processed it further.

"Even if you wanted to create a diversion, you didn't have to kill Eason. Injuring him would have been enough. Don't tell me... your hand slipped and you missed?"

Joshua put his phone away. "If I didn't want to kill him, why would I aim for his heart?"

In other words, he had fully intended to kill Eason.

Noah couldn't comprehend it. "He's the future king. Why did you have to kill him?"

Joshua's expression was indifferent.

"There are many reasons to

eliminate him. As you saw, creating

chaos was just one Second, if he

ved, he would likely become an

asset to Aurora. Better to eliminate a

potential threat, just in case."

Abby stared blankly at Joshua as he calmly uttered the words, "Better to eliminate a potential threat, just ing case." It was in that moment she truly understood that this was the real Joshua, the head of the Gardner family, not the bodyguard she once knew. The rumors about him were not exaggerated.

As Abby stood frozen, she heard Joshua's voice again, as cool as water.

"Of course, those aren't the main reasons for killing him."

Noah looked at the formidable man before him and instinctively asked, "... There's a more important reason?"

"The most important reason," Joshua said, "is that he dared to point a gun at Star. For that, he had to die."

Noah and Abby were both profoundly shaken.

Joshua paid him no more mind, turning instead to Stella. "Star, you go first with Abby and the others. Noah knows the palace well; he'll get you out of here."