?Chapter 198:


    Without waiting for a reply, Cole reached down, grabbed the gun from the table, and walked toward the room where Elliana was waiting.


    The others were left staring after him, baffled. What was going through his mind? His words suggested he had no intention of severing ties with Elliana. He seemed angry at their suggestion. But then why take the gun?


    Aron and Hugh tensed, instincts ring. They hurried over to Myles, worry etched across their faces.


    “Myles, what do we do now?” Hugh whispered urgently.


    Myles stared at the shut door, tension etched deep in his face. “We wait,” he murmured. “If we hear gunfire—we go in.”


    It wasn’t just Elliana’s safety they were worried about. She was no damsel. If things turned violent, Cole might note out unscathed either.


    An, Merlin, and Manley shared the same uneasy weight in their chests—a gnawing sense that no oue in that room would be clean.


    Cole stepped into the room, handgun at his side, just as Elliana emerged from the bathroom.


    She had taken her time to shower. Despite knowing what might be discussed outside—her death—she couldn’t ignore the difort of bloodstained clothes and dried sweat from the chaos on the yacht. With nothing else to wear, she’d slipped on one of Cole’s ck shirts. It hung loosely on her slender frame, brushing the tops of her thighs like an oversized nightgown.


    The fake afro wig was gone, her long hair cascading freely down her back. The grotesque disguise had been washed away, but her real face was still hidden behind those custom-made sses. She halted when she saw Cole—and the weapon in his hand.


    He paused at the doorway. Elliana’s fingers tightened around the coin she always kept on her. Ast resort. Her mind spun.


    If he pulled the trigger, should she strike with the coin? Why did it have toe to this? Why now—just when she had started to fall for him?


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    The silence stretched like a de between them. Neither moved. Neither spoke.


    Then, after what felt like hours, Cole broke the stillness with a quietugh. He said dryly, “You still found time for a shower?”


    “Why wouldn’t I?” Elliana met his gaze coolly.


    Once Elliana’s words trailed off, Cole slowly lifted his arm and pointed the gun directly at her.


    Elliana kept her gaze steady on him, her body motionless. But Cole, ever observant, had already noticed the coin nestled between her fingers at her side. Given her precision, throwing that coin would carry the same weight as pulling a trigger. He saw it, yet he acted as though he hadn’t. Instead, he gave her a quiet, unreadable smile.


    “With how clever you are, honey, I doubt you’re unaware of what we were talking about just now.”


    “You all decided to kill me here after your little chat?” Elliana asked, matching his tone with one of her own.


    There was no reply from Cole. He simply moved his thumb, clicking the safety off.


    That faint click echoed softly, signaling that the gun was now armed and ready to shoot.


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