Chapter 1130

"I won't play the martyr. Definitely not."

Hearing her lethal threat, Shanley's brows knit together, forcefully pushing out whatever morbid thoughts he had entertained.

Seeing his sudden panic, Juniper gave a faint, satisfied smirk and stood up. "Let's eat."

"Alright." He took her hand and led her to the dining room.

He ladled a bowl of soup and placed it in front of her. His voice was soft and coaxing. "This is a hearty pork and root vegetable soup. Dana's been simmering it for hours. It's really good."

"Yes, Miss Payne, please try some," Dana said with a warm smile.

"Thank you, Dana." Juniper didn't have much of an appetite, but to be polite, she took a small sip.

"I'm glad you like it." Knowing she was stressed and unable to help, Dana did the only thing she could-cook her favorite comfort foods.

"Miss Payne." Just as Dana was about to leave, she stopped and looked at Juniper earnestly. "You and Mr. Schwartz are good people. The heavens will watch over you. Try to relax. All these dark clouds will pass."

Juniper swallowed the lump in her throat, the corners of her lips lifting into a soft, genuine smile. "Thank you. Yes, they will."

After Dana left, the dining room fell quiet.

Neither of them had much of an appetite, slowly moving their silverware and chewing mechanically.

"Northbeck Bridge has the heaviest traffic in the city," Shanley said, placing a tender piece of fish into her bowl. "A crash there would get massive media exposure instantly."

"Heavy traffic means we risk hurting innocent people," Juniper muttered, keeping her eyes down. "If we want to keep collateral damage at zero, the car has to go over the edge into the river."

But no. That was way too dangerous.

"Then it goes into the river," Shanley said casually. He put down his fork and leaned back in his chair, a faint smirk playing on his lips. "I can have scuba gear stashed in the water beforehand. Once the car sinks, I slip out. We stage the wreck and make it look like I was critically injured."

Juniper listened quietly, analyzing the logistics. It was viable, but there were holes.

"From the Schwartz Group

et'

headquarters to the bridge, there are exactly fifty traffic cameras," Shanley continued reading her mind. That gives us plenty of

footage to prove to Sanctum ve

Holdings that I was definitely in the

car." '

"About ten minutes from the bridge, there's a camera blind spot. I'll slip out of the car

there, head to the water, and wait."

"After that, you run the car off the bridge and execute the rest of the crash sequence."

This completely eliminated the risk of hitting other drivers while perfectly executing the illusion.

Juniper stared at him. The plan was almost infuriatingly flawless.

"Now can you eat with peace of mind?" Shanley shifted his chair closer to hers, picked up her bowl, and lifted a spoonful to her lips. "Let your man feed you."

"Can you really hold your breath underwater for that long?" Juniper opened her mouth mechanically, letting him feed her until she had finished half the bowl.

"I'll have a tank waiting, obviously," Shanley chuckled, grabbing a napkin to wipe a drop of broth from the

corner of her mouth, Don't worry way more than you do."

value my life

"?" Juniper looked up, her eyelashes fluttering in confusion.

"Because if I die, you'll go find a new boyfriend," he sighed, pinching her nose playfully.

Juniper pressed her lips together, looking utterly exasperated.

As if she would just settle for any random guy off the street.

"Is that so? She pushed his hand away leaning in close until they were inches apart her voice deadly serious. "You'd better stay alive then. Because I absolutely will."

Shanley's eyes flickered, and his playful smile vanished entirely.

That night, Juniper and Shanley meticulously ironed out every single detail of the bridge crash.

Only after making absolutely certain that the plan was foolproof did Juniper finally let out a long breath of relief and, at Shanley's urging, went to bed.