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Chapter one hundred and Sixteen
At the villa’s courtyard, a ring of armed thugs closed in, their shadows flickering under the harsh floodlights. The scent of damp earth and gun oil mixed in the night air, the silence between each heartbeat cut only by the low growl of Liam’s voice.“Do you take me for a fool, Nathan?” Liam hissed, yanking Mr. Hayes forward. The older man stumbled, bound wrists scraping against his sides. Sweat drenched his face, not from exertion alone but from the weight strapped across his chest. A crude device—wires, blinking lights, a makeshift vest of menace.Nathan’s stomach dropped. His mind screamed that it had to be fake—Liam thrived on intimidation, not finality—but the wires and steel casing looked real enough to freeze his breath.Cassandra stepped closer to Nathan, her hand brushing against his. Her eyes, sharp with defiance, never wavered. “That’s low, Liam. Even for you.”Liam smirked, a predator savoring his prey’s panic. “Low? No. Efficient. You dangle fake papers in my face, you in
Chapter one hundred and fifteen
The villa got closer as Nathan and Cassandra approached.Cassandra walked a step behind him, her eyes scanning the walls, the trees, every hidden corner where danger might stir. Her heart pounded in rhythm with her footsteps, but her voice was low, steady. “Remember, he expects you to be desperate. Give him that—but only enough to keep him blind.”Nathan gave a short nod, jaw set. He had practiced this moment in his mind countless times, yet reality pressed heavier than imagination. Beyond these gates, his father was bound, silenced, and entirely at Liam’s mercy. And Liam was not a man who showed mercy freely.They were within thirty feet of the gate when the first sound broke the fragile quiet: the metallic crack of an alarm. Red lights flared across the stone walls, slicing through the dawn haze.Cassandra froze, eyes darting upward. “He knows.”From the shadows, men emerged—Liam’s thugs, dressed in black, their weapons catching the light. Within seconds, Nathan and Cassandra were s
Chapter one hundred and fourteen
Cassandra sat nearby, curled on the edge of the armchair, watching him with quiet intensity. She had chosen to share her secret—the clue about the villa—and now there was no turning back.“We have one chance,” Nathan muttered, eyes fixed on the flickering dot that marked Liam’s stronghold. His voice was steady, but his grip on the device betrayed the storm beneath. “If we go in wrong, Liam won’t hesitate. He’ll use Father as leverage until he’s squeezed every drop of power from us.”Cassandra leaned forward, folding her hands. “That’s why we have to control the game before he does. You said it yourself: he thinks you’ll fold, but you don’t fold, Nathan. You strategize.” Her eyes held his, dark and unwavering. “So let’s finish this.”Her resolve stirred something inside him—a warmth, a strength he hadn’t realized he needed until this very moment. For months, Cassandra had been an advisor, cautious yet ambitious. Tonight, she had stepped into the fire with him.Nathan exhaled. “All righ
Chapter one hundred and Thirteen
The night settled heavily over Hayes mansion, its silence broken only by the occasional rustle of leaves in the garden and the muted footsteps of staff lingering in nervous anticipation. Nathan sat alone in the study, a half-drained glass of scotch untouched beside him.He didn’t hear Cassandra enter until her reflection appeared in the glass of the tall window. She had that quiet strength about her again, the kind that wrapped itself around him without demanding attention. But tonight, there was something different—an urgency, a weight in her expression that told Nathan she had been carrying more than she’d let on.“Nathan,” she said softly, closing the door behind her. “There’s something you need to know.”He turned in his chair, brow furrowed. “Another warning about patience?” His voice was tired, sharper than he intended.Cassandra shook her head and came closer, placing a small envelope on the desk. “No. This is something I should have told you earlier. I didn’t, because I wasn’t
Chapter one hundred and twelve
Nathan sat in the library of Hayes mansion. His leg ached, a dull throb from the injury that hadn’t healed properly, but the physical pain was nothing compared to the storm inside his chest. On the table before him lay his phone, the latest message from Liam still open on the screen.The video played again, despite Nathan’s reluctance. He forced himself to watch, his fists tightening against the carved oak table as Mr. Hayes appeared on-screen. His father’s hair was disheveled, his face hollowed by exhaustion—or the appearance of exhaustion. The camera angle was crueler this time, deliberately catching shadows that deepened the lines around his eyes. The voiceover, Liam’s cold and theatrical tone, announced:“You’ve stalled long enough, Nathan. Fifty-one percent of Hayes Holdings—or the old man suffers worse. Twenty-four hours. Fail me, and the world sees what kind of son you are.”The image cut abruptly, but the silence afterward was louder than the threat.Nathan pressed pause, exha
Chapter one hundred and Eleven
Nathan had always known the weight of legacy could crush a man, but tonight the pressure pressed heavier than the ache in his injured leg.The message still flickered across his phone screen: “Time is running out. Your father’s fate depends on your decision.”It wasn’t just a threat—it was a calculated performance, staged to tighten the noose around Nathan’s resolve.Yet beneath the surface panic, Nathan held something Liam didn’t know: the tracker’s report. The villa, tucked behind those iron gates, had betrayed itself with deliveries and power spikes. It wasn’t much, but it was a starting point.He traced the floor plan on the desk with his fingertip, lips pressed tight. “If I can keep him believing the negotiations are real, he’ll slip. And when he does…” Nathan’s voice trailed off, but the determination in his eyes sharpened like steel.From the window, Cassandra watched him in silence. Her reflection in the glass seemed almost ghostly, her brow creased with worry. She had argued
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