?Chapter 1610:


    Normally, Ethan was glued to his phone, shooting back replies even if he was in the middle of an important meeting. Going dark like this? It wasn’t just out of character; it was downright alien.


    Even if his phone was dead, he would have found a charger by now.


    So, Brenna’s mind raced to the worst-case scenario: Ethan was in serious trouble. She tried ringing his two private numbers again—both were dead as doornails.


    Her brow creased, fingers gripping her phone, worry gnawing at her insides.


    Just as she was about to dial Neville, her phone lit up. It was Neville calling.


    She picked up, heart racing, and Neville’s voice came through, thick with panic. “Miss Harper!”


    Brenna asked quickly, “Are you with Ethan? Is he okay?”


    Neville’s tone was urgent. “Miss Harper, we’re not together. Three days ago, we dove into the jungle with a crew to track down Seabird’s biotech research base. We got jumped, and I drew the attackers off to give Mr. Mitchell a chance to escape. We got split up. At first, we could still contact each other, but as we went deeper into the woods, we lost touch. I stuck to the nned route to find him, but he’s vanished. It has been two days since he went into the jungle. His phone’s dead, and even his tracking system has failed. I’m really worried about him, and I don’t know who I can trust to help me search for him.”


    The news hit like a punch to the chest. They didn’t even know if Ethan was okay—or even alive. Brenna’s heart plummeted.


    “I’m heading to Norview right now,” she said. “Send me the coordinates and keep looking for him. If you hear even a whisper about him, let me know immediately.”


    “You let me know.” She tossed her phone aside after putting it on speaker and started packing her things.


    “Got it,” Neville said, staying on the line, feeding her updates. “Seabird’s biotech base was set up on the down-low by Gracie’s dad before he passed away. Rumor has it that they cracked a gene sequence for human longevity. Everyone in Norview’s got their eyes on it. Multiple crews are already tearing through the jungle, racing to snatch the research progress.”


    “We are talking about immortality?” Brenna snorted, rolling her eyes. It sounded like chasing unicorns. Big shots had been hunting the fountain of youth forever, and nobody had found it.


    Neville replied, “Not exactly immortality, but word is this gene sequence could stretch human life out to about two hundred years. Pretty tempting.”


    Brenna still couldn’t wrap her head around Ethan buying into that kind of nonsense.


    Read all updates on gα?ησv??ls


    “Ethan believes that?” she asked.


    Neville hesitated for a beat. “I don’t think so. He figures even if life-extension tech’s on the horizon, it wouldn’t happen this quickly. He thinks there’s something amiss, no real longevity gene. He’s betting Hector’s cooking up something shady. Plus, Hector has been muscling in on the Mitchell Group’s turf in Norview, especially our biotech projects. He’s been poaching our best people with fat stacks of cash. This mission could be make-or-break for the Mitchell Group’s foothold in Norview.”


    After a pause, he continued, “Miss Harper, it’s a warzone out here. If you can find someone to help search for Mr. Mitchell, you shouldn’te here in person.”


    He knew Ethan wouldn’t want Brenna walking into a lion’s den like this.


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