Falling For My Ex's Uncle - Chapter 512: Chapter 512

"You don't deserve to speak her name," the man said, his gaze locked on me, his body radiating a terrifying intent. It was as if, in the next second, he would raise the gun in his hand and pull the trigger without hesitation.
I stared at the furious man before me, taking a deep, steady breath. Inside, a chill ran through me, but on the outside, I remained calm, my sharp eyes never leaving his. I let out a mocking laugh. "You're just as responsible for the death of Skylar."
Fury surged through him, his arrogance boiling over as he heard my words. In a burst of rage, he slapped me hard across the face.
"What do you think you are? Are you that eager to die?"
My cheek burned from the slap, the taste of blood tingling in my mouth. I smiled brightly despite the pain, pressing my hand against my reddened cheek. "If I had a hand in killing Skylar, then the ones who hired you to come after me—don't they deserve to die too? You don't have the power to take them down."
My words instantly drove him into a fit of rage. He lunged to slap me again, but at the last second, someone grabbed his wrist from behind.
In that instant, I swiftly dodged, grabbing the gun from his hand and turning it to press the barrel against his forehead.
"Looks like you can't kill them, and you can't kill me either."
The man's face, twisted with fury, showed a flash of surprise. He hadn't expected me to move that quickly.
His dark eyes locked onto mine, his expression cold and detached as he spoke casually, "If you kill me, you'll never know who's trying to kill you."
"I don't want to know," I said in a low voice.
I had always believed that these ruthless, bloodthirsty killers were after me, and I suspected the mastermind was Melody. 'But when she told me about Maddox and Yvette's past, I couldn't fully trust everything she said. Still, it was clear that if Melody truly wanted me dead, she would have involved Kailyn.'
'Melody would never have Kailyn send someone to kill me. Melody knows just how foolish Kailyn can be.'
'Even if Melody had wanted me dead after one failed attempt, she wouldn't risk it again. Since I've become a daughter of the Parks family, if anything were to happen to me, Melody would surely be suspected.'
'More importantly, my shares in Parks Group would fall into the Herrera family's hands. Melody isn't foolish enough to kill me and let the Herrera family benefit from it.'
'Right now, I know a secret I shouldn't. Melody may want me dead, but she also fears that if anything happens to me, her secrets will be exposed. After weighing everything, I'm certain she won't act impulsively. So, the assassins aren't after me—they're trying to use me to take down Alex.'
What they hadn't anticipated was that not only did they fail to take down Alex, but they also revealed their identities in the process.
The man frowned, but the menace in his expression remained unchanged.
"I can let you go," I said quietly, taking a step back.
"You're going to let me go?" The man looked at me, his expression filled with confusion, still on high alert, as if he couldn't understand why I would set him free.
'If I hadn't acted in time, I would have lost not just my reputation but my life as well. Or worse, a fate worse than death. After all, a woman who's been humiliated doesn't have much hope for a good end.'
The man reacted quickly, instinctively stepping back a couple of paces. When he saw I wasn't going to shoot, he turned and bolted into the trees. As his figure disappeared, I let out a long breath, lowering the gun in my hand. It trembled ever so slightly.
"Mrs. Herrera, why did you let him go?" Liam asked, struggling to stay on his feet. "Letting him go now will only come back to haunt us."
I nodded quietly, letting out a soft sigh. "That's what I want—to set the tiger free."
After speaking, my eyes landed on the man sprawled on the ground, feigning death. He'd bled a lot, but it wasn't enough to take his life.
"Stop playing dead," I muttered, kicking him with my foot. "If you don't get out of here now, the police will be here any second."
In the blink of an eye, the man scrambled to his feet and ran as if any hesitation would mean his end.
"Mr. Herrera, why did you let both of them go? Don't you want to find out who's trying to kill you?"
"I know who was behind that man," I said, biting my lip. "Head to the car and wait. The police will be here soon."
Liam didn't refuse, though blood from his wound had soaked through the entire right side of his back. The effort he'd made earlier seemed to have worsened the injury. Fortunately, we had worked well together—otherwise, I wouldn't have had the chance to wrestle the gun from the man's hand.
I stripped off my jacket and pressed it to Liam's wound. We had barely settled into the car when the sound of sirens began to grow louder, closing in fast.
"Laurel, are you hurt?"
When Marvin saw me stumble out of the car, drenched in blood, he quickly stepped forward to steady me, his face full of worry.
"I'm fine. It's Liam who's hurt."
"The ambulance is on its way."
When Liam hit the man, Marvin and I were on the phone. He didn't have time to say anything more before the call abruptly ended. When Marvin called back, I didn't answer. By then, I'm sure he knew we were in danger. Even if Harold hadn't sensed something was wrong, Marvin certainly had.
I handed the gun to Marvin, and a look of shock crossed his face.
"Did you see the killer?"
"The man who kidnapped me twice in Newton City," I shrugged, helpless.
"Assassins? How many of them?"
I shot him a sideways glance. "Just one. If there had been more, you'd probably be the one hauling my body out of here."
"Just him?" Marvin blinked in surprise.
"He's here to avenge his lover."
At that moment, the medics were lifting Liam onto a stretcher. As he overheard our conversation, he gave me a look that spoke volumes.
'I kept one clueless fool from Marvin. If I'm right, that man was sent by Yvonne. She probably thought she could intimidate me, but instead, she terrified him out of his wits.'
"Take me home first. I need to change my clothes."
They had only taken a few steps when a silver-topped Maybach pulled up beside me. Inside, Alex's eyes flickered open. As soon as he saw me in such a disheveled state, his expression hardened, and he spoke in a low, commanding voice, "Get in the car."