Chapter 193

Cynthia's heart skipped a beat. Seeing Whitney holding the gun made her scalp prickle. Jonathan had said Whitney was at Junatic. The fear in her heart became intensely real.

Cynthia nervously clenched her fingers, but her mind raced, devising an escape plan. If Whitney pointed the gun at her, she was ninety percent certain she could grab it.

However, Whitney's people were probably hidden in the theater. To escape alive, she'd have to take Whitney hostage. Cynthia watched for the right moment.

Whitney slowly raised her hand and handed Cynthia the golden gun.

"Ms. Jones," she said, "I didn't have a chance to give you a gift last time we met. Let me make up for it this time."

Cynthia felt a deep sense of relief. Thankfully, she thought, it isn't what I feared.

Cynthia spoke calmly, but cautiously. "A custom gold-plated P210—the Rolls-Royce of handguns."

Whitney looked at Cynthia with delight. "I didn't expect you to know about guns, Ms. Jones."

Cynthia remained calm. "I can't accept such an extravagant gift for something I haven't earned."

Whitney chuckled. "There's a task I need you to handle. After you complete it, you will have earned it, Ms. Jones."

Cynthia's brow furrowed, but Whitney stood up, grasped Cynthia's hand, and placed the gun firmly in her palm.

"Ms. Jones," Whitney said, "I need you to use this gun to kill Nina!"

Cynthia's heart leaped. Almost instinctively, she tried to pull away, but Whitney held her wrist tightly. Whitney smiled gently, as if inviting her to afternoon tea rather than requesting murder.

Cynthia's voice was cold and firm. "Ms. Bennett, I must refuse."

Whitney still smiled. Her voice, usually filled with laughter, was unusually cold.

"If you can't do it," Whitney said, "you'll die by this gun."

Cynthia's breathing quickened, her heart raced, but she forced herself to remain calm.

"Ms. Bennett," Cynthia replied, "I think you've misunderstood. I've said before, I don't want to be involved. I'm just a nobody from a small town. I neither want nor have the right to join this high-stakes game. So please, let me go. I promise, once I leave here, I'll never see Jonathan or Preston again."

Whitney seemed unfazed. "It wasn't me who chose you, it was fate. Fate didn't spare me back then, so why should I spare you?" A trace of despair flickered in her eyes, then vanished. A hint of amusement replaced it, like a cat watching a cornered mouse.

"Resistance is pointless," Whitney said. "Why not enjoy the game? The winner receives the rewards they deserve. Kill Nina, and I guarantee you can leave unharmed."

"Why me?" Cynthia asked. "This is your island; everyone here is an expert with guns. Killing someone is as easy as crushing an ant for you. Why make me do it?"

Cynthia's frustration mounted. Outwardly calm, inwardly she cursed Whitney fiercely.

Whitney said enthusiastically, "Because it's fun!"

"He's always been cold and indifferent, a man with few desires, but with you, he's different," Whitney said. "I can tell he genuinely loves you, even using Nina as a shield for so many years. But Nina holds a special place for him. She's vital to his connection with the Sullivan family, a potential ally to help him rise to power. She's a tool in his pursuit of control and ultimate gain, and sometimes, a solace to his spirit. Nina is undoubtedly important to him. I'm very curious to see whether my brother will ultimately choose love or ambition."

Cynthia was shocked. Whitney truly understood Jonathan.

"I'm not his love," Cynthia responded, "so using me to test his limits is a mistake. In fact, you've already tested it today, haven't you? The way both the horses Nina and I were riding went wild suggests Abby is just another pawn of yours. You saw his initial reaction. Jonathan cares more about Nina, so there's really no need to test him further. He will never choose me."

Whitney laughed heartily. "Ms. Jones, you seem to underestimate my brother's feelings for you. He's great at taming horses and brilliant in certain ways. He's already figured out the shortest route to you using maps. From the beginning, he never planned to chase Nina; he's more concerned about you."

Cynthia realized she'd been trying to mislead Whitney, but it was futile.

"I believe you got the answer," Cynthia continued. "If I'm his love and Nina is his gain, he chooses me. What else do you need to test?"

Whitney chuckled. "Ms. Jones, you're quite articulate. But I'm curious, what if his so-called love destroys all the profits he's carefully built over his life?"

Cynthia knitted her brows, staring at Whitney. "You just want to see him suffer."

Whitney's smile widened into laughter. "Yes, I want to see him in pain. I want to ruin what he cares about, destroy his life, break his spirit, and wreck everything he holds dear. He's the filthiest person in the world. He shouldn't have been born."

A hint of madness flickered in Whitney's eyes. "He's a devil, Satan himself. He deserves to be in hell!"

"He's not! He's a human! He's your flesh-and-blood younger brother!" Cynthia shouted. "You've wanted to kill him since he was a child! What wrong could a kid possibly have done? The real monster is you, and the one who's beyond redemption is you! You're just making excuses for your own selfishness and desires. If he hadn't been born, you would've been the first choice to inherit the Bennett Group. You abandoned him for your own benefit and high status. You keep calling him a monster, but what did he do that made you want to drown him when he was just ten years…"

The passage has been significantly improved with corrections in grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and paragraph breaks for better readability. The dialogue is also punctuated more accurately.