?Chapter 487:


    “What the—Chris is back? And he didn’t even tell me?” Maxwell was dumbfounded.


    Before caution could catch him, he bolted forward, blurting, “Hey, why didn’t you—”


    But the greeting died on his lips as Chris turned and cast a single nce his way, sharp enough to cut ss. Maxwell felt the words catch in his throat as though he’d been doused in ice water.


    And then, he noticed the woman beside Chris. She was willowy, graceful, almost ethereal. Her face was veiled beneath a wide-brimmed hat, dark sses, and a mask — like a silver screen actress dodging the sh of paparazzi.


    Could it be that Chris had a new girlfriend?


    And then it hit him like a sucker punch to the gut.


    So, did that mean Chris and his mysteriouspanion had witnessed him cheering for Mansa earlier?


    And just like that, Maxwell was plunged into an existential crisis. His soul shriveled inside him, praying for the floor to kindly swallow him whole.


    The moment Maxwell spoke, Maia’s attention snapped to him. For a second, she hesitated — was he calling out to Chris?


    Meanwhile, Maia’s gaze hadnded on Maxwell the moment he spoke. The floral shirt. The sandals. Something about him tickled her memory. She squinted slightly, trying to ce the familiar absurdity. And then it clicked. Like a puzzle piece.


    Snapping into ce. Maxwell Payne — the once-dreaded name in the ck market underworld, a figure cloaked in myth and menace.


    But the man in flip-flops before her? He looked like someone’s uncle at a beach BBQ.


    Still, she hesitated before speaking. “Are you… Mr. Maxwell Payne, the one running the ck market?”


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    As the words left her lips, the air around them seemed to freeze. Even sound dared not move.


    Behind Maxwell, Marisa folded her arms, her expression tinged with disbelief. “Running the market?” she said, brows arching. “What does that mean? And you know this woman?”


    Maxwell hadn’t seen this ambushing. To be called out — not only by a stranger but in front of Marisa — sent a jolt through him. His mouth twitched, searching desperately for an escape route. “She mistakes me for someone else,” he mumbled awkwardly, waving a hand vaguely. “I don’t know her, and I have never been to the ck market at all. How could I have anything to do with it?”


    Marisa’s scoff was loud,ced with scorn.


    Maia, however, wasn’t fooled. Her eyes stayed locked on Maxwell, a glimmer of understanding in their depths.


    It seemed clear to her now — Maxwell had been hiding his true identity, even from his own kin.


    But that wasn’t so hard toprehend. Everyone carried secrets like hidden scars. Sometimes, the kindest thing to do was to keep them buried, for the sake of those we love.


    Still, as Maia recalled the way Maxwell had reacted earlier, her gaze slowly shifted to Chris, her tone colored with quiet suspicion. “You two… know each other?”


    Chris maintained aposed demeanor, his words measured and deliberate. “He’s a client of my boss. I’ve encountered him several times while apanying my superior.”


    Lifting his gaze to meet Maxwell’s, he asked, his voice descending into a subtle challenge. “Isn’t that right, Mr. Payne?”


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