Thaddeus lifted his chin, his posture proud and unbowed, and continued walking. Just then, Chad approached from the opposite direction, his own assistant trailing behind him. They both stopped a few feet apart.


    "Thaddeus," Chad began, his eyes narrowing with an amused, knowing look. "I remember you always being so professional, so detached from anything beyond work. You were always quite lenient with your subordinates. What''s changed?" He paused. "Could it be that losing your position has made you petty? I can understand why you''d do it, but to an outsider, it might look like you''re taking out your frustrations on your staff because you lost to me."


    *Frustrations, my ass!* Gordon seethed, mentally cursing Chad with the foulestnguage he could muster.


    "Think whatever you want," Thaddeus said,pletely ignoring Chad''s venomous gaze as he started to walk past him.


    "Do you really believe you have allies on the board now?" Chad called out suddenly. Thaddeus stopped and nced back at him.


    "Grandfather is protecting you, but his health is failing. How much longer can he shield you?" Chad lowered his gaze, fiddling with an ornate ruby cufflink. "And Evadne... after you so cruelly cast her aside, do you really think she''ll stand by your side, unwavering and loyal, like she used to?"


    Thaddeus stood like a statue under the harsh midday sun, which carved his strong, clean features into sharp, bloodless lines. His heart beat with a heavy, muffled rhythm. After a moment, he spoke, his voice low and raspy. "Even if she no longer trusts me, I trust that she can distinguish right from wrong, loyalty from treachery. She would never make a deal with the devil."


    With that, he walked away.


    Chad''s face darkened. He raised his voice. "Fine. We''ll see about that. We''ll see just whose side Evadne chooses to stand on."


    *Underground Parking Garage.*


    In the back of a luxury car, Chad sat with his eyes half-closed, loosening his tie with a sharp tug.


    "Mr. Abernathy, your wine." His assistant poured a ss of red wine and handed it to him respectfully.


    Chad took it and, after a muffled cough, drained half the ss in one gulp, as if trying to suppress a storm brewing in his chest.


    "Sir, your health... you should really drink less," the assistant said with concern.


    "I know my own body." Chad swirled


    the


    Alexia


    gwine in his ss, "


    should be released on bil in a


    couple of hours, right?"


    "Yes, sir."


    He lifted his chin. "Take me to the police station."


    ...


    The darkness was absolute, as cold and hopeless as the depths of hell. Surrounded by the scent of damp dust, a skeletal Elsie slowly opened her eyes, only to find she could see


    nothing she gasped for see


    air,


    when she shifted, the iron chain on her ankle rattled ominously. She closed her eyes again. She wanted to cry, but her tears had long since run dry.


    *Am I blind?*


    In just two weeks, she had endured three rounds of drug testing. Her body was now covered in rashes, and she suffered from incontinence. Who was to say she wouldnt be blind next? Or that she wouldn''t see another day, even in this darkness?


    Meanwhile, on the other side of the wall, a man in a whiteb coat pushed a cart to


    the door of Elsie''s cell and unlocked it.


    "Wait."


    A low, cold voice stopped him from behind.


    ***