Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 361 - Chapitre 370

Cole“Cole,” Xavier called as he walked toward us, his eyes darting between me and the officer, “is everything alright?”I didn't say a word and just handed him the paper the officer had given me. Xavier took it and read the message.His jaw tightened as he frowned before looking back at me. “Where did this come from?”“It was found in the store,” the officer responded. “Hidden under some collapsed shelves.”Xavier’s expression darkened. He paused, then muttered, “Mrs. McLair mentioned that some maintenance men came to work on electrical issues yesterday… Could the people responsible for this have dropped this while pretending to be electricians?”“It’s highly possible,” the officer replied firmly. “We’re already investigating. But… Mr. Buckman…” he turned to me, “do you have any idea what these men are talking about? This message implies this isn’t the first time. This was their second attempt.”I thought hard about it, trying to understand the message.A second attempt.Meaning ther

EthanI didn’t even see the man until his shoulder slammed hard against mine, causing the cold drink I was holding to spill on him.“What…”“Hey, are you mad?” the man barked. “Why would you bump into me?!”He sounded so loud and angry that several people instantly turned.I raised my hands defensively. “Chill, man. I just accidentally bumped you while getting a drink! Why are you yelling at me?”The man was built like a wall; hulky, sweaty, irritated, and the veins on his neck bulged as he glared down at me. He looked like someone who woke up every morning choosing violence.“Accidentally?” he snarled, grabbing the front of my shirt and pulling me closer. “You proud bastard! You’re not even apologizing?! Maybe I should teach you a lesson!”A murmur rose from the people around us. I could hear my colleagues from the company pushing through the crowd.“Sir, please calm down…”“It was an accident…”“Let go of him…”But the man’s fist tightened around my shirt. His breath smelled like ga

EthanThe Buckman family must be the ones responsible for the death of my mother!They must be the ones that killed her!They are the…The thought stopped halfway in my mind. It was like something inside me refused to continue the sentence. I wanted to shout, to curse, to scream their names: Cole, Rufus, Grandpa. I wanted to feel anger burning in my chest—something that matched the pain tearing me apart inside.But instead…All I felt was guilt.Nothing but guilt… and regret.My chest felt tight. My throat felt clogged. Everything in me was heavy. I curled into myself on the cold floor, holding the picture of my mother against my chest, and all I could think was…I should have been there.I should have protected her.I should have been a better son.I should have listened, loved her, helped her, done something—anything—other than play around like a fool and wait for her to fix my life for me.The pain in me wasn’t anger or hatred or fury… it was regret.What was even the point of livi

AmberI smiled politely as Marcus shook hands with our last client of the day as the man finally stepped out of the private dining room.As soon as the door closed, I instantly dropped the fake smile, slumped back into the chair, and let out a long, weary sigh I had been holding in for hours.Marcus chuckled.“Are you alright?”I didn’t even have the strength to pretend and simply shook my head.It had been meeting after meeting. Negotiations. Calls. Dinners. Strategic alliances. Trying to win support, charm investors, reassure hesitant partners… and still—nothing. Not a whisper, not a rumor, not even the faintest hint about the Eurasian project.“I don’t even know anymore,” I muttered, rubbing a hand across my forehead. “Some days it feels like we’re making progress. Like things are moving. And then the next minute… it’s like we’re right back where we started. I don’t understand what’s going on.”Marcus didn’t respond immediately. He exhaled slowly and said, “You need to exercise a l

Cole“Find him! Right now!”My voice thundered through the operations room, making half the team flinch.The analysts from Unit Viper, the division responsible for tracking field operatives, scrambled back to their stations, fingers flying across keyboards as they tried to reestablish a visual feed of Xavier.My chest tightened with each passing second.Goddamn it, Xavier.He had promised. He had promised he would keep the line open, keep the cameras on, keep communication steady.He had promised he wouldn’t go rogue.And yet here we were.“Sir…” one of the technicians stammered, “w-we still can’t locate the signal. All feeds from the cameras and the comm device have been…”“Destroyed?!” I snapped. “Then try harder! Do your goddamn job and find him!”The room fell into a tense, panicked silence as they pushed even faster, screens flashing lines of code.I turned sharply toward Inspector Fred.“Send the unit closest to his location,” I ordered. “Now. Tell them to move in immediately. S