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Section 1
### Chapter 1: Chapter-1
"Don't tell her."Noah seemed to have anticipated Ethan's next move. The words had barely left his mouth before he broke into a violent fit of coughing, one hand clamped over his lips.Ethan startled hard. "What's wrong?"He leaned in and reached out, only to feel something hot and sticky under his hand; that was when he realized Noah's body was riddled with wounds."You…""Shh."Noah tilted his head up. The cap covered most of his face, but in the dim light, dark stains were visible around his mouth and across his skin. Blood."I'm taking you to the hospital... the ambulance should still be nearby..."Ethan panicked, moving to haul Noah onto his back, but before he could get a solid grip on Noah's arm, another violent cough cut him off.Noah retched up another mouthful of blood, spattering it across Ethan's clothes and the side of his face."Sorry..." Noah's voice was faint. He used what strength he had left to push Ethan back. "But... can you listen to me for a moment? I th
"She's probably just fainted from the shock. The ambulance is already here, let's get her to the hospital."The rescuer glanced at Winnie, then immediately radioed the waiting medical team.Michael scooped Winnie up and strode toward the exit, but before he even reached the door, two familiar faces appeared in front of him."Michael!""Michael!"Charlotte and Ethan rushed over one after the other, trailed by several police officers.Michael's stomach dropped. "What are you two doing…""What happened to Winnie?" Ethan's eyes landed on Winnie's unconscious form, and he tensed at once."She's fine, just fainted," Michael said, his voice heavy."What about you? Are you okay? Are you both all right?"Charlotte rushed over and looked both of them over carefully, as if she already had a good idea of what they'd just been through.Michael shook his head. "We're both fine; the elevator just malfunctioned. But what are you two doing here?"Charlotte and Ethan exchanged a look, and Et
Winnie let out a soft laugh. "Isn't that just stating the obvious?"Michael lowered his gaze and gently laced his fingers through Winnie's. "Winnie, honestly, even though I chose you and wanted your love, I never once expected you to give up anything for me, including loving me. When I was in a bad place, your love only scared me more. I was afraid…""You were afraid I'd get tired of you someday, so you'd rather push me away first. It was never about not trusting me. You just never saw our relationship as an equal one to begin with."There was a note of sorrow in Winnie's voice, but it wasn't over what Michael had done. It was guilt.She was the one who'd given him so much uncertainty and anxiety over their relationship, shattering his pride until he'd loved her from such an unequal place."You're right. But..."Michael's throat worked, something like relief creeping into his eyes. "But like you said, I'm not really without regrets."These past few days, I kept worrying you'd ge
In the middle of the violent jolt, Winnie held tight to Michael's waist while he shielded her head with his arms.Luckily, the drop lasted only a few seconds before the elevator jerked to a sudden stop."Don't be scared... it's probably just a malfunction... elevators these days are all pretty safe."Michael drew a breath, his voice carrying a note of tension, but he still looked far steadier than Winnie, who hadn't yet caught her breath from the shock.Winnie nodded, though she was careful not to move too much as she pulled herself off of him.Michael got up right after her, and the two of them crowded around the control panel. The power seemed to have cut out entirely; pressing the emergency call button got no response.Winnie pulled out her phone. "No signal, of course!"Michael pulled out his own phone at once, raising it overhead in search of a signal. "It's fine. This is a mall elevator. Someone should come fix it soon enough."Winnie said nothing, only nodded and buried
"It's fine," Charlotte said. "I can handle this on my own. Lucas will be in Jayelle City. I was really just letting you know. You could just drop me off."Ethan didn't look at her, his voice flat. "What I said back there was out of line. Forget it. This is serious, and I'm coming with you.""There's no need. I can protect myself. You don't have to""It's not only about you. I want to do something for Khloe too. She's the only family I have left, and now that I already know what's going on, whether I get involved is my call to make."Ethan cut her off, his tone leaving no room for argument.Charlotte's mouth opened, the words she'd spent so long considering rising up, only to be swallowed back down again.She really had no grounds to stop him, and pushing the point further would only come across as overly precious about it.The two of them said nothing more the rest of the way.By afternoon, the moment the plane touched down, Charlotte pulled out her phone at once.Out of the c
The man froze for a moment at that, then burst out laughing."Trey, you really have some nerve. Look at the state you're in. If you could actually do anything to Khloe, would you be here waiting to die at our hands?""I can't, no. But aren't you still here? You want Khloe's weak spot, but in Goldmont City, with so many eyes watching and layers of protection around her, you can't touch her, let alone the people close to her. I, on the other hand, have a way to help you get exactly what you want, and it's worth a lot more to you than my life."Trey's mouth curved as he spoke.The man's grip tightened. "Spit it out already. No more games."Trey craned his neck closer. The man hesitated a moment, then leaned in to listen.Outside the warehouse, a faint glint flickered briefly through the tangled grass before vanishing back into the night.…The next day, at the Morrison Group headquarters.Charlotte rushed into the conference room just as Ethan was stepping out through the door.
