The Imposter Bride by Sallie Woods

Chapter 60
She couldn’t believe what was happening. She was sure she hadn’t crossed anyone, yet here she was, kidnapped and stranded
in the middle of the ocean. It was the dead of night, and the boat was aimlessly drifting on the sea. Back at Melfort, Hector had
rallied with the authorities and set out a fleet of speedboats, racing across the ocean towards her at a breakneck pace.
At the stroke of three in the morning, they finally spotted the boat. Hector immediately ordered an increase in speed to approach
the vessel Unbeknownst to those on board, an additional passenger had secretly boarded the boat at one in the morning. This
man, tall and looming with a mask covering his face, had stealthily climbed aboard from a different direction, remaining
completely unnoticed by the two kidnappers.
The mysterious man silently picked the lock to Natalia’s cabin with a thin piece of wire and gazed at the girl, bound, and leaning
against the wall His eyes, hidden behind the mask, emitted a chilling glow.
The two kidnappers were completely unaware of the authorities closing in on them and the stranger already on board their
vessel, privy to all their information They closed their eyes for a quick rest
Suddenly, one of the kidnappers shouted, “Someone’s approaching! They’ve caught up to our boat!”
The one named Johnny sprung to his feet, sprinted to the window, and saw Hector preparing to board their ship: “Wake up!” He
shouted to his accomplice Someone’s followed us We need to throw the girl overboard and make a run for it Hurry!”
The other kidnapper jumped up “Damn, they’re really here, he grumbled With that, they rushed into Natalia’s cabin.
Natalia heard the door open and felt herself being lifted up. “Where are you taking me?” she demanded. Weren’t they taking her
to England? Had they changed their plans? Were they going to throw her overboard?
“Let me go! Who ordered you to kidnap me?” Natalia shouted. She was determined to find out who was behind this, even if it
was the last thing she did
“You don’t need to know one of them replied with a regretful look on his face Today is your last day. We were going to take you to
England, but now that we’ve been followed, you have to die.”
As they dragged Natalia to the edge of the boat, the authorities had already boarded. Spotting the kidnappers, they drew their
guns Freeze!”

Johnny saw that their pursuers were the police. In a panic, he shoved Natalia overboard, drew his own weapon, and fired a shot.
The authorities dodged and returned fire as Natalia fell into the water. The masked man, witnessing Natalia’s plunge,
immediately jumped into the sea to rescue her
With her hands and feet bound, Natalia swallowed a few mouthfuls of seawater and choked, slowly sinking down. The masked
man quickly caught her. held her close, and covered her mouth with his, providing her with much–needed oxygen.
After a while, Natalia opened her eyes and saw the masked man who was kissing her. She tried to struggle but didn’t have the
strength. However, his familiar scent made her think for a moment that he was Magnus.
The two of them slowly floated upwards. Natalia’s strength finally gave out, and she passed out again. The masked man held her
close and swam to the surface, climbing onto the speedboat that Hector had brought. He quickly carried her into a cabin and
started to perform chest compressions Once again, he covered her mouth with his, sucking the seawater out. It didn’t look like he
was performing CPR, but rather like he was passionately kissing her It was as if he wanted to swallow her whole
Seeing Natalia slowly regain consciousness, he finally let go of her Before Natalia could open her eyes, he bent down and gave
her a lingering kiss. After stripping her out of her wet clothes and wrapping her in a blanket, he left the cabin.
Hector and the police, with a kidnapper in custody, boarded the speedboat and saw the masked man exiting the cabin.
“Where’s Natalia? Hector immediately asked
“She’s fine, still asleep, the masked man replied in a cold voice. He was tall, even taller than Hector, his deep eyes staring down
at Hector from behind the
mask
“I’ll go check on her. Thanks for saving her Heitor said, heading towards the cabin door
The masked man blocked his path. ‘No need She’s sleeping Besides, she’s only wrapped in a blanket It’s not appropriate His
voice was cool and
detached
Hector was taken aback “Who are you? Why were you on the kidnapper’s boat? Are you involved in Natalia’s kidnapping?” He
then recalled the macs previous words and reacted with shock You undressed her?” He glared at the masked man, his anger
flaring

Do you want to be the one to undress her? The man sneered Tm Magnus bodyguard i was ordered to protect her.” He walked off
to the control room. to steer the speedboat, leaving Hector in stunned silence
“I’m her boyfriend I should have been the one to help her change.” Hector shouted back, but the masked man only laughed
“Boyfriend? Natalia is Magnus lady What kind of boyfriend are you?
Meanwhile, Natalia had woken up She looked around, realizing she was lying on a bed, and wrapped tightly in a blanket.
Through the dim light, she saw à figure by the door Who was it? The one who had jumped into the ocean to save her And the
one who had kissed her in the sea. No, that was hum grưng her oxygen! But then, he kissed her again after pulling her up
And he had undressed her
Who on earth was he? She saw the figure turn around, revealing a man with a wolf mask. His eyes peered through the mask,
staring straight at the door as if trying to see into her heart Natalias heart skipped a beat Who was this man?
She simply shut her eyes and fell asleep in no time, as she seemed to be running a fever, the faint sounds outside filtering into
her hazy consciousness
Hector wanted to check on Natalia, but after being warned off by the masked man a few times, he figured it would be
inappropriate to intrude while she was undressed He couldn’t help but question the man steering the boat “Why do you hide
behind a mask, sit? Why not show your true face?”
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The man remained silent as the speedboat was cutting across the ocean like an arrow in flight.
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