?Chapter 1226:


    Eventually, exhaustion dragged her under, and she drifted into an uneasy sleep.


    Half a world away, Nina paced restlessly beside a hospital bed, her anxiety growing heavier by the day. White-coated doctors murmured to each other as they examined the motionless figure lying beneath sterile sheets.


    “Didn’t you say he wasn’t in danger?” Nina snapped, her voice trembling with anger and fear. “You said he’d wake up soon!”


    The lead doctor hesitated, his eyes darting away. “His vitals are stable… but recovery dependsrgely on the patient’s will. We can’t force him to wake.”


    “So you’re saying he doesn’t want to wake up?” Nina’s voice cracked like ss.


    It had been nearly a month since Nina brought William abroad. And still… he hadn’t opened his eyes.


    The doctor stood by the bed, silent. He neither denied her fears nor offeredfort.


    When the checkup ended, he packed his things quickly and left, avoiding her gaze.


    The door clicked shut, and silence swallowed the room again.


    Nina slumped into the chair beside the bed, her hand trembling as she traced William’s face—his brows, hisshes, the faint curve of his lips. Her emotions twisted like a storm inside her chest.


    She could still see it—the river, the moment she found him floating downstream like a broken doll. She had called Drake for help, and his men hade in a ne to take them away. Since then, every doctor, every machine, every drop of medicine had been paid for by Drake.


    But she hadn’t seen him once. Only that cold man in uniform came sometimes—the one everyone called the General.


    Nina’s gaze lingered on William’s still face.


    The door suddenly burst open.


    Nina flinched, her eyes snapping up. The General strode in, boots heavy against the floor, a group of armed soldiers following close behind. And at the very back was Drake.


    Her breath caught. “Drake?” She frowned, her voice trembling. “What’s going on?”


    Drake’s tone was calm and light. “It’s simple. The entire Erebus organization has copsed. I’ve got fewer than twenty men left. To survive, I need… a new alliance.”


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    Nina’s grip on William’s hand tightened. “What do you mean by a new alliance?”


    Drake took a step forward, his shadow falling over her. His lips curled into something between a smile and a sneer. “Allow me to introduce you. This is General Arlo White,mander of the mercenary corps. From now on, both you and William belong to him.”


    Nina froze. For a moment, she forgot to breathe. “What do you mean by ‘belong to him’?”


    Drake shrugged, his voice cold and almost yful. “Come on, Miss Carter. You’re clever enough to understand. You and William are useless to me now. Giving you to General White is… a favor between allies.”


    Nina’s blood ran cold.


    He had promised to protect them. She had trusted him.


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