?Chapter 170:


    With that realization, Merritt humbled himself even further. “Mr. Evans, please don’t be upset. I only arranged Elliana’s kidnapping to ease your burden and to build a partnership with you.”


    “Really?” Cole sneered. “You took someone from my family, demanded three billion as ransom, and you call that easing my burden?” Not daring to dodge the subject, Merritt jumped in to rify. “I’ve wanted to forge a connection with you for a long time, but never had a proper channel. Then, I heard rumors that Elliana was clinging to you and causing problems, so I figured I’d lend a hand in removing her.”


    Cole’s eyes narrowed as he finally understood Merritt’s twisted reasoning behind taking Elliana. Of course, he had no intention of disclosing the truth about his connection to her, so his face remained emotionless as he asked, “Where is she?”


    “She’s gone,” Merritt said, his voice t, as if the weight of it had already settled long ago.


    Elliana was gone? The expressions on Myles, Aron, and Hugh shifted instantly, their faces hardening in disbelief.


    Sitting nearby, An, Merlin, and Manley turned their gazes toward Cole. Every one of them knew just how deeply Cole valued Elliana. Cole had thrown himself into danger, boarded this hostile yacht, all with one goal—to bring Elliana back alive. And now Merritt imed she was dead? That changed everything. There was no longer any reason to negotiate. Each of them was already bracing to help Cole turn this yacht into rubble.


    “Mr. Evans, you can rest easy. My team is very efficient. Her body was dealt with at sea—no evidence left behind.”


    Still blind to the storm he had unleashed, Merritt…


    Merritt kept speaking. “None of my men will reveal a thing. We’ll pin it all on some foreign crime syndicate. That way, you’ll have a clean report for your grandfather.”


    Elliana had been killed, her body disposed of at sea? Cole remainedpletely still, saying nothing. His silence stretched on, and the look on his face grew colder by the second, so icy that it could make the blood run dry. He had not moved a muscle, but the atmosphere began to twist, thick with the pressure of something about to explode.


    ?????????? ????????????????????: g?????????????????????


    Finally, Merritt sensed something was off. His smugness vanished, his grin faltered, and his voice stumbled. “Mr. Evans, is something bothering you?”


    In the next breath, Cole’s eyes lit with rage, and his presence shifted—now it was pure, lethal wrath. His entire being radiated a deadly stillness that made the air feel like it could shatter. A heavy silence hung in the hall…


    Cole’s icy silence hung in the air, rattling everyone in the room.


    A nervous tension crept over Merritt, his nerves stretched taut. Watching from the surveince feed, Paige felt a prickling chill crawl up her spine.


    In the next room, Hailee turned to Elliana, her eyes wide with confusion. “Elliana, what’s happening with Mr. Evans?”


    Elliana’s lips pressed into a thin line. She didn’t reply—her gaze stayed glued to the screen, tracking the slightest twitch of Cole’s expression. His anger simmered beneath a mask ofposure, so fierce that it seemed ready to break loose. This wasn’t real calm—it was the hush before a storm, the air heavy with threat. A single spark could set off the explosion building inside him. Was it her supposed death that had pushed him this far?


    .


    .


    .