?Chapter 805:


    Without waiting for a reply, he slipped away, leaving William and Ste standing there.


    The oppressive silence made the steady hum of the machines unbearably loud. Ste leaned against the cold metal bench, lowering her gaze, her mind still reying Amon’s words and veiled threats.


    But behind William’s broad shoulders, shielding her so firmly, she felt… safe. Safer than she wanted to admit.


    That sense of security, however, only twisted the knot of helplessness in her chest tighter.


    She had promised herself she didn’t need William’s protection. She had sworn she wouldn’t let the Briggs family drag her down again. She’d heard William’s threat to Amon—especially the mention of Alonzo’s moneyundering. The words still echoed in her head.


    The Briggs family was rotten to the core.


    The Briggs n resembled a pit of snakes slithering through decay, always striking at one another. In that poisonous struggle, Ste was nothing more than a disposable piece on their board.


    To William, she might have been no different from a coveted treasure he refused to see in anyone else’s hands.


    When William turned toward her, the turmoil swimming in her gaze stopped him cold. In that single nce, he realized she had twisted his intent once again. His chest ached, dragged down by a helpless weight he could no longer shake. William tried to remember how many times he had attempted to make her understand—whether about his tangled past or the chaos stirred up by Amon and the Briggs family—but every effort blurred into the next.


    For Ste, his voice carried no substance.


    Every exnation sounded empty to her ears, stripped of meaning.<fn4b1b> Official source is find·novel</fn4b1b>


    The rift left William uncertain how to stitch their trust back together.


    “You’ve certainly got gall, Mr. Briggs, tossing your uncle’s filth around just to control your cousin. Your family never fails to impress. Seems I’m not only the spark that ignited your little feud but also a convenient pawn in your game. How ttering,” Ste scoffed, her tone biting like acid.


    Her venom didn’t spare herself. The sharpness of those words cut into both of them, leaving wounds neither could ignore.


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    William’s expression darkened, and he nearly spoke. He wanted to tell her the truth—that everything he did was to shield her from Amon, the reckless storm who would swallow her whole.


    Alonzo’s old sins clung like stains that no amount of scrubbing could erase, each one woven tightly into the corruption of the Briggs Group. There was no way William couldy that truth bare for Ste now, and dragging her into that pit would only destroy her.


    Keeping her away from the Briggs family’s shadows seemed the only way to keep her safe.


    William drew in a ragged breath, his voice roughened by strain as he forced the words out. “The Briggs family isn’t what you imagine. Amon’s reckless. He’ll stop at nothing. I only—”


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