LOGINJulliard turned to Wendy. "Wendy, we absolutely cannot hand Sharon over to Thomas. He clearly knew where she was the whole time and deliberately said nothing, letting us waste all this time searching like fools. If we'd found her sooner, she wouldn't be in this state."He turned a cold glare on Thomas."You're unbelievably selfish, Thomas. For the sake of whatever agenda you're running, you didn't care one bit about her safety."Thomas didn't so much as glance at him, his gaze locked entirely on Sharon. Without waiting for Wendy's approval, he slid one arm beneath the crook of Sharon's knees and the other behind her back, lifting her into his arms with a single smooth motion.Her limp body sank into his chest, brushing unconsciously against the front of his shirt, her burning breath scorching through the thin fabric against his skin."Thomas!" Julliard's face darkened, and he stepped forward to grab her back. "Put her down!"Thomas glanced at him, blocking his path, his voice f
Seeing Sharon's expression change, Wendy asked anxiously at once, "Sharon, what's wrong? Are you feeling sick somewhere?"Caught up in the emergency earlier, adrenaline had kept Sharon's full attention on Grant and the others, so she hadn't noticed anything off about her own body. But now that she'd finally started to relax, a burning heat spread through her, and she felt a pang of dizziness.She wasn't familiar with this particular feeling, but she'd heard people describe something like it before. And she remembered clearly now, the strange, cloying scent she'd caught the moment she'd first stepped into that room."I think..." she said quietly, "I think I was drugged."She had no idea what exactly they'd given her, but as long as it hadn't kicked in, she'd felt nothing. Now that it was taking effect, her whole body felt like it was catching fire, her consciousness growing hazier by the moment."We need to get you to the hospital, now!" Wendy said, panicked. She stood. "I'll go ge
Sharon lowered her eyes to meet Thomas's fathomless gaze."Thinking about it now, I just feel satisfied. A man like Grant deserves a punishment worse than death. Chopping off one of his hands is actually letting him off easy."If Thomas hadn't arrived in time, Sharon didn't dare imagine what might have happened. Grant might really have had someone record him violating her, and the day the Kalens came after him, he could have released it all, dragging her down with him.The more she thought about it, the more she felt he'd gotten exactly what he deserved."Thomas, thank you for getting revenge for me," she said.The bloody scene had been shocking at first glance, but now that she'd had a moment to process it, it didn't seem so horrifying anymore. If anything, she found herself thinking he'd looked rather good doing it.Sharon wondered if her sense of right and wrong might be a little off.He looked at her, a hazy mist drifting through his eyes, making it impossible to read what h
Only when Grant saw the severed hand lying on the floor did the reality of it finally sink in.His hand. It was really gone.Sharon was in a poor condition, so rather than leaving immediately, Thomas brought her to a medical room instead. Events like this often had accidents, so a first-aid room was always kept ready. Her cheek was swollen and red from the beating and needed ice.Thomas found an ice pack and handed it to her."Hold this on it for a bit. I'll take care of your other injuries."She took the ice pack.He picked up a pair of medical tweezers from the tray and carefully removed the bits of broken glass from her wounds, checking thoroughly to make sure nothing remained, then disinfected the cuts with care.She flinched slightly, instinctively pulling back.He paused, glancing up at her."Bear with it a little longer. It'll be over soon."Looking at his composed, handsome face, she gave a soft murmur."Mm."In truth, it wasn't the pain. It was more that odd, ele
Eventually, unable to stomach the daily humiliation of losing, Grant had stopped sparring with Marcus altogether.Having tested his opponent enough, Thomas looked at Grant and said flatly, "That's all you've got."There was no visible contempt or disdain on his face. And yet the scorn came through unmistakably. For a man as proud as Grant, an attitude like that was simply intolerable. But faced with such a lopsided gap in skill, there was nothing he could do about it.Unable to land a hit, Grant's eyes reddened with rage. He snarled, "You know who the hell I am? Get on your knees and beg, and I might just spare you. Keep this up and don't blame me for..."His threat cut off before he could finish it. A sudden, sharp pain shot through his wrist.Before he could even register what had happened, hot blood sprayed across his face, and something dropped to the floor with a soft thud.Nothing was more unnerving than sudden silence. In the dead quiet that followed, everyone stared at
Grant hadn't survived this long on the street by being an ordinary man. Unable to break free, he immediately went on the offensive, curling his other hand into a fist and swinging hard at Thomas.Thomas's expression stayed unreadable. He let go of Grant's hand, tilted his body slightly, and dodged the blow with ease.Grant had thought his own speed was fast enough. He hadn't expected this man to slip past it so effortlessly. Unlike ordinary street thugs who fought with nothing but brute, disorganized punches and kicks, Grant had gone through rigorous specialized training. Facing off with an ordinary person was nothing to him; he could hold his own even against professional killers. Having his attack shrugged off this easily was something he couldn't stomach.His eyes turned cold, and he lunged at Thomas again. He liked staying on the offensive and hated playing defense. This time, he abandoned his earlier carelessness, watching Thomas's every movement closely.Thomas's expression
A few days later, when Xavier met with Sharon, he noticed she kept glancing at her phone—typing, pausing, sending messages again and again.He couldn't help asking, "Sharon, have you been really busy lately?"Sharon finished typing before she looked up. "Not really."Seeing his gaze drift toward
The moment Sharon asked her question, both Doug and Liam froze.She asked again, "Are you and Thomas close?"She wasn't fully calm yet, but her mind was clear enough. After all, if these two weren't close—if they barely knew each other—why would Doug take such a huge risk to help Thomas?"Um…" Do
Scott shot Sharon a look full of derision. "So it seems that once someone achieves a little, they start thinking they're untouchable."Richard's expression carried a quiet disapproval. "Sharon… did you really hit Samantha?"Sharon didn't have the energy—or the patience—to argue with the Kalen fami
Hearing Thomas's words—spoken like a man leaving instructions for after his death—Liam felt something in his chest tighten. Thomas had been through storms and close calls that would have hardened most men; he rarely talked about wills or futures. He'd always behaved as if he carried nothing with h







