?Chapter 1581:


    Air tore into his lungs as he dragged in breath after breath. Pain exploded behind his eyes, a brutal headache threatening to knock him back into darkness. The room lurched and twisted, a relentless buzzing drilling into his ears. His gaze jerked wildly from one point to another, refusing to steady—until his eyes locked onto the massive screen positioned directly before him.


    The disy flickered to life.


    A masked figure sat motionless on the screen, swallowed by shadows as though the darkness itself clung to him.


    Kolton’s pupils blew wide. “Th—Thomas? Is that you?”


    The name slipped from his mouth on instinct, escaping before he could stop it. Fear mmed into his chest without warning, sending a violent shudder through his restrained body. He knew he had ruined everything beyond repair, and the weight of it made facing Thomas feel impossible. At the same time, his survival instincts screamed at him, urging him to fear the presence looming on the screen.


    After a brief pause, the figure spoke, drawing out each word. The voice came through heavy processing—hoarse, frigid, wrapped in an unmistakable sense of dominance.


    “Kolton. Your ipetence has humiliated me. I cannotprehend what possessed you to expose yourself to the entire world.”


    Kolton sucked in a sharp breath, straining against the restraints as he tried to lift his head. “No. That is not what happened. Thomas, please listen to me. It was a mistake. I returned to Wront to fix everything. I wanted to clean up the mess and resolve it properly.”


    “Resolve it?” A lowugh slipped from behind the mask. “Do you even hear the nonsense you are saying? By now, you should understand that you have nothing left to bargain with.”


    Thomas fell silent, the pause stretching thick with pressure.


    “But I do,” Kolton forced out, desperation sharpening his voice. “Thomas, I still have leverage.”


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    A secondugh followed, colder and steeped in contempt. “Every action you took was your own doing. None of it has any connection to us.” Another humorless chuckle echoed through the speakers. “As for the covert operatives still stationed in Wront—they are nothing more than security staff you personally employed.”


    Kolton felt as though a bolt of lightning had torn straight through him, leaving his mind ringing and hollow. In that instant, he understood his ce with terrible rity. A pawn already cast aside—abandonedpletely, without hesitation or regret.


    “You’re suspicious,” the voice from the screen continued, unhurried. “And why would I not be? From the moment I allowed you to work under me, I questioned whether a snake hiding in the grass would eventually bare its fangs at its master.”


    Just then, the side door of the operating room slid open with a sharp pneumatic hiss.


    Several figures stepped inside, d in white gowns and medical masks.


    The instant Kolton saw them, terror rippled through him, his scalp prickling as though his hair might rise of its own ord. Trapped like a wounded beast, he released a hoarse, desperate cry.


    “Thomas, what are you nning to do? I am back. I will shoulder all the me. I swear I will never allow The Shadow to be exposed. Please—for all the years I served you without question, spare my life.”


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