CHAPTER 906: CHAPTER 906 BEST ACTRESS IN THE MAKING

Hera felt her nerves tightening. It was one thing to face danger head-on, but now, injured and immobile, she was completely vulnerable. The thought of not being able to defend herself made her feel like a sitting duck in the open, and she hated this helplessness gnawing at her. Anxiety twisted in her chest, a quiet but relentless pressure.

Thankfully, her subtle cues had been enough; Xavier caught on almost instantly. She saw him texting her bodyguards, and relief washed over her. With only one usable arm and trembling fingers from the medication, it would’ve been impossible for her to type. Calling wasn’t an option either; it would blow their cover.

She had planned to quietly whisper her concerns, but to her surprise and comfort, Xavier understood her without a word. Their unspoken connection, that quiet, dependable understanding between them, helped steady her. Hera exhaled a slow, subtle breath, trying to calm the rapid beating of her heart.

After sending the text, Xavier gently pulled Hera closer, careful not to put pressure on her injured ribs. Then, he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, a tender, public display of affection meant to appear natural, masking the tension between them. It was a calculated move, meant to fool anyone watching into believing that nothing was amiss. If their followers thought they were unaware, it would buy them more time without escalating the situation.

But then, Xavier’s expression subtly shifted. He’d noticed it too; the suspicious individuals were getting closer.

Now, there was no doubt. Something was about to happen.

Hera, who had just managed to calm her nerves, felt her heart begin to race once again.

It seemed the suspicious individuals were aware that Hera’s bodyguards would be arriving soon after the shift change, so they likely believed it was now or never. The problem was, Xavier and Alexandre couldn’t risk making a move without knowing whether these people were armed. One wrong step could escalate the situation into chaos. For now, all they could do was play it cool and try to slip away unnoticed.

Xavier had already sent their location to Hera’s bodyguards and turned on the GPS tracking, making it easier for them to respond quickly. Hera, picking up on the plan, slipped into character with ease. She tugged gently on Xavier’s coat and pouted playfully. "Brother Vier, I feel stuffy here. Let’s go somewhere else! Please?" she whined in a cute, mischievous voice.

Her act gave Xavier and Alexandre the perfect excuse to move without raising suspicion. Xavier chuckled softly, hiding his tension behind a smile, and leaned closer as if to whisper something sweet. But instead, he simply muttered under his breath, ’You’re too damn smart, woman.’

Without further ado, Xavier began pushing Hera’s wheelchair while Alexandre walked closely beside them. He had already sent his location to the backup he called in, just like Xavier had. All that remained now was to buy time and wait for their reinforcements to arrive.

It wasn’t that Xavier or Alexandre feared a fight; they were both highly trained in martial arts, but their priority was Hera. If they got into a scuffle, it could leave her exposed. They didn’t know whether these suspicious people were planning to harm her or abduct her, and that uncertainty was the most dangerous part. The last thing they wanted was to risk engaging in a confrontation that might give the enemy the opening they needed.

Thankfully, Hera managed to play her part flawlessly. Her act was so natural that it drew no suspicion. After all, she wasn’t just any woman; she was the best actress in the making, and in a moment like this, her talent was proving invaluable.

But then, Xavier and Alexandre noticed something alarming: the number of their tails had increased. Two more figures appeared ahead, forcing them to change direction. But as they veered off, another pair stepped into their path. That made six. Then, another shadow emerged behind them.

They were boxed in.

There was no longer any room for pretense. These people had stopped pretending. They weren’t trying to be discreet anymore, which only meant one thing: desperation. The urgency in their movements, the boldness, it showed they were ready to act, regardless of who saw.

Xavier and Alexandre both frowned, their muscles tensing. There was no choice now; they would have to fight. But they were outnumbered, and Hera... she couldn’t do anything.

Hera felt her chest tighten as panic rose. She wanted to cry.

She could fight in the middle of a battlefield, hold her own in jungle warfare, but now, she was like a helpless newborn calf. The vulnerability was suffocating. She hated this, hated the anxiety clawing at her chest. And she knew, deep in her gut, that these people weren’t after anyone else.

They were after her.

Someone had tried to kill her before, sabotaging her car. She’d survived. But now it looked like the mastermind had sent people to finish the job, to silence her for good. Especially now that the case had been elevated to an international case.

That changed everything. It meant it was no longer just under the jurisdiction of Paris. It meant powerful families could no longer suppress it with local influence. If the truth came out, whoever was behind this would face trial, and worse, public exposure. The fallout could destroy more than just one person. It could bring down an entire family.

Maybe this was it, one final act of desperation.

Whoever was behind the attack on Hera might have realized that time was running out. Silencing her now wouldn’t just complete the job they failed to finish; it would spark chaos, draw the public into an uproar. And in that uproar, while everyone scrambled for answers, the mastermind could use the confusion as cover to escape, and be smuggled out of the country, gone into hiding before the law could catch up.

If Hera died now, the Arnault family’s efforts to protect her would be rendered meaningless. And in the cold calculus of power, people might begin to question whether pursuing justice for her was worth the risk. Especially if it meant going up against a family just as powerful.

Dead people couldn’t speak. And once she was gone, what leverage remained?

The case could quietly fade away, either because it was seen as a lost cause or because those in power chose convenience over righteousness. And when that happened, the mastermind would bury the last of the evidence, wipe every trace clean. Even if Dave and his team picked up the trail, they might find themselves chasing ghosts.

The fact that these people were now acting so openly could only mean one thing: the mastermind was panicking, down to their last move.

The Arnaults must have been closing in hard. Perhaps they’d uncovered something vital, and it was only a matter of time before the truth came to light. No matter how much the enemy tried to stall or mislead, they were already being cornered, and they knew it. With Dave’s team also moving into position, the noose was tightening.

That would explain the boldness of this daylight move, right here in a public space. It wasn’t just reckless, it was desperate.

Hera could only assume that the people surrounding them weren’t just thugs. They were professionals. Mercenaries or assassins from the underworld, likely paid an enormous sum to make sure she didn’t live to testify or reveal what she knew.