The Imposter Bride (Natalia and Magnus) novel Chapter 383

Watching Magnus’ figure quickly vanish into the night, James burst through the door in hot pursuit. No way could he let Magnus walk into danger alone; he had to find Natalia, and fast!

In a frenzy, James stormed out, searching the streets for any sign of Natalia, but though the town was small, Natalia was like a needle in a haystack. Sweat poured down James’ forehead, but there was no trace of her.

Just as despair was about to take hold, James’ sharp eyes caught sight of Natalia at the crossroads ahead. “Natalia! Natalia!” He shouted at the top of his lungs.

Natalia was frantic, questioning the crowd about Jonas’ whereabouts, oblivious to James’ calls. James bolted toward her, quickly reaching her side and grabbing her hand. “Natalia, we’ve got to move, now!”

Confusion clouded Natalia’s eyes. “What’s going on, James? Where are you taking me?”

With no time for explanations, James rushed her along. "Just come with me. It's Lucius—he's taken Jonas!"

"What?" Natalia gasped. The words were like ice water down her spine. "Lucius? What is he planning?!"

"I don't know, but he's demanding a ransom of a hundred million bucks from Magnus. He wants him to go to the docks alone—no cops, no backup," James rattled off. "Magnus is headed there right now, but Lucius is a desperate man. It's not safe for Magnus to go alone."

Panic-stricken, Natalia stammered, "What do we do? Where do we even start looking?"

"Harbor Bay docks, let's go to my car!" James pointed to his vehicle. "We'll follow them there. We can't let Magnus walk into a trap, and we've got to save Jonas."

"All right, let's go," Natalia said, turning to Hector, who had joined her in the search. "Hector, maybe you should head back. James and I will handle it."

"Why should I?" Hector protested. "I want to help find Jonas as much as you do, Natalia. Don't you consider me family?"

Sensing the resolve in Hector's eyes, Natalia relented, "Fine, but you must be careful. You know Lucius is unpredictable and capable of anything."

"I'm not afraid." Hector said, his gaze fierce. "I care about Jonas. I'd give anything to save him, including my life."

Natalia was touched by Hector's sincerity, feeling the weight of her past neglect. "Hector, I..."

"Don't," Hector stopped her. "Your battles are mine, Natalia. Whatever it takes, I'm in."

Lucius, reminded of his prison torment, grew more agitated. "Mercy? You should've been the one behind bars, not me!"

He lunged at Magnus again. "Give me the money or prepare to bury your son—with the bombs I've strapped to him!"

Magnus took a calming breath and stretched out his hand to pass his cell phone to Lucius. "This is my new account in Switzerland. There's a hundred million inside. You can check it."

"I want cash! Cash!" Lucius refused to even glance at the phone. The veins in his neck bulged as he shrieked.

Magnus looked at Lucius with a cool detachment. "Have you lost your mind? How in the world do you expect me to get a hundred million in cash to you in such a short period of time? And even if I did, how do you plan to move with it? Don't you trust Swiss banks?"

Lucius furrowed his brow, thought for a moment, and realized Magnus made sense. He snatched the phone from Magnus' hand. "Fine, this also saves me a lot of trouble."

He bowed his head and checked the account seriously. Indeed, there was a hundred million dollars.

"Humph, I knew you wouldn't dare play tricks on me!" Lucius, now satisfied with the money, danced around joyfully, hugging Magnus' phone and planting a couple of kisses on it. "Ha! With this cash, I can seek asylum abroad. No more living like a rat in this country."