?Chapter 1445:


    They reached the 15th floor, and Damon’s breath caught in his throat at the sight before him.


    Cedric stood at the very edge of the unfinished floor, one hand mped tightly around Kohen’s neck, dangling him outside the unguarded railing.


    Kohen’s body dangled in the open air, feet kicking helplessly, the city yawning beneath him.


    Damon’s face nched, panic tightening every muscle in his body. He stood frozen for a second, then shouted down the stairwell, his voice cracking, “Dani! Danie quick!” He was certain Cedric had lost it.


    Kohen, catching a glimpse of the barren construction site below—nothing but hard-packed earth, the promise of death in a single slip—tried to bluff his way out, his voice trembling. “If I die here, this whole project goes under. You’ll all be ruined.”


    Dani appeared at thending just then, her stride unhurried and her expression unreadable. “It’s only a project. If it costs your life, I’d say it’s a fair trade.”


    She moved past the chaos, picked up a discarded piece of cardboard, and began to fan herself, acting as if she’d wandered into a sunlit courtyard rather than a life-or-death standoff.


    Kohen sputtered, sweat streaking his face, realizing in that instant how powerless he truly was. “You can’t do this,” he murmured, his hands shaking as he clung to Cedric’s wrists.


    Turning desperate, he called out, “Damon, what are you waiting for? Get over here—help me!”


    Damon took a halting step forward.


    “Move another inch and I’ll drop him,” Cedric remarked, his voice t but dangerous.


    For a terrifying second, his grip loosened.


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    “Don’te any closer!” Kohen wailed, his heart hammering.


    Left with no choice, Damon swung around to Dani, pleading, “Please, I’m begging you—no matter what happened, he’s still my brother!”


    Dani leaned back on the railing, utterly at ease, the cardboard wavingzily in her hand. “No one’s dying today. This is just a warning. Go home and tell Hamilton—this is only the beginning.” With that, she swept past Kohen without so much as a backward nce and disappeared down the stairs.


    The moment hung heavy in the air.


    Kohen’s gaze darted to Cedric, whose face was twisted with a rage that shattered his usual mask of detachment. For a heartbeat, pure fear wed at Kohen’s chest—he was certain Cedric truly meant to kill him.


    “You get one life, Kohen. One chance. If you ever pull something like this again, you’re done.”


    With that, Cedric shoved Kohen into a heap of debris and stalked away, never sparing him another look.


    The silence on the fifteenth floor was suffocating, stretching on long after Cedric’s footsteps faded.


    Damon hurried to Kohen’s side and knelt down, his voice tight with concern. “Kohen, are you alright?”


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