Ethan Wright, a seasoned hostage negotiator, was called in when his mother-in-law was kidnapped. He was highly likely to persuade the kidnappers to surrender. But when his intern Jennifer begged him: “Mentor, this is my first real case. Please, let me try...” He actually handed the negotiation over to her. But she had no idea what she was doing! Her incoherent rambling convinced the kidnappers they were being tricked, and they detonated the bomb on the spot. Without a second thought for anyone else, Ethan immediately pulled her into his arms and soothed her: “It's okay. It's not your fault.” I lost my mind and rushed over to confront him. Instead of apologizing, he glared at me and roared: “Ava Collins, your mother's death was entirely the kidnappers' fault, it had nothing to do with Jennifer!” Hearing this, I froze instantly. So, he thought the person who died was my mother.

Chapter 1

My mother-in-law was hanging upside down from the rooftop of a hundred-story skyscraper by a kidnapper. My husband, a senior negotiator, was completely confident he could talk the man down.

But when his pretty but naive apprentice, Jennifer Evans, made a coquettish plea:

"Mentor, this is my first time at a real scene, my palms are sweating. Let me talk to the kidnapper just once, maybe I won't be scared anymore after this…"

He actually handed her the negotiation headset.

But the moment she heard the kidnapper's voice, she panicked, her negotiation script coming out as a jumbled mess.

Thinking he was being mocked, the kidnapper detonated the bomb on the spot. My mother-in-law was instantly blown to pieces.

Jennifer burst into tears, and my husband immediately rushed over to hold and comfort her:

"It's okay. It's not your fault."

I charged forward like a madwoman to confront him, but he just glared at me and roared:

"Ava Collins, your mom died because the kidnapper w