“Hans hit Alexia?" Thaddeus repeated, and Elvis, who had wiped his tears, leaned in to listen.


    "Yeah! A solid punch. It was crystal clear on the surveince footage, absolutely brutal!" Gordon let out a deep breath. “I thought their little gang was an unbreakable fortress, all best friends. Turns out they have their own internal conflicts!"


    Then, Gordon ventured a theory. "Mr. Thaddeus, do you think Hans could be our breakthrough? Is it possible he''s been at odds with Alexia for a while, fed up with working for Chad, and just needs a little push to turn against them? After all, wasn''t it Ms. Archer''s hatred for Avery''s actions that made her switch to our side?"


    Thaddeus remained nomittal. "Your idea is good, but we can''t be certain. People are unpredictable. We''ve only had a few brief, high-stakes encounters with Hans. I have no idea what he''s truly thinking."


    Gordon sighed, then asked worriedly, "Mr. Thaddeus, the press conference is the day after tomorrow. Do you have a n? Are we just going to let Chad get up there and spin his lies? With all due respect, Mr. Zade''s testimony might not be enough. The blood report is real, so we need to find another way to prove your innocence!"


    "Gordon, thank you."


    Thaddeus''s sudden gratitude left the young man momentarily stunned.


    "You''ve worked tirelessly these past few days. I''ve been dismissed, I''m no longer the CEO of the Abernathy Group. You can rx a little. You don''t have to be so tense all the time," Thaddeus said, his voice gentle and unreadable.


    "Mr. Thaddeus, I''m not tired! I don''t want to rest! Gordon immediately protested, his heart racing. When Thaddeus was dismissed, he had made promise to himself: even if he never got another paycheck, he would remain loyal to Mr. Mr. Thaddeus. The old Gordon was obsessed with money-losing it would have been more painful than losing a kidney. But now, he didn''t care about any of that. All he wanted was Mr. Thaddeus. He was even afraid this break was a polite way of firing him. He couldn''t—and wouldn''t—rest.


    "Rx, I''m not letting you go." Thaddeus instantly understood his assistant''s pathetic train of thought, a slight smile touching his lips. "I just can''t stand having someone show up every morning with eyes as swolen as a baboon''s ass, sneaking off to cry in a corner when he thinks no one''s looking. Anyone who knows you knows you miss your girlfriend. Anyone who doesn''t might


    think I killed her. Go home, pull


    yourself together, and thene


    back."


    "..." Gordon was mortified, frozen on the spot. He had been lovesick for Beverly,


    thinking his quiet sobs had gone unnoticed.


    After the call ended, Elvis couldn''t


    hide his excitement. His voice


    trembled, "Hubery turning on Alexia... Does this mean he''s starting to remember? Is he slowly bing himself again? Hubery must have lost his memory in the crash and then been manipted by Chad somehow. But even so, how can a good person''s nature bepletely changed? Chad is trying to drag Hubery into the darkness with him, using our own family to hurt us, to make us turn on each other! He''s despicable, utterly evil!"


    Thaddeus stared ahead into the long, lonely night, lost in thought.


    The fact that Hans had chosen to stop Alexia''s car and attack her on the very night Elsie disappeared was highly suspicious.


    “Perhaps Hubery''s conscience has been awakened. But for various reasons, he''s not yet able to break free from Chad''s control." After a moment of silence, a dark glint appeared in Thaddeus''s eyes. "Elvis, what I''m about to say might be hard to hear, but Hubery needs to stay by Chad''s side. It''s our only chance to save Elsie.”