Chapter 687 A Narrow Escape
As Gabrielle mentioned the smell of something burning, Christina also caught a whiff of it. “Smells like
something’s burning.”
However, before she could process it further, Gabrielle suddenly pointed at the door with a panicked
expression. “Christina, fire! There’s a fire!”
Christina whipped around and watched as the mes rapidly spread into the room, quickly engulfing
the entire storeroom.
“Quick, let’s get out of here!” Christina eximed, grabbing the stunned Gabrielle and pulling her
toward the nearest exit, desperate to escape the growing inferno.
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Bang!
The iron grill nearby mmed shut, sealing off their only escape route.
The storeroom was filled with highly mmable materials, and the fire rapidly spread, engulfing the
entire space. Smoke quickly filled the room, making it difficult to breathe.
Christina pulled Gabrielle toward a rack, seeking shelter from the encroaching mes. However, she
identally inhaled the smoke in the chaos, causing a burning sensation in her throat.
Gabrielle, panicking, eximed, “Christina, what do we do? My phone has no signal!” Her heart sank
as she realized her phone had no signal bars.
Christina swiftly checked her phone as well, hoping for a signal, but to her dismay, she had no signal
either. Coughing, she replied, “I don’t have a signal either.”
Consumed by fear, Gabrielle cried out, “What are we going to do? Are we going to die here?”
She had recently regained her self–confidence and nned to confess her feelings to Julian soon.
But now, in the face of this tragedy, she couldn’t help but wonder if their love was not meant to be in
this lifetime.
In contrast, Christina remained calm andposed, her mind racing to find a solution.
She quickly surveyed the storeroom and noticed a window that had yet to be engulfed in mes. It was
a small, round window that could barely amodate one person at a time.
Determined, Christina seized a crowbar and broke the window with all her might. As the ss
shattered, she sustained cuts on her face and arms, causing blood to trickle out of her wounds.
“Bailey, quick! Climb out through that window,” Christina shouted urgently. “Hurry!”
However, Gabrielle shook her head. “No, I can’t leave you here.”
“Listen to me, Bailey. I’m pregnant, and I won’t be able to fit through that window. You’re the only one
who can escape and get help. I’m counting on you to find someone to rescue me.” Christina pushed
her toward the window. “We don’t have much time.”
Gabrielle held back her tears and climbed toward the window with the aid of a pail. The remaining
shards of ss cut her skin, but she disregarded the pain, determined to wriggle out through the
narrow opening.
Once out of the storeroom, Gabrielle sprinted toward the hall without ncing back.
“Nathaniel, save Christina!” In her panicked state, Gabrielle scrambled and fell at the man’s feet. Blood
from her cuts left streaks on the white tiles. “The storeroom! It’s on fire! Christina is still inside!”
Overwhelmed with fear, she burst into tears as Julian wrapped her in his embrace
Nathaniel’s face turned pale with worry. He hastily grabbed a nearby staff member and asked in a
raised voice, “Where is the storeroom?”
The staff member trembled in fear and pointed toward the end of the hallway. “It’s at the end of the
foyer.”
Without wasting a moment, Nathaniel swiftly turned around and rushed out.
Meanwhile, Gabrielle’s breath hitched, and she copsed unconscious. Julian, in a state of panic,
shouted, “Doctor! We need a doctor!”
The once bustling foyer descended into chaos as people scrambled to assist.
Meanwhile, Christina stumbled upon a few expired bottles of water in a corner as the fire continued to
rage. Reacting swiftly, Christina drenched herself with the water and hastily fashioned a makeshift
mask using a wet handkerchief.
She then sought refuge in a corner, seeking protection from the scorching heat that seared her skin.
Her vision grew increasingly hazy as the oxygen quickly depleted.
In a moment of desperate hope, a resounding ng reverberated through the room as the metal grille
was forcefully kicked open. D
“Christina!” Nathaniel rushed forward and immediately spotted her amidst the chaos.
Without hesitation, he hurried to her side, gently cradling her unconscious body in his arms. With
unwavering determination, he carried her out of the engulfing mes.
Sebastian and Victoria, who had hurried over upon hearing the news, approached to offer their
assistance.
“How is Christina?” Victoria’s anxiety grew as she observed Christina’s paleplexion. She turned to
the crowd and called out, “Doctor! Where is the doctor?”
At that moment, the captain arrived with a group of his subordinates and paramedics.
Christina was immediately transported to the medical unit for further treatment.
However, due to the limited medical supplies on board, Nathaniel instructed Sebastian to arrange for a
helicopter to transport Christina to the nearest hospital onnd for her to receive the necessary care.
Fortunately, Christina had managed to save herself, and neither her life nor the life of her unborn baby
was in immediate danger.
As relief washed over them, Victoria couldn’t contain her tears of happiness, while Nathaniel’s
previously tense expression softened. Sebastian, too, let out a sigh of relief, d that Christina was
safe. D
“I’ll go and look after Christina,” Victoria offered, sensing Nathaniel’s need for privacy to discuss
matters that weren’t meant for her ears. Using it as an excuse, she gave herself a way out.
With a low voice, Nathaniel asked, “Have you found the reason behind the fire in the storeroom?”
“ording to our investigation and the surveince cameras near the storeroom, we can confirm that
this was not an ident but arson,” Sebastian exined. “The fire rm and surveince cameras
were deliberately destroyed when the fire broke out. Moreover, it appears that somebody spread fake
news about someone falling into the water at the stern of the ship, diverting the attention of the officers
on patrol. As a result, nobody noticed the fire even though it had been burning for ten minutes.
Additionally, we found traces of petroleum outside the storeroom door, suggesting that someone
intended to cause harm.”
Nathaniel’s heart ached at the thought of Christina being trapped helplessly inside the raging fire.
“Who did it?”
“Winston’s girlfriend, Xylie,” Sebastian replied grimly. “Mr. Hadley, the way the arson was carried out
bears a striking resemnce to the incident that imed Mrs. Hadley’s stepmother’s life. Based on my
investigation, it’s evident that Xylie was acting under someone else’s orders.”
It had been years since the conflict between Christina and Xylie had taken ce, and he found it hard
to believe that Xylie would go to such lengths for petty reasons.
Knowing Winston’s tendency to change girlfriends frequently, it seemed unlikely that he would willingly
keep someone who posed such a threat. If Xylie had targeted Christina, it was akin to crossing
Nathaniel himself.
As he contemted Xylie’s motive, it became apparent that her desire for revenge, fueled by the loss
of her financial support, was apelling factor.
However, it did not seem usible that Xylie acted alone in such a calcted attack. She was known to
be! short–sighted and timid, unlikely to take such a massive risk to kill Christina, no matter how much
she despised the woman.
When his train of thought ended there, another person came to Nathaniel’s mind–Anya.
“Where is Anya?” Nathaniel’s voice carried a chilling undertone.
“She attempted to blend into the crowd when the ship docked, but the men we had stationed managed
to capture her. She is currently held captive in an abandoned warehouse, awaiting your orders,”
Sebastian replied.
“Take her to the interrogation room and extract every secret she holds,” Nathanielmanded in a
hushed tone. “If she refuses to talk, eliminate her and bring in Yerek as a recement.” D
Nathaniel had initially intended to keep Anya as bait to lure in bigger yers, but her constant
interference had be too much to bear. Besides, her presence orck thereof would not impact his
ns at all.
“Sebastian, you know how to handle Mrs. Hadley’s inquiries. I don’t want her to be involved in any
of
this.”