?Chapter 1347:


    Marc rubbed his temples. “How am I supposed topete with William?”


    That shut Whittaker up. After a beat, he exhaled. “Alright. I just thought you should know. She doesn’t look okay. If you’re done, then fine.”


    The line clicked dead. Marc tossed his phone onto the coffee table and sank back into the couch with a heavy sigh.


    A few minutester, someone knocked at the door. His heart kicked once. Hope flickered in his chest as he went to open it.


    Lance.


    Marc didn’t even get a word out before Lance pushed past him like he owned the ce. “I’m here about Ste,” he said over his shoulder. “So listen up. Every damn word.”


    Marc closed the door slowly, already exhausted.


    He turned around to find Lance making himselffortable on the sofa like he belonged there. “If you’re here to tell me to rescue her,” Marc muttered, “don’t bother. I’m not going. You didn’t want her to marry me before, remember?”


    He let out a bitterugh. Wasn’t this the oue Lance and the Carters wanted?


    Lance’s face darkened instantly.


    He stood. Grabbed Marc by the cor. “You think this is about what I wanted?”


    Marc stiffened. Lance wasn’t just a cop—he was the kind of man who carried authority like a weapon. His grip alone made Marc’s mouth go dry.


    “I warned you,” Lance said, low and sharp, “if you ever failed her again, I wouldn’t let it slide. Now she’s in real trouble, and you’re hiding in your apartment like a coward.”


    He tightened his grip once more before shoving Marc back. “You’re not the ‘mighty’ Walsh heir anymore, Marc. William might be hard to deal with—but you? You’re not untouchable.”


    Marc hit the floor, stunned. He looked up, breathing hard.


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    Lance adjusted his sleeves, calm again. “Get a grip. Once we get Ste away from him, I’ll deal with you.”


    The sharp edge in Lance’s voice unsettled Marc, yet a flicker of curiosity pulled him down onto the seat beside Lance.


    Lance leaned in, voice low, andid out the n Ste had whispered to him only hours earlier when he’d slipped away to see her.


    Marc froze. His pulse stumbled as he stared at Lance in disbelief. “You’re telling me Ste still cares about me?”


    He didn’t anticipate that. Marc had thought that once Ste was back by William’s side without the drugs he had given her to inhibit her memories, she would remember him right away.


    But Lance insisted otherwise.


    “She hasn’t remembered a thing. When I saw her, she kept asking when you wereing to get her. She still believes in you, Marcpletely. And you’re really going to abandon her again after you already failed her once?”


    Lance’s words washed over Marc, stirring a deep wave of guilt. As much as he hated to admit it, he knew he couldn’tpare to William.


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