Chapter 298: Chapter 301: Villa on Fire
Something had been sprayed in the room. When the door opened, a cloying, greasy smell wafted out.
Willow Quincy’s brow furrowed in discomfort, but he didn’t ask a single question.
"Willow Quincy." Charlotte Shaw stood in the doorway with her hands behind her back, watching him with a humorless smile. "You should know I’ve never been a good-tempered person. In this world, no one can force me to do something I don’t want to do."
"And what if the bargaining chip is Felix Preston?" Willow Quincy’s gaze was fixed on her. "If he’s the leverage, would you still be so resolute, still have your principles?"
"I wouldn’t." Charlotte Shaw’s reply was swift and decisive, a stark contrast to the cold, aloof woman from a moment ago.
"If the leverage is Felix Preston, then my principles become flexible. I can even force myself to like the things I hate."
"Heh..." Willow Quincy let out a bitter, sorrowful laugh. "So all your principles, all your indifference... it’s all reserved just for me."
"That’s right." Charlotte Shaw nodded, her admission unflinchingly frank. "All my boundaries were drawn specifically for you. The more you like something, the more you want something, the more I hate it. If you even think about forcing me, I will fight you to the death!"
Hearing her barbed words, Willow Quincy just shrugged helplessly, his expression turning mocking. "But you’re all alone now. My influence is so great, and I have so many men at my command. How exactly do you plan to resist me?"
"..."
Charlotte Shaw didn’t answer.
She pulled a lighter from the pocket of her jeans. Her thumb found the ignition button and flicked it down—
With a soft CLICK, an orange flame danced between Charlotte Shaw’s knuckles.
Panic flared in Willow Quincy’s heart. The mockery and smug confidence on his face instantly twisted into alarm. "Sonia, where did you get a lighter?"
Charlotte Shaw confessed matter-of-factly, "I stole it from your study. You don’t smoke, but you have a habit of keeping a lighter in your room. Whenever you’re feeling anxious or annoyed, you take it out, listen to the CLICK-CLACK of the switch, and watch the flame ignite and extinguish, over and over, to relieve your stress."
"And here you are, still clinging to that old habit."
"What are you doing with my lighter?" Willow Quincy’s face was taut, a clear note of tension in his voice.
Charlotte Shaw gave him a small smile and said softly, "What else? To die with you, of course."
With that, she casually tossed the lighter into the room. The instant the flame touched the floor, the cooking oil splashed across it ignited.
Ferocious flames spread wildly along the lines of oil on the floor. In the blink of an eye, Willow Quincy’s room was completely engulfed in a blinding glare of firelight.
A wave of heat billowed from the room. Feeling the searing heat at her back, Charlotte Shaw reflexively dodged to the side.
The next second, she pulled another lighter from her pocket, lit it, and tossed it directly onto the balcony behind Willow Quincy.
The floor and curtains, also doused in cooking oil, instantly erupted in a blazing inferno!
Willow Quincy’s eyes widened in terror. "Sonia Quincy!" he roared, his voice rough. "Have you gone mad?!"
Standing amidst the firelight, Charlotte Shaw smiled at him—a calm, yet utterly mad smile. "I’m not mad. I know exactly what I’m doing!"
"Willow Quincy, if you’re so determined to force me to go with you, then my only choice is to die right here in front of you before you can do anything!"
As she spoke, she pulled a third lighter from her jeans pocket, twisted the knob of her own bedroom door, and hurled the lit lighter inside.
WHOOSH—
Scarlet flames instantly lit up the entire room.
"Willow Quincy, provoking me is the biggest mistake you’ve ever made!"
"...Sonia Quincy!!" Willow Quincy snarled, spitting out Charlotte Shaw’s old name through gritted teeth.
Charlotte Shaw rolled her eyes at him in exasperation. "How many times do I have to tell you? My name isn’t Sonia Quincy, it’s Charlotte Shaw! We’re about to die, and you still can’t get that right?"
"..." Her madness provoked Willow Quincy to the point that his eyes turned bloodshot.
He had no time to argue with her. He lunged forward, grabbed her arm, and started dragging her toward the stairs.
Meanwhile, the bodyguards in the courtyard erupted into chaos.
"Fire! It’s a fire!"
"There’s a fire, help us put it out!!!"
"Call 911! Hurry up and call 911!"
"Mr. Quincy! Mr. Quincy!"
"Willow! Willow, there’s a fire! You have to get downstairs!"
"Put it out!! Hurry and put out the fire! Find the fire extinguishers in the villa!!"
The brilliant glare of the fire and a cacophony of panicked shouts suddenly assaulted Felix Preston’s ears. Before he could even react, he saw flames as tall as a man suddenly erupt from a window on the villa’s second floor!
"Holy shit!"
Mason Shaw cried out, his face instantly draining of color. "It’s on fire!!"
Jasper Linden: "It’s on fire? Then what about Charlotte Shaw?"
"..."
Felix Preston didn’t answer them.
He threw the backpack off his shoulder and onto the ground, then broke into a run without a word.
"Felix Preston!"
Mason Shaw had no time to hesitate. He burst out from behind the trees and ran after Felix Preston toward the villa.
Jasper Linden and the few others who were left followed close behind.
Because Charlotte Shaw had doused the house in cooking oil beforehand, the fire was uncontrollable the moment it started.
By the time Felix Preston reached the courtyard, the entire second floor of the villa had become a sea of flames.
But Charlotte Shaw and Willow Quincy still hadn’t come out.
The ferocious flames reflected in Felix Preston’s eyes, turning them crimson. Without a moment’s hesitation, he shoved aside a bodyguard blocking his way and charged straight toward the villa.
"Who the hell are you?!" A sharp-eyed bodyguard spotted him and managed to grab him before he could charge inside.
"Where did you come from? Can’t you see it’s on fire? What are you doing, running around like a maniac?"
"Get out of my way!"
Felix Preston threw off the bodyguard’s hand and tried to run into the villa again, heedless of anything else.
The bodyguard called over a colleague, and together they held him back, refusing to let him go. "Who the fuck are you? The villa’s on fire, why are you trying to run into it?!"
"I have to save someone!!" Felix Preston struggled violently, his voice already hoarse from shouting. "My Charlotte is still in there! I have to find her!!!"
The bodyguard: "What?"
"Let me go!"
As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Charlotte Shaw suddenly yanked her arm free from Willow Quincy’s grasp.
ROAR—
The roar of the fire thundered in Willow Quincy’s ears. His brow was knitted in a tight, frustrated knot as he watched Charlotte Shaw.
"Sonia, what are you doing?"
Charlotte Shaw didn’t answer him.
She pulled a key from her jeans pocket, ran to a door on the left, and fumbled to shove the key into the lock, pushing open the heavy door.
"Help! Help me!!"
The moment the door opened, Aunt Bell’s choked cries for help spilled out from the room.
Charlotte Shaw shouted at the top of her lungs, "Aunt Bell! Get out, quick!"
Hearing her voice, Aunt Bell turned. The second she saw the open door, she bolted out.
"Help! There’s a fire!"
She kept shouting as she ran, nearly knocking over Charlotte Shaw in her haste to get past the doorway.
Seeing this, Willow Quincy rushed forward to steady Charlotte Shaw, but she shoved him away in irritation and hurriedly ran off on her own.
But just as she reached the main entrance, she froze, stunned by the scene before her.
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