?Chapter 1481:
Zoey then turned her attention to Maia, seated across from her. Fatigue still shadowed Maia’s features, etching dark circles beneath her eyes, but her gaze had regained its familiar rity and focus.
“Regarding these covert operatives you encountered,” Zoey began, her tone measured, “my knowledge is limited. I understand they are Kolton’s personal instrument — highly efficient, utterly detached, and loyal only to him. They are his sharpest de.” She paused, deftly steering the conversation. “But for now, I would like to hear your assessment of the situation.”
Maia gave a slow nod, her hands cradling the warm coffee mug. “It was unusual,” she said, her voice low but precise. “At South Lake Park, a sniper intervened on my behalf.” She met Zoey’s eyes. “I believe it was one of Mr. M’s people. And while I once thought Mr. M might be an alias of yours, or someone acting under your direction… I no longer believe that.”
Zoey shook her head with an open gesture. “Of course not. If it were me, I would admit it — there is no reason to hide things from you. And I mostly agree with your analysis.” She nced at Siena before continuing. “But Siena reported three distinct forces shing at the park. It leads me to wonder whether there were also three separate yers at the banquet center.”
Maia’s eyes lifted slightly at the suggestion.
Zoey’s slender finger tapped a thoughtful rhythm on the stone table. “If the Coopers wanted you dead — whether Kolton or Kiley — they would have struck on your journey home, not at their own public event. An assassination there would devastate the family’s reputation and interests. I am therefore convinced the shooter was a third party, though their motives and identity remain obscure to us.”
“That leaves us with one clear lead: Mr. M’s associate, Granger Sparrow,” Maia said, her voice dropping. “Mr. M may have intelligence on this third party. More importantly, it seems Chris was taken by Mr. M’s people.”
Zoey gave a slight nod. “I already have people looking into it.”
As if on cue, a sharp buzz vibrated through the quiet. Zoey’s phone hummed against the stone. Almost simultaneously, Maia felt her own phone vibrate in her pocket.
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The two women exchanged a look.
Zoey nced at her screen, a faint crease appearing between her brows. Maia answered her call and ced it on speaker.
Instantly, the agitated voice of her lead hacker crackled through. “Boss — we’ve hit a wall. That oil tycoon, Granger Sparrow… he doesn’t exist. The entire identity is a fabrication.”
Maia’s grip on her phone tightened, her pulse thudding in her ears. “What do you mean?”
The voice on the line was grim. “The real Granger Sparrow died in a private medical facilityst December. I verified the death certificate myself. The man active in Wront right now is an impostor.”
A cold shock shot down Maia’s spine, her pupils constricting.
If the identity was fabricated, then who had taken Chris? And where did Mr. M truly stand? The memory of the auction was sharp, yet the motivations behind it remained shrouded in fog.
“I understand.” Maia ended the call, her voice carefully controlled.
She lifted her eyes to meet Zoey’s gaze. Wordlessly, Zoey slid her own phone across the stone table. Its screen disyed a matching intelligence brief: Granger Sparrow deceased Decemberst year. Identity confirmed as fraudulent.
The trail had gone cold.
Maia’s hands curled into fists, her nails biting into her palms. Chris was gone — his location, his condition, a void of unknowns.
A heavy silence settled over the garden.
“Don’t panic.” Zoey’s voice cut through the quiet, steady as an anchor. “They’re human. They will leave traces. And where there is no body, there is still hope.” Her tone softened, offering a thread of logic to cling to. “Besides, their actions suggest they mean Chris no harm. If they wanted him dead, they would have done it at the hospital. They took him for a reason. I believe he is safe.”
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