جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 80

She nodded, though she looked pale. “I’m okay. Keep going.”Nico opened one of the old envelopes and pulled out photographs. “These were taken near the riverside road.”I felt Althea’s fingers tighten before she even saw them.One photograph showed a dark green vehicle parked near the old road.Another showed Ramon Silvestre standing beside it.And in the corner of the third, half-hidden by trees, was a woman wearing white pearl earrings.Marina.Adamson stood so quickly his chair scraped against the floor. “She was there?”Celeste took the photo and examined it closely. “At minimum, near the scene.”My mother whispered, “She lied to me.”Althea stared at the photograph, breathing slowly. “She watched?”No one answered.I turned toward her fully, blocking the photo from her sight with my body. “Don’t force it.”Her eyes lifted to mine. “I’m not.”“You’re shaking.”She looked down at her hand, as if surprised to find it trembling.I gently took both of her hands in mine. “Enough for to

Althea’s POVFor a moment, the music, the lights, and the low hum of expensive conversation around us disappeared.All I could see was Nico’s message on my phone.Recovered partial audio from box. Leonardo planned second river event. Gala may be distraction. Check east exit guest list. Name: Emilio Vargas.My hand tightened around the clutch, and Alexander must have felt the change in me because his fingers immediately closed around mine, steady and warm, the way they always did before fear could fully take over.“Don’t look at the exit yet,” he murmured.I froze. “I was about to.”“I know.”“You’re becoming too good at reading me.”“Only because you’re becoming important to read.”My heart skipped at the words, but the fear crawling up my spine kept me from reacting too much. Across the ballroom, Leonardo Dale lifted his glass toward us with a smile that made my skin feel cold. He looked calm, almost bored, as if he had not just invited us into a room while another part of his plan w

Althea’s POVBy morning, the entire province had seen Alexander Winston climb out of the river with a crying child in his arms.I knew this because Shaun entered the breakfast room with his phone in hand, his expression so carefully neutral that I immediately became suspicious. He stood near the doorway while I was trying to convince myself that coffee counted as breakfast, and Alexander sat beside me with his bandaged arm resting on the table like it was not a reminder that he had been grazed by a bullet, thrown himself into a river, and somehow still looked composed enough to attend another meeting.“Madame,” Shaun said, clearing his throat. “You may want to see this.”I looked up. “That sounds dangerous.”“It is not dangerous,” he answered. “Only public.”“That sounds worse.”Alexander reached for the phone before I could, and the moment his eyes landed on the screen, his expression shifted so slightly that I leaned closer without thinking.It was a video.Of course it was.The cli

Althea’s POVThe quiet evening ended the moment Nico said Emilio’s name.For a few seconds, no one moved, and then the hallway became another command room without anyone needing to announce it. Celeste was already asking for the charter company details, Shaun was speaking into his earpiece, Kuya Adam was demanding the name of the airstrip despite Dr. Mira’s order for him to stop moving too much, and Alexander stood beside me with his hand in mine, his face calm in the way I was beginning to understand meant he was already arranging every possible outcome in his head.“Where is the charter leaving from?” Alexander asked.Nico adjusted his glasses as he checked the laptop. “A private strip outside San Isidro. Departure request was filed for ten-thirty tonight under the name Mateo Villar. Destination is listed as Kota Kinabalu, but the routing looks temporary. He can change planes from there.”Celeste’s mouth tightened. “If he leaves the country, getting him back will become difficult.”

Althea’s POVFor a few seconds after Kuya Adam spoke, no one in the study moved.The words seemed too heavy for the room, too large for the quiet space where only moments ago Alexander’s arm had been around my waist and his lips had still felt warm against mine. I had thought Leonardo Dale was already the center of it all, the man behind the accident, the forged permits, the warehouse fire, the river trap, and the slow destruction of the Winston name. But now Marina was saying there was someone above him, someone powerful enough to make a man like Leonardo look like only another hand moving across the board.Alexander’s face had gone cold again, but this time, I could feel the tension in him before I even looked. His hand was still at my waist, not holding me too tightly, but enough for me to know that whatever softness had been between us moments ago had not disappeared completely. It had only been covered, the way a blade could be covered with silk and still remain sharp underneath.