A Replacement Bride

Chapter 368

The next morning, Katherine had Carmine prepare the private jet.

Joaquin was shocked when he got out of the car. "You have a private plane?"

"The Vermillion Alliance works for clients from all over the world," she casually explained with a raised eyebrow. "A private jet will make things easier."

Her answer made his eyes gleam with laughter. "It seems like I've married an amazing woman. I never thought I would be a trophy husband."

The two then boarded the plane and strapped themselves in. Katherine glanced at him with a playful look in her eyes. "Not everyone can be my trophy husband. You're the first to qualify. Besides, you also have the looks."

That made him burst out laughing. His shoulders shook from how hard he was laughing.

"Yes, it is such an honor. I am the first, and I will be the last. I must maintain my body and beauty so that you don't get tired of me." © 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

The way he answered was so smooth that it made her blush red as she pursed her lips.

She had been the person teasing him, yet she was now being teased. Embarrassed, she ignored him and turned to her subordinate. "Let's take off and hurry to Zoscistan."

"Yes, madam," her subordinate replied. After passing them cups of coffee, they headed into the cockpit.

Soon, the plane departed Hovington and was steadily soaring through the clouds.

Some time into their journey, their plane suddenly started shaking hard.

Katherine had been sleeping when it happened. When she jerked awake, Joaquin quickly grabbed her hand and reassured her, "Don't be scared. It might just be some turbulence."

However, just as he said that, one of her men stumbled out of the cockpit; panic was written all over his face as he hurried over.

"Bad news, madam! Someone is trying to hijack the plane!"

Both Joaquin and Katherine's faces twisted when they heard that.

"Who are they? How many enemy planes?" Katherine demanded, swiftly calming down.

"We don't know who they are, but they do not seem like any infamous groups we know. There are three interceptor aircraft. One to our left, one to our right, and another straight ahead. We have been surrounded!"

Her eyes grew cold as her mind raced through several possible solutions.

She knew of quite a few infamous groups that dabbled in air piracy and which regions were more likely to be targeted.

However, she never expected it to happen to her.

She only paused to think for a few short seconds before barking out her decision. "Emergency landing."

It was too risky to take over their plane while they were in the air. Even if their opponents were veterans, they would still need time and act cautiously.

Currently, their best option was to land.

"Where are we now?" Joaquin asked, frowning.

"We are currently flying over Fontan," the man replied.

"That's not bad. Tell the pilot to avoid the three jets at all costs while landing as soon as possible."

Thankfully, they were not flying over any jungle, icy mountains, or oceans. It was fortunate that there was a safe area to land on.

Soon, the pilot was deftly dodging the other three planes' pincer attack. As ordered and with the help of their expertise, they landed safely in Fontan.

Katherine only stopped worrying after the plane landed.

At the same time, many more questions popped up in her mind.

Next to her, Joaquin unbuckled his seat belt and leaned over to release her as well. "What are you thinking about?" he asked.

She hesitated for a moment before answering, "Fontan is not a safe country. Planes are occasionally hijacked, but something about this feels more than a mere coincidence."

"Coincidence?" He hummed as he pondered. "Rather than coincidence, I would call it suspicious."

Her eyes gleamed. "You noticed it too?"

He nodded as his lips raised in a cold smile with a deep look in his eyes.

"No one hijacks planes like that. They did not even completely surround us. It's like they were pushing us to make an emergency landing."

She nodded. It was obvious she thought so too. "I think they want us to land here."

As soon as she said that, they looked each other in the eye and simultaneously stated, "Ambush!"

As expected, her man came rushing back once more.

"Madam! Quickly think of a way to get us out of here. There are a lot of people outside. They look like mercenaries, and they're about to surround us on all sides."

Again, they are met with mercenaries!

Her face went cold. "It looks like the same mastermind from last time is behind this incident. What a persistent pest. They even followed us here."

Joaquin glanced out of the window to assess the situation. He then shot to his feet and dragged her up as well. "Let's not talk about that. Our main priority is to leave this place."

Fontan was not a big country; it was barely larger than Hovington.

While he did not spend a lot of time in Fontan, his amazing memory meant he still had a rough map of the area imprinted in his mind.

"We should be in the outskirts of Ewing," he stated. "We're not that far from the city, so there should be people living around here. Let's borrow a car and drive to the city."

Crowded areas were the best places to hide. Also, it would be harder for the mercenaries to act.

She agreed with him and followed him off the plane.

Meanwhile, the mercenaries had arrived and were about to surround the plane.

However, due to Joaquin's many years of experience and participation in countless combat scenarios, he was able to maintain calm in the face of danger.

No emotions showed in his deep, dark eyes; his sharp gaze scanned the group of mercenaries, looking for a weakness to exploit.

Soon, he came to a decision. He dragged Katherine over to a spot behind him where she would be protected before charging to a spot behind them to their right where the circle looked the weakest.

Katherine followed closely behind. Staring at his tall figure, she whispered to him, "It's fine. You don't have to protect me. I can do this."

However, he gave no sign of letting go of her. His eyes were trained straight ahead while using his free arm to fend off the mercenaries.

In an instant, he was like a god of murder. His blank face was like ice as a murderous aura lingered around him—as if he was a demon straight from hell.

On the other hand, Katherine tried to struggle away a few times, but he was holding her wrist so tightly that she had no choice but to follow him and let him protect her.

He forged a path to freedom in a few short moments and led her through it. It was only then that he turned to look at her. Despite the danger they were in, he smiled reassuringly at her.

"Don't worry," he said. "I can handle it. I did say I would always protect you."

He tightened his grip around her hand before turning over, fixing his gaze at a house with a car parked right in front of it.