"To be honest, I have no idea."


    Thaddeus frowned. "You have no idea?"


    "When I woke up, I was lying in a very specialized medical room. It didn''t look like a standard hospital; it looked like an ordinary, well-furnished bedroom. I couldn''t move an inch. There were tubes hooked into every part of my body, and my bones ached as if they had been shattered and glued back together..."


    Hans recalled his first encounter with Chad. The sunlit room, the mirror-likeke outside the window, the swaying shadows of the trees.


    Chad sat in a wheelchair, silhouetted against the sunlight, speaking to him with practiced warmth.


    "Thank God. You''re finally awake. All those months of effort weren''t for nothing."


    For the next six months, Chad visited him almost daily. He talked with him, brought him excellent food, and helped him through physical therapy.


    Gradually, Hans began to trust only Chad. He even developed a profound sense of gratitude toward the man, slowly morphing into a perfectly aimed,pliant weapon in Chad''s hands.


    Looking back now, Chad had used the exact same maniption tactics on him as he had on Alexia-masking himself in genuine kindness to purchase their hollow, broken souls.


    Listening to Hans''s ount, everything clicked into ce for Thaddeus.


    It all tracked. Years ago, when Hubery Ashbourne''s flight crashed into the ocean, he was the sole survivor. The tides must have washed him onto some unknown shore where, by pure chance, Chad discovered him, saved him, and poured resources into keeping him alive.


    But Thaddeus knew Chad wasn''t acting out of the goodness of his heart.


    Most likely, Chad had uncovered Hubery''s true identity and chose to save him just to keep him close as an asset. He had been ying an incredibly long game. As a member of the Ashbourne, family, Hubery


    could if neces be used


    as the


    ultimate hostage against Chairman


    Emeric and Evadne!


    Thank God Hans had woken up in time and severed ties with Chad. Otherwise, the


    consequences would have been catastrophic.


    "Your real name is Hubery Ashbourne, You are Evadne''s fifth brother. Your father is Emeric Ashbourne, Chairman of the KS


    Group, and your mother is Suri


    Bright Ashbourne. You used to be


    the chief pilot for Elmsworth Airlines During a catastrophic failure, your ne crashed into the sea. All passengers and crew perished. You were presumed dead, lost without a trace."


    Thaddeus spoke the words slowly and clearly. "I imagine you''ve looked into this privately. More than once, right?"


    Hans rested his scarred hands on his knees, his fingers slowly curling into tight fists. He was trembling,pletely unable to stop.


    He had indeed investigated it. Multiple times.


    But hearing Thaddeus confirm it all aloud brought a staggering wave of emotion he hadn''t anticipated.


    "Hubery."


    Thaddeus''s eyes softened. He


    ced a heavy hand on the man''s shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze. "You''ve been drifting for years. You''ve been through absolute hell. You must be exhausted.


    "No matter what happened, wee home."