?Chapter 1471:


    She had suspected Chris’s identity for a long time — his build, his voice, even the unusual attention he paid to Maia. Looking back now, Raegan finally saw how blind she had been. How had she failed to connect it all? The leader’s method of concealing his identity was the perfect deception, true to the saying about keeping enemies closer than friends. No one in their right mind would ever connect the feared ruler of The Mask to the meek, overlooked illegitimate son of the Cooper family.


    Even after he had explicitly ordered her to investigate Cooper Group and warned her not to touch Maia, she had dismissed every word. Jealousy had rotted her judgment, pushing her to cross lines she should never have approached.


    A heavy thud rang out. Raegan’s strength gave outpletely, and she crashed down onto her knees several paces in front of Chris. The sound of bone striking the floor rippled through the living room, sharp and unforgiving.


    “Lift your head.” Themand emerged through the voice changer, distorted and stripped of any trace of mercy.


    Raegan shuddered as she obeyed, forcing her gaze upward bit by agonizing bit. Even seated in a wheelchair and visibly wounded, Chris exerted an oppressive force that crushed resistance and demanded surrender.


    “Do you know how many members we lost today?” His tone dropped lower, every wordnding against Raegan’s chest like a blow meant to bruise the soul. “You were my most trusted deputy, yet I clearly misjudged your discipline and your ability to execute orders.”


    He let the silence stretch, his stare fixed on her like a de held just short of the kill.


    “Raegan,” he said atst. “Answer me. Have you turned your back on us and chosen the Cooper family instead?”


    As the final word left his mouth, his fingers dug hard into the wheelchair’s armrests, the skin over his knuckles bleaching white. A violent ache pulsed through his head, as though something vital had slipped from his grasp and his mind was struggling to drag it back into ce.


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    Drowned in remorse, Raegan failed to notice the brief fracture in hisposure.


    Her head dropped lower, her voice shaking under the weight of guilt. “I know my recklessness has caused severe damage to the organization, but I have never betrayed The Mask. I have always carried your doctrine with me. The Mask exists to purge corrupt forces and to uphold justice.”


    Her hands curled into tight fists, nails carving into her palms until her joints cracked under the strain. “Whatever judgment you pass, I will ept it. Even death.”AdChoicesADVERTISING


    Raegan remained kneeling, her head bowed, waiting for the leader’s verdict.


    No sound followed.


    A suffocating stillness settled over the room. Chris offered no response, and the silence dragged on until it became unbearable — each second pressing down on Raegan like an unseen weight threatening to crush her. Her breathing turned uneven, caught between hope and the terror of being cast aside.


    After a long moment, Chris released a slow, heavy breath.


    Fresh from brain surgery, his body was in no condition to endure strain. Speaking even that much had drained him, blurring his vision and scattering his thoughts.


    His initial intention had been to deal with Raegan harshly — to strip her of her position and spare her life only out of consideration for her past contributions to the organization. Even so, the price would not have been light. One of her hands would have been destroyed as tribute to those who had died. That rule had never been broken.


    But now, Chris found himself reassessing. He considered Raegan’s remaining usefulness, her influence within The Mask, and the fact that Kiley still ced trust in her. From a practical standpoint, she retained value, and the organization could not afford to waste capable operatives in its current state. He also considered that the chaos created by her actions was hers to resolve — that responsibility certainly did not fall on him.


    More importantly, his condition remained dangerously unstable. He knew he could lose consciousness again at any moment.


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