An unseen current crackled through the empty underground garage. A single, harsh fluorescent light above them split the two brothers into worlds of ck and white.


    Alexia''s heart leaped into her throat, and she instinctively lowered her gaze.


    Chad, however, remained perfectlyposed. He cast a cool nce at the grim- faced man before him. "If I want to know something, I have countless ways of finding it out. I don''t just know about your ns; I know many more of Ms. Evadne''s secrets."


    The statement was a tant deration of ambition, a veiled, vicious provocation.


    Thaddeus''s breath caught in his throat. His hands clenched into fists, knuckles white, veins bulging.


    "You may have been her lover, but my understanding of her goes far deeper than yours ever did." With a final, dismissive smile, Chad turned his head, signaling for Alexia to push him toward the van.


    "Brother, are you genuinely in love with Evadne, or do you just desire to have everything and everyone useful to you under yourplete control?" Thaddeus''s voice was low, his eyes turbulent.


    Chad simply smiled, a flicker of mockery in his eyes.


    As they reached the van, Thaddeus''s patience finally snapped. His voice, deep and cold, echoed through the concrete space. "I fought Hans on Rose Ind. He was working with Avery, obstructing me at every turn and targeting the people around me! Last night, on the way to Pine Grove Park, he appeared again to stop me from seeing Evadne! And today, you show up at the most opportune moment. Am I not justified in suspecting that both Avery and Hans answer to you? That you are their master?"


    The man''s forceful usations hung in the frigid air. Inside the van, Alexia''s heart pounded so hard she didn''t dare look in Thaddeus''s direction.


    "Thaddeus, I truly admire your imagination," Chad''s voice floated out, his pale, elegant face shrouded in shadow. "But for you to ask me that... it truly breaks my heart."


    Thaddeus''s brow furrowed.


    "If I had wanted to harm you, to frame you, I had a hundred ways to make you disappear from the Abernathy Group twenty years ago when you first came to the family. I was the rightful heir. But how did I treat you? You should remember, shouldn''t you?"


    It was true. Chad had been unbelievably good to him. So good, he had seemed like a god sent to save him. Everyone in the Abernathy Group sang the eldest son''s praises.


    "He''s absolutely right,” Alexia interjected, a cold smile on her lips but her tone indignant. "If Mr. Chad truly wanted to harm you, why would he have risked his own life to save you when you were both kidnapped? Have you forgotten that debt of gratitude for woman Mr. Thaddeus And when Mr.


    Ashbourne had his stroke, it was our Mr. Chad who searched all over the country to find the medicine that stabilized his condition. If he wanted to hurt you, why would he go to all that trouble? There should be a limit to your ingratitude!"


    "Alexia, that''s enough," Chad''s voice dropped, sharp and sudden. Alexia immediately fell silent.


    As the luxury van started to pull away, Thaddeus spoke again, his face a mask of ice. "Brother, if you are pursuing Evadne through


    honorable means, I have


    say. But if your methods involve theft control and harm, then I''m<fne22b> Th?s chapter is updated by Find_Novel(.</fne22b>


    afraid I will not stand by and let you have her. Thest person who pursued Evadne so relentlessly was Avery. And the entire country knows what happened to him."


    Chad''s smile froze, a flicker of red in his eyes. "Thaddeus, are you having second thoughts? Are you still in love with her?"


    "Whether I love her or not, I will not


    tolerate anyone harming her. Not even indirectly." A stiff, humorless smile formed on Thaddeus''s stoic face, yet it did nothing to diminish his striking looks. "However, if this battle is meant for me ↓ retreat. I''ll be waiting."


    The tinted window slid up, and the van sped away.


    The moment they were out of the garage, Chad, without a word, raised his hand and pped Alexia across the face. The sound echoed in the confined space.


    "Ugh—!" Pain exploded behind Alexia''s eyes. Her cheek swelled instantly, and blood trickled from the corner of her lip.