2025-06-21 13:09:29
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CHAPTER 214
The elevator doors slid shut behind them with a soft hiss, but none of them breathed.Javier pressed the button for the parking level. No words. No movement.The silence inside the mirrored lift felt too still, too watched.Malcolm paced once, then stopped himself. “They never show their symbol publicly. That… that screen was a message.”Valeria stood beside Javier, unreadable. But her hand hadn’t left his.“A message to whom?” she asked.Javier’s voice was calm. “Not to us. To everyone watching us.”The elevator chimed and opened into the underground garage—quiet, dim, near empty.Javier stepped out first.Malcolm flinched when he heard a car door slam in the distance. But it was only an elderly valet retrieving keys.“Which vehicle?” Valeria asked softly.Javier tapped his phone. “No car. I don’t want predictable movement. We’re leaving through the service route. It connects to the boutique plaza across the street. Easier to disappear.”Malcolm nodded. “Smart.”But as they reached t
CHAPTER 213
“We need to talk. Now.”The words hung between them like a blade.The man who spoke them stood tall, older than Javier by a decade perhaps, but with the posture of someone used to commanding rooms. His eyes were sharp, gray, and cold—eyes that remembered too much.Javier didn’t blink.He placed his glass down gently. “Hello, Malcolm.”Valeria’s fingers tightened around her fork. Her calm expression didn’t waver, but the name alone shifted something in her gaze.Malcolm Renner.The name hadn’t been uttered in years. Not since the failed merger that ended in scandal, lawsuits, and rumors that someone had disappeared before the trial ever began.And now, here he was. Alive. Dressed in charcoal gray. And looking at Javier with a mixture of contempt and urgency.“Malcolm,” Lawrence said, startled. “I thought you were—”“Gone?” Malcolm’s mouth curved into something like a smile. “I was. That’s the point.”He turned his gaze back to Javier.“You knew I’d come back eventually. You knew silenc
CHAPTER 212
The heels came to a halt beside Javier.Silence thickened. Even the clinking of cutlery stopped. The maître d’, suddenly pale, straightened his posture.It was Valeria Everhart.She stood tall, composed, and radiant in a navy silk dress that fell perfectly against her frame. Her hair was swept back, her heels red-bottomed, her aura unmistakably commanding. The air around her shifted the mood in the room before she even spoke.“Thank you for waiting,” she said, her voice calm and low, directed at Javier.He nodded once, as if they’d merely been shopping. “Not at all.”Then her eyes moved—slowly, deliberately—to the maître d’.“I believe my husband was told to leave.”The man cleared his throat, already sweating. “M-Mrs. Everhart, I didn’t realize…”“You didn’t realize what?” she asked coolly. “That you insulted my husband repeatedly while pretending to guard the dignity of a restaurant built on pretense and overpriced wine?”The maître d’s smile collapsed. “There must’ve been a misunde
CHAPTER 211
The maître d’ didn’t even lift his eyes from the podium.“Reservation name?” he asked curtly, pen tapping against the guest list.“Everhart,” Javier said calmly.The man’s pen stilled for a moment, but he still didn’t look up. “Ever… what?”“Everhart,” Javier repeated.A pause. Then a scoff. “I don’t see that name. This is Aurum, sir. We don’t seat walk-ins, especially not during lunch rush.”Javier didn’t react. He stood quietly in front of the velvet rope, wearing his usual understated attire: grey blazer, crisp shirt, no tie. He looked clean, neat… but far too ordinary for the shimmering chandeliers and crystal glass of the restaurant’s clientele.“Maybe it’s under my wife’s name,” he offered. “Valeria Everhart.”At that, the maître d’ finally glanced up—and his lips curled.“Oh,” he said with a thin smile. “Her. Yes, of course. I remember now. Your wife dined here last week with Mr. Langley from the Sapphire Group.” He let the implication dangle in the air. “Alone.”Javier didn’t
CHAPTER 210
The alarm's shrill tone pierced the silence. Shoppers froze mid-step, and the boutique staff instinctively ducked behind counters. The steel shutters covering the mall’s exits had slammed down with mechanical finality. Lights flickered red. The giant LED screen above the central atrium flashed a warning in all caps:INTERNAL BREACH DETECTED – SYSTEM LOCKDOWN ACTIVE – ADMINISTRATOR OVERRIDE REQUIREDJavier’s gaze remained steady, but Valeria felt the subtle shift in his posture. Alert. Calculating. Not surprised—but ready.Simon Farrow, still inside the boutique, paled. “What the hell is this? A drill?”“No,” Javier said without emotion, his eyes scanning the screen. “This is targeted.”“Targeted?” Simon laughed nervously. “Please, who would target a... mall?”Javier didn’t answer.A voice suddenly echoed across the mall speakers—digitally distorted and grainy.“You never were good at staying hidden, Everhart.”The lights dimmed further. Valeria instinctively stepped closer to her husb
CHAPTER 209
“I just need five minutes, Javier,” Valeria said with a gentle smile as they walked into the upscale Armore Plaza Mall.“Take your time,” he replied, his voice calm, hands tucked in the pockets of his charcoal coat.The mall was buzzing with the midday crowd—polished tiles gleamed under chandeliers, designer storefronts boasted exclusive items, and the air smelled faintly of rich perfume and freshly brewed espresso. Javier looked like a quiet man accompanying his wife on an ordinary outing.And, in the eyes of most, he looked very much out of place.His clothes were neat but not branded. His shoes are comfortable but clearly not handmade. His watch was modest, silver-toned, without the gleam of status. To the public eye, he was just another middle-class man tailing a woman clearly dressed in luxury.They entered the boutique.Immediately, a tall sales associate glanced at them, then zeroed in on Valeria’s heels and handbag, then on Javier’s plain coat.“Good afternoon, ma’am,” she sai
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