?Chapter 1243:


    “Where is Ste living now?” he asked suddenly.


    The driver hesitated, eyes darting nervously to the rearview mirror. “I—I’m not sure, sir.”


    William didn’t look up. His voice was quiet, almost too calm. “Find out.”


    He pulled out his phone and sent a quick message to Luca.


    Three minutester, a reply came back with aplete address—down to the street, the number, the name of the residential area.


    When William read it, a low, humorless chuckle escaped him.


    A run-down viplex in the outskirts of Choria.


    So this was what she’d traded him for?


    He stared at the message for a moment longer before slipping the phone into his pocket. “Pull over,” he ordered.


    The driver stopped immediately.


    “Take a taxi back,” William said, handing him some cash without looking up. “I won’t need you anymore.”


    The driver hesitated, then stepped out, watching as William slid behind the wheel and drove off on his own.


    He didn’t ask questions. He didn’t need to. He knew where William was headed.


    The drive was quiet. The kind of quiet that sat heavy in the air. When William finally stopped, it was across the narrow street from a small vi with warm lights glowing through the windows. He cut the engine but didn’t get out. He wasn’t even sure why he was there.


    Nina’s words—she used you, she never loved you—echoed in his head. The memories he still held were twisted, scarred, raw. And yet, somehow, his body had brought him here anyway.


    He didn’t know if he wanted to see her or simply confirm that she was real.


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    Time blurred. The sun slipped behind the skyline, and one by one, the lights inside the vi turned on.


    Then, the front gate opened. Ste stepped out, her hand looped gently through Marc’s arm.


    She was smiling faintly as he talked—something about a new restaurant he wanted to take her to.


    Sheughed softly. The sound drifted across the quiet street and hit him like a knife.


    When they reached the car, Marc seemed to remember something. “Wait here,” he said, turning back inside.


    Left alone at the gate, Ste turned her head instinctively—her gazending directly on the dark car across the street.


    The window was open. For one suspended heartbeat, her eyes met William’s. Cold, cutting, filled with hatred so deep it almost didn’t look human.


    She froze. Her breath hitched. Then, as if the ground had tilted beneath her, she stumbled back—her heel catching on a small pebble.


    Marc reappeared just in time to catch her. “Careful!” He steadied her quickly, concern shing across his face.


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