?Chapter 1163:


    “Ste… please,” he murmured, his voice trembling. “You have to hold on.”


    Memories flooded Marc like a tide he couldn’t fight. He saw it all—theughter they once shared, the promises whispered under starlit skies, the day he swore he’d protect her forever.


    Their vows had been real. So had his betrayal.


    Regret festered in him like poison. If he could turn back time, he would trade everything—his pride, his freedom, his very life—to undo the pain he had caused her. He would make her the happiest woman alive, no matter what it took.


    Even at his lowest, when money ran dry and luck turned cruel, he never stopped dreaming of her.


    He believed that with Ste by his side, he could regain all he had lost.


    His phone buzzed. His mother’s name lit up the screen.


    Marc silenced it without hesitation. Nothing else mattered—not now, not when Ste was fighting for her life behind those cold steel doors.


    But Jazlyn kept calling.


    Marc’s jaw tightened. He powered off his phone, pressing his palms together as he bowed his head. His silent prayer was raw and desperate.


    Meanwhile, back in the mountains, Nina slipped past Luca’s men and stumbled deeper into the woods. That was where she found William.


    Hey unconscious among the leaves, his body battered and bloodied.


    His leg was twisted at an unnatural angle, a deep gash running along his thigh.


    Nina froze, her breath catching. The powerful, untouchable man she adored looked nothing like the William Briggs she knew.


    Tears welled in her eyes as she dropped to her knees beside him.


    Nina looked around in panic. A hospital was too dangerous—too many questions.


    Clenching her jaw, she pulled out her phone and made a call.


    After hours on the operating table, Ste had survived. But she remained unconscious, her chest rising and falling with the fragile rhythm of life.


    The doctor gave instructions to the nurses as they wheeled her bed out of the operating room. His expression was grave as he met Marc’s tense gaze. “The toxin damaged her nervous system,” the doctor exined. “Recovery… it’s unpredictable. We’ll take it step by step.”


    Marc’s hand found Ste’s cold one, his fingers tightening around hers. “As long as she’s alive… she’ll make it through.”


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    In Marc’s memory, Ste had always been unbreakable—surviving hardships with uncanny luck.


    Every scheme against her and Neb had failed. Every threat had left her standing. This time, he believed, would be no different.


    Meanwhile, Luca and his team still hadn’t found William.


    One of the rescue team members hesitated. “It’s already dark. Maybe we should—”


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