?Chapter 822:


    Exactly as nned. Provoking her, stirring her emotions.


    That was his favorite kind of fun.


    Ste left with nothing. No answers. No clues. But on William’s side, progress was being made.


    Piece by piece, he assembled the puzzle until the culprit became clear—Alonzo.


    Why would Alonzo target Ste’s adoptive parents? The answer was cruelly simple. They had seen something they shouldn’t have.


    And in the Briggs family, knowing the wrong thing meant death—swift, silent, unquestioned.


    William hated those methods, but he knew this was Alonzo’s way.


    Standing beside him, Luca asked carefully, “Mr. Briggs, we don’t have solid evidence yet. Should we tell Ms. Russell the truth?”


    William’s jaw tightened. Even if Ste knew, what could she do now? Charging in recklessly would only put her in danger.


    After a long silence, his deep voice came out steady. “Don’t tell her yet.”


    He wasn’t trying to keep her in the dark forever. He just needed to settle everything first.


    Luca gave a firm nod. “Understood.”


    Meanwhile, Ste sat fuming in the back of a cab, her chest burning with anger as she rode home.


    By the time she copsed on her sofa, her head throbbed with frustration. Why was it always Amon? Why did she let herself get pulled into his traps again and again?


    Another sleepless night passed. The next morning, she dragged herself to the research institute, dark circles shadowing her eyes.


    But trouble always had a way of finding her. The moment she stepped out of her apartmentplex, Marc was waiting.


    Ste’s brows furrowed. She tried to walk past, but Marc blocked her path, blurting, “Stel, I need to talk to you!”


    Her face hardened. “I have nothing to say to you.”


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    “Wait!” He raised his hand quickly, desperate to stop her. “It’s about your adoptive parents.”


    Her steps faltered. Irritation spiked inside her chest. Wasn’t this getting ridiculous? Why was everyone suddenly using her adoptive parents’ deaths to y games with her?


    “Marc,” she said coldly, “if you’re here to mock me too, don’t bother. I’ll find the truth myself. I don’t need your pity.”


    For once, Marc’s smile faded. He hade with a trace of schadenfreude, yes—but he also wanted her to know the truth. “Stel,” he said gravely, “I know who killed your adoptive parents. My people found out. It was William’s uncle—Alonzo.”


    Her whole body froze, blood running cold. “You… what did you say?”


    Marc let out a heavy sigh. “It’s true. And there’s more. William—who imed he was helping you—he already knew it was Alonzo. He just didn’t tell you.”<fna434> ???? ????s? ???????s ?? find?novel</fna434>


    Ste’s mind spun with the chaos of her thoughts.


    Marc pressed on, his voice cutting like a knife. “He buried the clues and protected Alonzo. Why? Because if Alonzo goes down, the Briggs family shakes. To William, the family’s interestse first. Your adoptive parents’ lives? Compared to the Briggs name, they mean nothing. He was never really helping you.”


    Ste staggered as if the ground had been pulled from beneath her. She had thought William’s silence was because he wasn’t involved in the case. Now, it felt like he had been hiding the truth from her all along.


    “Why should I believe a word you say?” Ste demanded, her voice cold.


    Marc let out a low sigh, as if he had expected her reaction.


    “Ste, I know I’ve given you every reason to doubt me. That’s why I’m not asking you to trust me. Ask William yourself. See if he dares look you in the eye and lie.”


    Instead of defending himself, he pushed her straight toward William. She would eventually run into him anyway. The confrontation was bound to happen.


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