?Chapter 956:


    Ste’s heart sank. Everything she’d worked so hard to dig up—gone, just like that. Again.


    William saw the crushed look on her face and gave her hand a soft squeeze, his voice easing up a little. “But we did discover a very small tattoo on him that matches the insignia of the core assassins within Alonzo’s organization—the same one we identified in our previous investigation. I’ve tracked down a few of their hideouts around Choria. Luca’s already staking them out.”


    He looked her in the eyes, and in that stare was a mix of worry, frustration, and something deeper he didn’t say out loud. “Ste… why didn’t you tell me? Why go solo like that? That was reckless. If I’d shown up even a secondter…”


    He didn’t finish. He didn’t have to. They both knew how bad it could’ve gotten.


    His voice cracked—raw, real. He’d been terrified. Even with a full team shadowing her, things could slip. That kind of risk? Not worth it. Not with her.


    No one else knew the fear that had gripped William when he’d seen her hanging by a thread yesterday.


    Ste looked away, tears stinging her eyes before spilling over. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to shut you out… I just didn’t want to drag you in deeper. You’ve already saved me more times than I can count.”


    William didn’t say anything at first—just pulled her in and held her tight. “You silly woman,” he muttered, voice rough. “We’re in this together. There’s no ‘dragging me down.’ Your life’s worth more than any damn evidence. Promise me—no more lone-wolf crap. Whateveres, we handle it side by side.”


    Ste nodded against his chest, heart pounding. She finally got it—how reckless she’d been. If William hadn’t shown up when he did, she’d be dead, no question.


    She kept thinking she could handle everything herself, but all she’d done was dump more chaos on the people who cared about her. Lesson learned—thankfully, not toote.


    Every story starts at gα?ησν????s


    Sure, the crucial evidence was gone again, but all wasn’t lost. Her discovery still opened new doors.


    Once William and Karson got wind of the journal entries and the vials she’d uncovered, they pulled every string they had—digging through the warehouse, chasing any trail tied to the mystery man.


    By the end of the week, Ste was almost back to full strength, but tension at the institute was getting worse by the day. William had managed to shut down most of the outside heat, but the internal noise? That was a different beast. Nina was stirring the pot, and she wasn’t letting up.


    Then came the meeting. The institute had called everyone in to deal with the fallout from the data breach. William tried to keep Ste off the list, but she wasn’t having it. The whole mess started because of her—she wasn’t about to duck the consequences.


    The conference room was packed. As soon as Nina spotted Ste walking in, she didn’t even try to hide the smirk that curled on her lips. She didn’t wait for anyone to speak. “This whole disaster’s on Sylvia,” she said, loud and blunt. “She needs to take full responsibility. That means covering the client’s losses—and getting out of the institute. For good.”


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