Reborn Heiress: Escaping My Contract Marriage with the Cold CEO
Chapter 88: Okay New Plan

Chapter 88: Okay New Plan

OLIVER KING

Nathan reached into a drawer, pulling out a handgun.

"You have a gun?" I blurted.

"It’s our honeymoon," Vanessa said, as if that explained everything.

Charles returned fire through the broken window. "We need to move. Now."

Leo grabbed my arm. "Back door. Go."

We bolted.

The woods behind the cabin were thick, the moon barely piercing through the canopy. Branches whipped at my face as we ran, the sound of pursuit crashing through the underbrush behind us.

Vanessa, despite being barefoot and still wearing nothing but Nathan’s shirt, was keeping pace like some kind of deranged woodland nymph. Nathan, to his credit, didn’t even look winded.

"How far to the car?" Charles called.

"Too far," Leo answered. "They’ll have the road blocked."

"Then where—?"

Vanessa skidded to a stop, pointing. "There."

A narrow, half-hidden trail led deeper into the trees.

"You’ve gotta be kidding me," Charles muttered.

"It’s either that or stand here and get shot," Vanessa snapped.

We ran.

The trail twisted, leading us up a steep incline. My side burned, my lungs screaming, but I didn’t dare slow down. Behind us, shouts echoed—Uncle Richard’s men were gaining ground.

Then, suddenly, the trees opened up.

We stood at the edge of a cliff, the valley’s river raging below us. No way forward.

"Great," Charles said. "Just great."

Vanessa turned, eyes blazing. "Okay. New new plan."

Nathan sighed. "Why do I feel like I’m not going to like this?"

She grinned. Then, before anyone could stop her, she grabbed my hand—and jumped.

The world dropped out from under us.

Wind roared in my ears as we plummeted, the ground rushing up to meet us. I barely had time to scream before we hit water—icy, shocking, swallowing us whole.

I kicked, breaking the surface with a gasp. Vanessa surfaced beside me.

"You’re insane!" I choked.

"Told you it was a new plan!"

Above us, Leo, Charles, and Nathan stood at the cliff’s edge, staring down in disbelief.

Then, one by one, they jumped.

We regrouped on the shore, soaked and shivering.

Charles wrung out his jacket. "Remind me never to go on vacation with any of you."

Leo’s gaze locked onto mine, his expression unreadable. "You okay?"

I nodded, still trying to catch my breath. "Peachy."

Vanessa squeezed water from her hair. "So. Where to now?"

Nathan checked his watch. "Well, since our honeymoon’s officially ruined, I say we go ruin Uncle Richard’s day instead."

Charles grinned. "Now that sounds like a plan."

***|***|***|***|***

OLIVER KING

Vanessa huffed, plucking another leaf from her tangled hair. "We are so underdressed for a gunfight."

"I really would’ve worn more appropriate attire had I known I’d be running for my life in the backwoods," I muttered, wincing as a thorn snagged my sleeve.

"Right?" She wiggled her mud-caked toes. "All I packed were heels. If I’m going to die in the woods, I’d at least like to have worn better shoes. My pedicure cost two hundred dollars."

A bullet splintered the log above us, sending wood chips raining down.

Vanessa peeked over the edge, then dropped back with a grimace. "Okay, yeah, no. I don’t know how to fight any of these men. Should I throw a rock?"

Leo, crouched beside Nathan with his gun raised, shot her a look like he was mentally drafting his resignation from this entire mess. "Just stay down."

Another volley of gunfire chewed through the trees. My throat tightened. "Hypothetically, if we do die—who’s writing our obituaries?"

Vanessa snorted. "Mine better say, ’Beloved socialite, tragically unarmed.’"

Charles ejected a spent magazine and slammed in a fresh one. "Mine’s just going to say, ’Finally, some peace and quiet.’"

A sudden roar of engines cut through the chaos. Headlights blinded us, tires skidding on wet earth. Doors slammed, and then—

"Oliver Benton King!"

My spine locked. I knew that voice.

"Mom?!"

She stood haloed by the SUV’s high beams, a sleek black trench coat flaring around her like a villain’s cape. Six armed security detail flanked her, weapons trained on the trees. Not a hair out of place—like she’d stepped out of a boardroom, not a warzone.

"Get in the car," she ordered. "Now."

We didn’t argue.

Bullets pinged off the armored doors as we piled in. The SUV lurched forward before Vanessa even yanked her legs inside. Through the rear window, Uncle Richard’s men shrank into the darkness, still firing.

I slumped against the leather, adrenaline making my hands shake. "Not that I’m not grateful, but—what the hell, Mom? How’d you even find us?"

"Tracker chip."

Silence.

"Excuse me?"

"After your fifth kidnapping attempt—you were seven, it was that dreadful nanny—I had a microchip implanted. GPS-linked."

I stared. "You what?"

"Oh, don’t look at me like that. It’s not like I put it in your brain."

Vanessa howled with laughter. "Oh my god. Ollie’s microchipped. You’re a puppy!"

"This isn’t funny!"

"It’s a little funny," Leo said, the traitor. "And you are an adorable puppy."

Charles leaned forward. "Wait. Where’s the chip?"

Mom sighed. "Left shoulder blade. It dissolves in cremation, before you ask."

I covered my face. "I hate my life."

Vanessa wiped tears from her eyes. "I take back every complaint. This is the best honeymoon ever."

Nathan, ever the voice of reason, tapped the driver’s seat. "Where are we going?"

Mom’s smile was razor-thin. "To end this."

The SUV accelerated. I slumped back against the seat, resisting the urge to rub my shoulder like it might suddenly start beeping.

I shot Mom a glare. "Were you tracking me in college too?"

She didn’t even blink. "Only on weekends."

Leo choked on a laugh while Vanessa clapped her hands.

Nathan, ever the pragmatist, frowned at Mom. "And the chip’s active now?"

"Of course." She tapped her phone, where a pulsing dot marked our route.

"We’re being followed," said the SUV’s driver.

The mood in the car snapped taut. I twisted in my seat, catching the distant glow of headlights keeping pace.

"Instructions, Mrs. King?"

"Go faster!"

The mood in the car snapped taut. I twisted in my seat, catching the distant glow of headlights keeping pace.

The SUV lurched forward and after a very bumpy ride, we shot onto the highway. The driver accelerated and we headed to the bright lights of Ash City.