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### Chapter 2: Chapter-2
"Don't tell her."Noah seemed to have anticipated Ethan's next move. The words had barely left his mouth before he broke into a violent fit of coughing, one hand clamped over his lips.Ethan startled hard. "What's wrong?"He leaned in and reached out, only to feel something hot and sticky under his hand; that was when he realized Noah's body was riddled with wounds."You…""Shh."Noah tilted his head up. The cap covered most of his face, but in the dim light, dark stains were visible around his mouth and across his skin. Blood."I'm taking you to the hospital... the ambulance should still be nearby..."Ethan panicked, moving to haul Noah onto his back, but before he could get a solid grip on Noah's arm, another violent cough cut him off.Noah retched up another mouthful of blood, spattering it across Ethan's clothes and the side of his face."Sorry..." Noah's voice was faint. He used what strength he had left to push Ethan back. "But... can you listen to me for a moment? I th
"She's probably just fainted from the shock. The ambulance is already here, let's get her to the hospital."The rescuer glanced at Winnie, then immediately radioed the waiting medical team.Michael scooped Winnie up and strode toward the exit, but before he even reached the door, two familiar faces appeared in front of him."Michael!""Michael!"Charlotte and Ethan rushed over one after the other, trailed by several police officers.Michael's stomach dropped. "What are you two doing…""What happened to Winnie?" Ethan's eyes landed on Winnie's unconscious form, and he tensed at once."She's fine, just fainted," Michael said, his voice heavy."What about you? Are you okay? Are you both all right?"Charlotte rushed over and looked both of them over carefully, as if she already had a good idea of what they'd just been through.Michael shook his head. "We're both fine; the elevator just malfunctioned. But what are you two doing here?"Charlotte and Ethan exchanged a look, and Et
Winnie let out a soft laugh. "Isn't that just stating the obvious?"Michael lowered his gaze and gently laced his fingers through Winnie's. "Winnie, honestly, even though I chose you and wanted your love, I never once expected you to give up anything for me, including loving me. When I was in a bad place, your love only scared me more. I was afraid…""You were afraid I'd get tired of you someday, so you'd rather push me away first. It was never about not trusting me. You just never saw our relationship as an equal one to begin with."There was a note of sorrow in Winnie's voice, but it wasn't over what Michael had done. It was guilt.She was the one who'd given him so much uncertainty and anxiety over their relationship, shattering his pride until he'd loved her from such an unequal place."You're right. But..."Michael's throat worked, something like relief creeping into his eyes. "But like you said, I'm not really without regrets."These past few days, I kept worrying you'd ge
In the middle of the violent jolt, Winnie held tight to Michael's waist while he shielded her head with his arms.Luckily, the drop lasted only a few seconds before the elevator jerked to a sudden stop."Don't be scared... it's probably just a malfunction... elevators these days are all pretty safe."Michael drew a breath, his voice carrying a note of tension, but he still looked far steadier than Winnie, who hadn't yet caught her breath from the shock.Winnie nodded, though she was careful not to move too much as she pulled herself off of him.Michael got up right after her, and the two of them crowded around the control panel. The power seemed to have cut out entirely; pressing the emergency call button got no response.Winnie pulled out her phone. "No signal, of course!"Michael pulled out his own phone at once, raising it overhead in search of a signal. "It's fine. This is a mall elevator. Someone should come fix it soon enough."Winnie said nothing, only nodded and buried
"It's fine," Charlotte said. "I can handle this on my own. Lucas will be in Jayelle City. I was really just letting you know. You could just drop me off."Ethan didn't look at her, his voice flat. "What I said back there was out of line. Forget it. This is serious, and I'm coming with you.""There's no need. I can protect myself. You don't have to""It's not only about you. I want to do something for Khloe too. She's the only family I have left, and now that I already know what's going on, whether I get involved is my call to make."Ethan cut her off, his tone leaving no room for argument.Charlotte's mouth opened, the words she'd spent so long considering rising up, only to be swallowed back down again.She really had no grounds to stop him, and pushing the point further would only come across as overly precious about it.The two of them said nothing more the rest of the way.By afternoon, the moment the plane touched down, Charlotte pulled out her phone at once.Out of the c
The man froze for a moment at that, then burst out laughing."Trey, you really have some nerve. Look at the state you're in. If you could actually do anything to Khloe, would you be here waiting to die at our hands?""I can't, no. But aren't you still here? You want Khloe's weak spot, but in Goldmont City, with so many eyes watching and layers of protection around her, you can't touch her, let alone the people close to her. I, on the other hand, have a way to help you get exactly what you want, and it's worth a lot more to you than my life."Trey's mouth curved as he spoke.The man's grip tightened. "Spit it out already. No more games."Trey craned his neck closer. The man hesitated a moment, then leaned in to listen.Outside the warehouse, a faint glint flickered briefly through the tangled grass before vanishing back into the night.…The next day, at the Morrison Group headquarters.Charlotte rushed into the conference room just as Ethan was stepping out through the door.
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