The next morning Mei had already left for the hospital and Andrew was going to check if Liu was there as usual stepped out of the elevator onto the residential floor, his mind still clouded with the previous night’s meeting. He walked toward the hallway that curved past the sitting room, heading for the guest wing where Mei had once mentioned her private library. He figured it would be empty, and he could think in peace.He didn’t expect to see anyone. But as he turned the corner, someone walked straight into him and it was Hannah.She stumbled slightly, bumping against his chest. He instinctively caught her, hands gripping her arms to steady her, he saw her...it was really her.The soft curve of her jaw. The subtle scar near her left eyebrow. The way her lashes fluttered when she looked up at him in surprise.His breath vanished from his chest, she didn’t recognize him.“Sorry,” she said softly, stepping back. “I wasn’t paying attention.”Andrew couldn’t speak. His throat locked up.

Liu's penthouse was unusually quiet. Andrew stepped out of the elevator onto the top floor of Liu’s tower, his footsteps muffled against the marble. He turned into a narrow corridor and approached a blank wall panel concealed behind a decorative wood carving. He pressed his palm against the biometric scanner. A soft beep, He stepped inside. It was the surveillance room, on the main display, six monitors cycled silently through camera angles—each one a different section of the penthouse. He tapped a command key, isolating the feed from the lounge. There she was Hannah, she was curled up on the far couch, wrapped in a soft gray blanket. A cup of tea rested untouched on the table beside her. She looked tired. Andrew watched her in silence, she shifted slightly, pushing the blanket off her legs. As she stood, her hand moved instinctively over her lower stomach. He stared as she walked to the kitchen and opened a cabinet, and retrieved a small pill bottle. Two tablets into he

Rain fell slowly, steady rain drops fell across Shanghai skyline, turning the penthouse windows into a blur of lights and water. Andrew stood frozen in the hallway, his hand still gripping the handle like it might anchor him to something steady. But nothing about him felt steady.He had seen not just her bare skin — the soft curve of her shoulder, the flash of skin above her waistband — but the shock in her eyes. The way her arm moved, instinctively covering herself. “You idiot...Damn it, she is still as sexy as ever" he whispered, pressing a palm to his forehead.He leaned against the wall, chest rising and falling faster than it should’ve."You shouldn’t have walked in. You should’ve knocked, called out—anything." He swallowed hard, running a hand down his face.“I’ve seen it all before,” he murmured, almost in defense of himself. “There’s nothing there I haven’t held. Nothing I haven’t kissed.” It was a weak excuse. But it gave him a thread to hold onto. They’d shared a past—eve

The van rolled quietly through the east industrial corridor of Shanghai, escorted by silence and low fog. Its windows were blacked out. Its GPS route was shielded by encrypted pings feeding directly into Liu Wenjie’s private surveillance channel.To everyone in the command chain, everything was proceeding exactly as it should.But Andrew had built the lie before the route even began.Two Hours Earlier...In a dimly lit garage beneath a fake shell company in Baoshan District, Taylor stood beside an identical replica of the auction van. Same model. Same make. Same tires, even matched wear on the sidewalls.Andrew stood across from him, zipping up a matte-black delivery suit that bore the same credentials as Liu’s logistics personnel.“Thermal sync patch is ready,” Taylor said, holding up a small node. “Once you’re inside the real van, press this against the core. It’ll copy the biometric read pattern in case they try to match it later.”Andrew pulled gloves tight, checked the scanner ri

Hannah was bored of staying at home as she wrapped her scarf tighter as she stepped out of the glass tower, with sunglasses shielding her eyes. She needed fresh air. Space to think. And for once, just feel normal. She was only going down the street. She didn't have a destination..maybe she might go to the Pharmacy, or a tea shop or maybe just walk back. But something felt wrong the moment she crossed the first intersection. The wind hit harder than it should have. "Ahhhh?" She felt pain in her stomach as she clutched her belly hard. The nearest pharmacy was only six blocks a familiar spot she’d passed during her first two days here. The route cut through a narrow café-lined street where. She kept her head down, one hand in her coat pocket. By the time she stepped into the pharmacy, her vision had begun to blur at the edges. The woman at the counter greeted her with a familiar smile. “Morning, Ms. Hannah.” Hannah forced a smile. “Hi.” She handed over her prescription car