The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 1307

"As for Stuart…" He sighed heavily at the mention of his son. "Dying at the hands of someone so unstable… I guess it was just his bad luck."

Although Gibson had come prepared to die with his own vest of explosives, he wasn't foolish enough to seek death if he could get his revenge and live. As long as Joshua died here, it was enough.

After Gibson left, Joshua tore the duct tape from Keen's mouth.

"Keen, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Mr. Joshua." Keen's eyes, red-rimmed, fixed on Joshua's bleeding hand. "But your hand…"

Joshua lifted Keen's jacket, revealing the bomb strapped to his small frame. The timer wasn't five minutes; it was three. And only two minutes and thirty seconds remained.

Joshua put in an earpiece. "What's the status on the surrounding explosives?"

Jake's voice was tense on the other end. "There are too many. We need at least another half hour. Plus, there are snipers in the dark, slowing our progress. I don't think…"

"Keen has a time bomb on him, less than two minutes left," Joshua cut in. "Have your team prioritize disabling the key charges. Get as many as you can."

He hung up and focused his full attention on the device. It was complex, likely requiring two wires to be cut to stop the timer.

Meanwhile, Stella, Haynes, and Foreman's helicopter was rapidly approaching the site. From the air, Stella spotted several columns of smoke rising from below.

"They could be there!" she shouted.

Joshua had driven to avoid tipping off any of Gibson's lookouts, while Harold and Jake had arrived earlier by helicopter to discreetly clear explosives. But Gibson's planning had been meticulous; he still had men watching Joshua's every move, ready to deliver a final blow if he saw any hope of survival.

Thanks to Stella's helicopter, they arrived the moment the fires began. After landing in a safe clearing, the three split up to search.