?Chapter 79:


    Marc’s voice was hoarse, frantic. “Where the hell is Ste?”


    Lainey looked like she’d just about had it with him.


    Her tone was sharp, her eyes zing. “I told you already—I don’t know. You saw ourst messages. She didn’t even reply. What do you want from me? You’re the one who wrecked everything. And now you suddenly care?”


    She scoffed, folding her arms. “You should’ve thought about this before you tore her apart. Don’t show up now acting like some tragic lover. It’s pathetic.”


    She was genuinely fed up with Marc’s theatrics. Marc’s bted affection was as worthless as stale news.


    Marc wasn’t listening. His eyes were bloodshot, fingers clenched into fists.


    “Two people came to my house this morning iming to be police. They handed me a death certificate. Said it was Ste’s.” His voice cracked. “I don’t believe it. I can’t believe it. This is your research institute’s doing, isn’t it? Some trick—just to keep me away from her.” He jabbed a finger at her, trembling with fury. “Don’t even try to deny it. I’m not going anywhere until you tell me where she is.”


    He had been taking things easy with Lainey, and this was why they were messing with him.


    Lainey froze. “A death certificate?” she repeated, eyes narrowing in shock.


    Marc watched her like a hawk. She looked… genuinely surprised. Not the reaction of someone in on some twisted scheme. His heart sank. Could she really not know? She was one of Ste’s closest friends, yet she didn’t know about this?


    Could it be true?


    “Stop pretending. Don’t you really know?” Marc tried to keep his calm, his voice trembling as he pressed on.


    Lainey’s eyes widened, filled with a mix of panic and disbelief. “How would I know? Ste’s dead? She’s really dead?”


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    Lainey’s eyes were wide with panic, but deep inside, her mind was racing.


    The institute did issue death certificates for members of ssified projects—it was protocol.


    That meant… Ste had joined.


    So that was what she’d been hiding. A strange mix of relief and pride washed over her—Ste had finally gotten what she wanted, and as a bonus, ditched Marc in the process. Perfect.


    But now, she had to keep up the act.


    She blinked hard and forced a few tears to well up. She grabbed her purse and hurled it at him.


    “How dare youe here using me?!” she screamed. “Why is she dead, Marc? Huh? That’s on you! You killed her!”


    Marc wasn’t buying it. He dodged Lainey’s outburst, his face like stone, his voice low but unrelenting.


    “Was it William? Did he take her away?” He kept asking, again and again.


    It was the only thing that made sense.


    Why else had Ste vanished without a trace? William—cold, calcted, powerful. Of course he’d be the one to help her disappear. Lainey flinched slightly. His guess was scarily urate. But she held her ground, masking her surprise with a cracked, tearful expression.


    “Are you insane? You’re using her of running off with someone right after hearing she’s dead?! Do you even hear yourself? You’ve got no shame!” She shoved his shoulder hard. “Get out! Just get out—I never want to see your face again!”


    Covering her face, she stormed back to her dorm, sobbing loud enough for the entire hallway to hear.


    Marc stood there for a beat, torn between chasing after her and screaming into the sky. But just then, his phone rang. It was Kody.


    “Mr. Walsh, you need to get back to the office. Fast. A bunch of investors just pulled out—we’re barely hanging on.”


    Kody’s tone was urgent. Marc’s expression turned grim, his jaw locked as he stared down at the screen.


    Right now… thepany couldn’t afford to copse.


    No matter what it took, he was going to get to the bottom of Ste’s disappearance.


    Without another word, he ended the call, then turned and headed straight back to thepany.


    Meanwhile, in apletely different world, Ste was living a full, focused life inside the confidential project group. Every day was packed. Some tasks were…


    Challenging, but the team was sharp—they solved problems fast and moved forward even faster.


    Marc? He hadn’t crossed her mind muchtely. But if she had to guess, she figured his life was only spiraling deeper into chaos.


    Now, with the prep work nearlyplete, the team was gearing up to enter the formal research phase.


    That meant round-the-clockmitment. No distractions. No outside noise.


    Sitting in her chair that afternoon, Ste leaned back and let out a long breath. She didn’t want to just bury her past—she wanted to rebuild herself from scratch. When this was all over, she hoped she’d emerge as someone entirely new. Someone better.


    Six months passed in the blink of an eye.


    Ste now sat on a ne bound for Choria, lost in thought as the skyline slowly came into view through the window.


    William sat beside her. He noticed the quiet tension in her face and asked softly, “Have you decided what you’ll do now that you’re back?” The project had been a huge sess.


    As part of their confidentiality agreement, every member had the option to either take up their old identity—or disappear into a new one forever.


    Hearing his question, Ste gave a faint smile. “Ste died six months ago,” she said calmly. “There’s no reason to go back to a name that doesn’t mean anything anymore.”


    William nced over at her, a flicker of something like admiration passing through his eyes.


    “If you’re interested,” he said, “I could offer you a position at Briggs Group. Technical Director.”


    Ste blinked, genuinely caught off guard. Six months ago, this man had been ice cold andpletely dismissive of her skills.


    Now he was offering her a high-ranking role?


    She turned to him, her smileced with yful sarcasm. “Mr. Briggs, are you finally admitting I’m good at what I do?” By now, their dynamic had shifted.


    What had once been formal was now rxed—friendly, even.


    Her eyes sparkled with yful mischief.


    William chuckled under his breath, eyes glinting. “Let’s just say… you passed.”


    “Passed? That was it?”


    Ste opened her mouth to ask more, but before she could say anything, a cold voice cut in from a few seats over.


    “If I were you, Ms. Russell,” Nathalia said sharply, “I’d have a little more self-awareness. The Briggs Group doesn’t hire people through backdoor connections. They hire based on merit.”


    Nathalia had spent thest six months circling William like a hawk—doing everything in her power to earn his attention. But William had been polite at best, indifferent at worst.


    Despite her qualifications, he hadn’t once offered her a position in hispany. And now here he was—extending a job offer to Ste of all people.


    What was it about Ste?


    Ste turned toward her with a raised brow, unbothered.


    At first, Ste had assumed Nathalia was just another unfortunate soul. But as time went on, it became clear—this had always been one-sided.


    William was naturally distant. He kept people at arm’s length, always cool, alwaysposed.


    And Nathalia? She was just another name on the list.


    Ste actually felt a little sorry for her. Because William liked men. And Nathalia, no matter how hard she tried, was chasing a ghost.


    Ste didn’t feel angry—just amused. She turned, smiled sweetly at Nathalia, and said with that disarming calm, “You’re absolutely right, Ms. Fuller. I’m not good enough. You’re the best match. The perfect match, really.”


    Then she tilted her head, almost thoughtfully. “Oh! I just remembered—I need to check something with Maia. I’ll let you two… bond.”


    And with that, she stood and walked away, settling into the seat beside Maia, giving the two space.


    William’s gaze followed her the whole way. His expression darkened by the second.


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