?Chapter 1238:


    At home, Marc handed Ste the photograph.


    In it, the two of them were caught in a moment of unguarded joy. Sitting close beside her, Marc smiled faintly. “See this, Stel? We were happy then. We’ll reach that again—happier than ever.”


    Ste stared at the image, recognizing their smiles yet feeling as though it belonged to another lifetime. She tried to return his smile but couldn’t quite manage it.


    A flicker of something dark crossed Marc’s face before he reced it with gentle affection. He knew that despite giving Ste medication daily, the memories involving William refused to fade. He would have to move faster, be more decisive, to make Ste hispletely.


    Not knowing what had be of William, Marc resolved to keep him from disturbing his life with Ste, dead or alive.


    Far away, in a hidden mercenary camp, Nina finally found her moment to act. On a stormy night, amid thunder and lightning, part of the camp’s electrical system failed, plunging a section into temporary darkness. As the guards turned their attention elsewhere, Nina slid a hairpin into the lock, working it open before slipping out like a shadow.


    Relying on memory and the observations she had made, she moved with caution and circled around patrols until she reached the area she believed held William. Her heart hammered in her chest. Rain and tears blurred her sight, but she would not stop. She had to know what state William was in.


    Through a narrow gap in the observation window, she peered and took in the room beyond.


    William sat bound to a chair, his eyes closed and his features ck with a dazed haze. Dressed in a white coat, the hypnotist leaned forward and said in a slow, deliberate tone, “William, hold on to this feeling. Ste’s betrayal is what cost you everything. She is the reason you are here now. When you see her again, you must make her pay. Take back what was stolen from you. Let her taste the same suffering.”


    William’s face adopted an expression Nina had never witnessed before—raw hatred for Ste,id bare and unmistakable. His hands clenched the armrests so hard that his knuckles bulged white.


    L?t??τ chɑρτ?rs ιn g??l??ov?????.??????


    Nina pressed her palm to her mouth to muffle the scream that threatened to escape. Arlo’s group wasn’t saving him. They were breaking him down, reshaping him into something consumed by hate.


    At that moment, William’s body tensed. His eyelids fluttered hard,shes trembling as if fighting to tear free from invisible chains. A guttural growl rumbled from deep within his chest.


    Outside the ss, Nina’s pulse quickened. She saw the truth in that instant—Arlo’s n was nearlyplete. No one could endure that kind of psychological assault, not even William. He was being turned into a weapon, one driven only by vengeance toward Ste.


    Realizing she had no way to escape, Nina could only stand there, forced to watch William’s torment y out beneath the storm’s relentless sound. Soaked through, she huddled in a corner. By morning, Drake discovered her in bed, her skin hot with fever.


    Deeming her still valuable, Drake called for a doctor without hesitation.


    When she regained awareness, Drake stood over her, his tone coldly measured. “William’s awake. Do you want to see him?”


    Nina’s breath caught, her eyes growing wide as the memory of that night came rushing back, cold and bitter. “Are you saying his memory’s actually been altered?”


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