The divorced military queen awakens novel

Chapter 186 Burning Truths Exposed At that very moment , every single person inside the brightly lit studio , eyes fixed on the giant screen , wore the same expression of dazed bewilderment . A celebrated Firefighting Hero is actually a murderer who watched someone die ? How could that possibly be true ? And who on earth switched the studio's live feed in the first place ? Where have Sidonie and the kidnapper been taken ?

Trent snapped out of his trance , yanked his phone from his pocket , and jabbed at the keypad . " Police , I need to report a kidnapping - someone's been taken … " Right then , a voice shot up from the audience section , " This is live - my God , it's a livestream ! " The crowd finally caught on . They whipped out their phones and , within seconds , located the kidnapper's streaming channel .

The platform had not yet shut the feed down , and viewers were already pouring into the room by the thousands . Comments flooded the chat : What is this ? Have streamers really sunk this low just to blow up a channel ? Netizen A : Staging a fake kidnapping ? Enjoy getting your account banned ! Netizen B : Kidnappers are this brazen now ? Don't they care that the police can trace them ? Netizen C : Can anyone explain what's happening here ? A little summary , please !

Quinn narrowed her eyes at the grainy figure on the screen , a thread of recognition tugging at her mind . Julius bent down , his breath grazing her ear . " Did something ring a bell ? " he whispered . " He looks familiar , but I can't place where I've seen him ," Quinn muttered , still studying the man's posture and build . " Remember the text that the reporter got during the orphanage event ? Turns out it wasn't baseless . There's something about Sidonie's Firefighting Hero .

Maybe the same person sent that message , " Julius said , voice low . A blurred silhouette from the orphanage flashed in Quinn's memory and merged seamlessly with the kidnapper's outline on the screen . She pressed her lips together , realizing she had missed something vital back then . Quinn unlocked her phone in a rush , typing furiously as she searched for the piece of information she suddenly needed . Meanwhile , terror churned inside Sidonie .

" Don't go… Sidonie , don't leave … It's all because of you … I … Ah ! Ah ! Ah ! " The man pressed play , and the guttural , desperate screams blasted through hidden speakers , reverberating around the studio and scraping against every listener's spine . 1/2 C Those were the tortured cries of someone being burned alive . The piercing howls dragged on , echoing for what felt like forever , until the voice thinned to a faint whimper and died away .

Silence fell , and everyone understood that the owner of that voice had been consumed by flames . There was only audio - no footage , and yet the sound alone painted an agonizing picture . Just that recording was enough to let them imagine the unspeakable pain of being swallowed by fire . The dying man had clearly screamed Sidonie's name - so was the so - called hero actually someone who refused to help ? " N - No , that audio is fake ! " Sidonie shouted , voice raw .

She could never admit the truth ; confession would mean utter ruin . " Fake ? " The kidnapper laughed , a harsh rasp . " You can't even recognize your old colleague's voice ? When you joined Nimbus Air , he mentored you , recommended you , opened doors for you - and this is how you repay him ? " Sidonie's complexion turned an even ghastlier shade of white . He continued , " Run a forensic test . You'll see it's genuine . The time stamp matches the border wildfire .

Your colleague was phoning his son when the flames caught him . The phone hit the ground , and by sheer chance , the boy recorded every second . " Sidonie's body trembled . " T - There must be some misunderstanding ! " < Trent must have realized I'm missing . Once he calls the police , they'll come for me . I just have to stall . > " Misunderstanding ? " The man fisted her hair , yanking her head up , then whipped his palm across her face . Smack ! Smack ! Smack !

Each slap landed harder than the last , merciless and deliberate . Her cheeks ballooned , reddening and splitting ; blood seeped from the corner of her mouth . " Do you know what it felt like for his son to hear those final screams ? Why didn't you save him ? Why ? There was a fire extinguisher right there - why didn't you put out the flames ? " " I - I don't know what you're talking about ! We were separated . I wasn't beside him . I don't know why he called my name . Maybe - maybe the fire made him hallucinate … " 2/2