?Chapter 1052:


    Right then, his phone buzzed. He nced at the screen, his expression tightening. “I have to take this.”


    He stood and stepped away, leaving Ste watching his stiff shoulders as he answered the call, her mind reeling.


    When he came back, he looked even more serious than before. “Something’se up with Amon—I need to leave right now. I’ll have Luca drive you home, alright?”


    He was gentler, like he was bracing for resistance.


    But Ste didn’t feel like pushing back. “Alright. Just… be careful, will you?”


    William blinked, as if her concern had caught him off guard. He held her gaze for a second, something soft flickering behind his eyes, then nodded and left in a rush.


    Ste stayed in the café, alone for a moment, gathering herself. Luca showed up soon after and walked her to the car, as polite and professional as ever.


    Once home, Ste didn’t waste any time. She plugged the USB into herptop.


    It was loaded. Documents, reports, diagrams—everything from Erebus’s internal structure and profiles of its key yers to investigation notes on her adoptive parents and her real mother.


    As she scrolled through the files, her face slowly drained of color.


    The report revealed that her mother had indeed been murdered because she refused to continue the experiments and had even attempted to take the experimental data with her.


    The files weren’t enough to bring Erebus down in court, but they painted a chilling picture of just how deep and twisted the organization ran.


    Then, something stopped her cold. A name. One she knew too well. Daniel Carter.


    The documents said Daniel had ties to Erebus going back ten years. Their contact wasn’t constant, but it was regr. Ongoing.


    A cold shiver ran down her spine. If Daniel was involved… did the rest of the Carter family know? Did her grandfather? Her brother?


    She sat there until the sky outside turned dark, then shut herptop and leaned back,pletely drained.


    Feel the thrill on gα?ησν????s?c?m


    Her chest felt tight, like she couldn’t get a full breath in.


    Her phone buzzed. A message from William: “Did you get home safe? Don’t overthink the stuff on the USB. I’ll keep digging for real evidence to take Erebus down.”


    She stared at the message for a long moment, then replied with two simple words. “I’m home.”


    Almost immediately, he texted back. “Erebus might be gearing up for something big. I’ve stationed people near your ce, but I still hope you’ll think about moving in.”


    This time, she didn’t argue. She simply typed back two words. “Thank you.”


    Ste walked over to the window and pulled the curtain back just enough to peek outside. Across the street, a ck sedan sat quietly in the dark. As if it knew she was watching, the car’s window slowly rolled down—and a familiar face nodded at her.


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