âZayden, stop!â Holdenâs voice thundered with anger, but the ropes didnât stop, plummeting rapidly.
The sudden drop sent a shock of fear through the two children.
Melon couldnât contain it anymore, tears streaming down his face.
Adele whimpered, her face flushed with fear.
Melon tensed his body, squeezing his eyes shut as tears rolled down his cheeks.
He bit down on his lip, trying to stifle any cries that threatened to escape.
âZayden! How dare you-â Holdenâs rage boiled over, but before he could finish, the ropes shot back up, lifting the kids high into the air.
The children couldnât help but cry more, the swaying motion of the ropes making them dizzy.
Adele looked like she was about to be sick.
Holdenâs eyes burned with fury as he locked gazes with Zayden.
Seeing Holdenâs desperation, Zayden felt a surge of satisfaction, a smirk playing on his lips.
âCome on, Holden.
The game has begun!â
Zayden glanced at the terrified kids and chuckled.
âMake your choice now, Holden.
Iâm dying to know which one youâll sacrifice? Donât worry; pick one, and Iâll let the other live!â
Perched on the rooftopâs edge, Zayden looked smug, like he had already won.
âYouâre the one whoâs gonna die!â Holden bellowed, drawing his pistol and aiming it at Zayden.
He swiftly fired.
Not taking Holdenâs words seriously, Zayden was shot on the shoulder before he could react.
Clutching his wounded shoulder, Zayden staggered back.
He had been too exposed, having just stood there on the rooftop in the open.
He hadnât anticipated that Holden would still be able to make preparations in such a dire situation and would even have brought a gun with him.
Zayden believed he had misjudged Holden.
Zayden crouched behind the rooftopâs concrete barrier, covering his shoulders and daring not to look up.
âHolden! How dare you shoot me? You think you can take me down? Even if you have a gun with you, you are alone here.
Your friends canât do anything! My people are all here.
Youâre done for!â
As he spoke, Zayden retrieved his own gun, glancing at the kids.
âHolden, you had your chance to choose, but you wouldnât do it.
Now, youâll die together.
â
With a shout to his lackeys, Zayden ordered, âDrop the children into the water! Feed them to the crocodiles!â
Zayden stood up, pulled out his gun, and started shooting at Holden.
But Holden had already scoped out the area and dodged behind some nearby containers to avoid the bullets.
With the layout in mind, he fired back twice, hitting the critical joints of two cranes hanging overhead.
The cranes froze in midair.
The two kids were dangling from them, screaming and crying.
Below them was a crocodile with its mouth wide open.
Zayden saw this and lost it.
He shouted at his crew, âGet the scissors! Cut those ropes now!â
It was clear Zayden wanted the kids dead.
He continued firing at Holden, and they were in a heated shootout.
Zaydenâs men turned to grab the scissors when, out of nowhere, the rooftop door was kicked open.
Sonia, Adrian, and Mitchel barged in.
As the door flew open, Adrian lunged forward and tackled one of Zaydenâs men to the ground.