LOGINTears streamed down Gwen's pale cheeks like a dam had burst. She threw herself into Charles' arms, wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, and broke down into uncontrollable sobs.Once Gwen realized he was really there, she finally felt safe. She collapsed against him and let all her pent-up emotions pour out. "I did! I missed you so much! Boohoo... I thought... I thought I'd never see any of you again..."They were so vicious! They kept kicking and hitting me. They said they were going to sell me to some compound and let 100 men have their way with me! It was terrifying! I was scared to death!"Boohoo... Is it really you, Charles? Am I dreaming? I'm not dead, am I?"Charles had always teased her mercilessly, which made his sudden appearance feel almost surreal.But now, he set aside his usual carefree, teasing manner and tightened his arms around her. He held her firmly against his chest and gently patted her back."It's all right. It's over," he reassured her, his voice low
Along the border between Triamar and Meletas, Charles lay in wait with a squad of mercenaries concealed in the dense brush. He had already changed into camouflage gear and streaked his face with paint.Just then, a black commercial van slowly approached the border from Triamar, heading toward Meletas. Its tires crunched over the gravel road that ran along the border, the sound cutting through the air.Charles lowered his voice and spoke into his earpiece. "Target confirmed. Open fire!"The mercenary squad leader beside him immediately gave a sharp whistle. In an instant, more than a dozen heavily armed soldiers emerged from the dense brush like ghosts.Gunfire erupted in rapid succession. Bullets rained down on the vehicle, and sparks flew as they struck the metal.A sniper stationed nearby fired the first shot, striking the front left tire with pinpoint accuracy. The van spun out of control, slammed into the roadside guardrail, and skidded to a lopsided stop with a deafening cras
Otto hurried to share the good news with Lucille. The moment she heard it, tears welled up in her eyes, and the knot of tension around her heart finally loosened a little.Then she turned and shot Rayne an icy glare.Rayne had taken two brutal kicks from Sven, one to her stomach and the other to her back, both delivered with all his strength.As a rule, a man should never strike a woman, but Rayne was so vile and vicious that Sven hadn't hesitated for a second.Now, her stomach and lower back throbbed with unbearable pain. It felt as though her insides had been shaken apart and her entire body torn in two.When she met Lucille's hellishly cold gaze, Rayne's eyes darted around in panic. She instinctively scrambled backward a few steps and tried to stand, only to discover that her injured back couldn't support her weight.As Lucille, Sven, and Otto closed in on her with menacing expressions, Rayne suddenly raised her head and shouted toward the upper right corner of the living room
On the way there, Otto had already mobilized every connection he had in Triamar. He contacted Gaston Orville the Dice, a warlord who operated along the Triamar-Meletas border, and paid him a hefty sum to hire a private militia.The mercenaries were secretly dispatched to Kyler's compound in Triamar to carry out a covert rescue operation.Meanwhile, Lucille's brother had contacted Interpol. He used two major international crimes Kyler had recently committed as leverage to pressure him into releasing Gwen.Through a friend in Triamar, Sven had also established contact with someone inside Kyler's compound who was willing to discreetly watch over Gwen and shield her from the worst of the suffering she might face.Meanwhile, Charles happened to be in Triamar at the time to handle an economic case. His client was a powerful, well-connected figure in the local government. At Charles' request, the man approached the Triamar government directly and urged officials to put pressure on Kyler.
With Gwen in Kyler's hands, trapped in Triamar no less, Lucille's influence in Hanseland meant nothing. No matter how powerful she was back home, her reach simply didn't extend that far.In this standoff, Lucille was on the defensive, while Rayne held all the cards. There was no way Rayne would let Lucille force the truth out of her so easily. She wanted to watch Lucille crumble before her, little by little, perhaps even fall to her knees and beg.After a brief moment of panic, Rayne steeled herself and let out a cold laugh. "Lucille, if you've got the nerve, keep hitting me. But I guarantee that the moment you lay another hand on me, your best friend will suffer a hundred, no, a thousand times more than I do!"I'll tell you the truth. Kyler bought this villa for me! All I have to do is say the activation phrase, and the security system connects directly to Kyler. He can see everything that happens inside this villa in real time, clear as day!"If you want your best friend to suffe
"Giddy, can you stop being such a coward and finally grow a backbone? How much longer are you going to let Lucille walk all over you?"You might be able to stomach this, but I can't take it anymore! This time, I'm going to teach her a lesson she'll never forget!"There's no turning back now! I'll tell you straight. Gwen isn't coming back from Triamar. Tell Lucille to hurry over and collect her corpse!"Rayne openly defied Gideon and hung up on him.She had endured being pushed around for far too long. Now that she had finally tasted a little success, there was no way she would give it up so easily.She used to worship Gideon and considered him the manliest man in the world. But ever since his divorce from Lucille, who had walked away with an enormous share of his assets, Rayne had come to see him as weak and spineless.This time, she would use her own methods to prove to Gideon that she was the one who truly stood by his side, the one willing to fight tooth and nail for him.Aft
Inside the banquet hall, Lucille kept her eyes fixed on Gideon.He looked flushed and in high spirits as he moved from table to table with Rayne, raising his glass and offering toasts. "My buddy Otto is overseas right now on a confidential infrastructure project. He won't be back for a year, so I'l
Holding her swaddled daughter, Lucille Sandwell kept her voice steady, though a hint of hope slipped through. "Gideon, today is our daughter's one-month milestone. Can you come pick us up?"On the other end, Gideon Prescott's voice remained even and unreadable. "Something came up. I'll have the driv
The moment Gideon opened his mouth, Lucille felt her heart drop straight into hell. "Gwen, stop trying to stir things up. Lucy is baby Connor's aunt. We're all family. If she can help, she should. There's extra milk anyway."'Baby Connor. He said the name with such easy intimacy, as if the boy were
After the examination, Lucille remained asleep.The doctor stood in the hospital room and explained her condition to Gwen. "The patient's body is severely depleted after childbirth. She has already suffered a major hemorrhage and undergone emergency treatment, so she is highly prone to hypoglycemia







