"S-Seth... I-I had to! They knew my parents' address! They threatened to burn my father and mother alive!"Seth tightened his grip, lifting Wayne's body a few centimeters off the floor again."What else did you tell them?! What do they know?!""N-Nothing!" Wayne screamed, his tears beginning to fall. "I swear! I said I didn't know her full name!"Seth felt somewhat relieved because he never mentioned Chloe's full name to Wayne. However, that relief came too quickly. Wayne continued his confession, and the situation turned into a nightmare."B-But... the man who tortured me called someone... and suddenly... he mentioned the name Chloe Olympus!" Wayne only caught a brief snippet, but he heard the name very clearly.Wayne instantly realized he had made a fatal mistake by sharing that detail. Seth's already terrifying face now resembled the grim reaper.Seth naturally grew furious. He instantly knew who orchestrated this chaos. Gareth. And even worse, that bastard already knew Chloe's rea

"Grandpa, we face a dire emergency," Seth hissed as he turned and took wide strides back to his car. "Someone kidnapped Chloe into a white van without a license plate right in front of my eyes!"Seth only mentioned part of the problem. He delivered the main point first.Silence crept over the line, but it didn't bring peace. The heavy snort that followed seemed to signal the old dragon just waking from his slumber.("Lucian!") Alastair didn't reply to Seth's statement; instead, he immediately shouted his assistant's name with a deafening roar that vibrated the phone's speaker.("Contact the London Police Commissioner right now! Force them to open the city's traffic camera system access for us! Someone just took Chloe off the street in front of Seth's apartment!")Rushing footsteps and Lucian's shouting commands echoed faintly in the background. The House of Olympus might not operate as a government organization, but their high-level connections could mobilize top police officials much

"I truly do not understand," Gareth snorted coldly. His sweet and patient facade lasted only a moment. "What exactly makes you trust Seth so much? I offered you a sweet life, yet you refuse?"Chloe continued shaking her head, keeping her mouth clamped shut, completely refusing to provide an answer.Chloe's silence ignited his anger. Gareth stepped forward and grabbed both of Chloe's cheeks with his large hand, squeezing the girl's jawbone until she grimaced in pain."Speak!" Gareth hissed.However, Chloe kept her mouth tightly shut; she stared at Gareth with tear-filled eyes that radiated fierce defiance.SLAP!A brutal slap landed on Chloe's left cheek. The older man's sheer force threw Chloe's head to the side, leaving a burning red imprint on her pale skin. The corner of her lip tore, dripping fresh blood."You act so stubbornly," Gareth hissed, wiping his striking hand with a silk handkerchief. "Must I torture you to make you obey my demands? If we must take that route, I possess

Seth advanced carefully, raising his Glock in a perfect combat stance. His eyes quickly locked onto the four rifle-wielding guards on the second-floor catwalk—exactly as D.H. had specified.Bang! Bang! Bang!Three precision shots shattered the air. Seth's bullets pierced the skulls of the three snipers on the balcony, plunging their bodies downward until they smashed against the concrete floor below in pools of blood.Exactly as the corpses struck the floor, a rapid succession of blue holographic notifications flared in the corner of Seth's vision. Since the System automatically classified everyone in this warehouse as a life-threatening enemy, it instantly rewarded him for every execution.[Threat Target Down! +430 Points.] [Threat Target Down! +1,567 Points.] [Elite Target (Sniper) Down! +1,745 Points.]That sudden harvest of points certainly benefited him immensely—his total points 33.767—yet Seth wasted no seconds celebrating it. His sharp gaze remained as cold as ice.Seth cont

Seeing Chloe's condition, Seth refused to surrender to his pain. He bit his inner lip so hard it bled, forcing his sanity to stay awake.Channeling whatever strength remained, Seth dragged his feet, then dropped himself right in front of the girl."Chloe..."Hearing that hoarse voice, Chloe slowly raised her head. Her tear-blurred vision met Seth's pale face, noticing the blood completely smearing his nose and lips."You are safe now, Chloe," Seth whispered. He momentarily released his grip from his severely throbbing head—reaching his hand out to Chloe. "I am here. Nobody will ever hurt you again."For the first time after the gripping terror trapped her for hours, Chloe's emotional defenses completely crumbled.Chloe burst into tears again. Disregarding all pride or dignity, Chloe threw herself into the open arms waiting for her. She buried her face, gripped Seth's shirt with all her might, ignored his bloodstains, and sobbed uncontrollably against his chest. The girl poured out al