?Chapter 1465:


    In that moment, she understood something painfully clear: her father was truly merciless. Family bonds meant nothing to him — he had personally ordered her execution.


    What Kiley had no way of knowing was that Kolton was not the most frightening figure involved. Standing behind him was an even more terrifying presence — Thomas, the true master of the covert operatives.


    Right then, all she could feel was a crushing sense of despair and cold hopelessness.


    Slowly, Kiley drew in a deep breath and forced herself to steady her nerves. Once her emotions had settled slightly, she began to assess her situation.


    Even though part of the covert team had pulled back, they had not fully withdrawn. On top of that, every entrance and exit of the park had already been sealed off. What surrounded her now felt like an enormous prison, and in this ce she was little more than helpless prey.


    Everything that had once been hers — the power and assets of Cooper Group — had lost all value. Reaching out to anyone connected to Cooper Group would only mean stepping straight into danger. There was no way of knowing whether those people had already been bribed or brought under her father’s control.


    That left only one possible source of allies: Cooper Group’s enemies — the long-standing rivals who had openly opposed Kolton and dared to challenge him.


    That realization made Kiley grit her teeth, conflicting emotions flickering through her eyes. No matter how deeply she despised Maia, no matter how much she had once wished her dead, she had to face the truth: Maia was her only chance of escape.


    She waited a little longer, listening carefully until she was certain no covert operatives were moving nearby. Only then did she slowly pull out her phone, its surface soaked from the rain. Earlier, afraid that it might ring again or that the signal could betray her position, she had shut it offpletely.


    Now, a desperate gamble was her only remaining option.


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    The moment she turned the phone on and reached out to Maia, Kolton’s people would almost certainly trace her location. For trained covert operatives, tracking a signal was effortless. The risk could not have been higher.


    Win, and she would survive. Fail, and she would die.


    With her jaw set, Kiley gripped the phone tighter, drew in a slow, steadying breath, and pressed the power button. A dim light bloomed across the screen. She keyed in the number.


    Her pulse surged. The space around her felt unnaturally still, as though the tension had stretched the moment to its breaking point.


    While keeping her eyes on the road, Maia suddenly frowned.


    An unknown number blinked across her screen.


    “Continue the investigation and inform me the second you find anything,” she said to the hacker, quickly ending that call before epting the iing one.


    Given the timing — with Chris missing and his conditionpletely unclear — the call felt disturbingly like a ransom attempt. Whoever was on the other end was almost certainly tied to Cooper Group.


    “Maia.” The moment the line connected, a voice she recognized spoke her name.


    It was low and unsteady, heavy with fear — and it sent a wave of unease straight through her.


    Recognition struck Maia at once. The caller was Kiley.


    Confusion followed immediately, and Maia’s eyes narrowed with sharp focus. Without warning, she hit the brakes. Tires shrieked against the asphalt as the car slowed and pulled over to the side of the road.


    Once the noise faded, Maia wasted no time. Her voice turned frigid. “Kiley, do you have Chris with you?”


    Hearing Chris’s name left Kiley stunned for a moment. Chris? The thought crossed her mind that her father might have taken him, and she could not understand why Maia would direct such a question at her.


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