?Chapter 1377:


    Amon let out a low chuckle and crossed the room, settling onto the sofa opposite the bed. “You’re the one who’s lost her memory,” he said calmly. “Not everyone else. I don’t believe for a second that you don’t recognize me.”


    Ste’s eyes swept the room, searching for anything—anything at all—that might serve as a weapon. She found nothing. It was obvious that anything remotely useful for defense had been deliberately removed.


    She tightened her lips and studied his face, which bore an unsettling resemnce to William’s, before asking stiffly, “Why did you kidnap me?”


    Amon casually brushed at his sleeve, flicking away dust that wasn’t there. “I need to see my cousin,” he said. “Surely you didn’t think I brought you here for any other reason.”


    After his involvement with Erebus had been exposed, Amon had gone into hiding overseas.


    Friends back home hadter told him about Erebus beingpletely dismantled. With Alonzo still locked behind bars, any hope of rebuilding the organization had vanished.


    The copse of Erebus hadn’t troubled him much, but the thought of remaining in exile for the rest of his life had.


    That was why he had returned this time—to negotiate terms with William.


    He had heard rumors about William’s intense hatred toward Ste, so he decided to test whether they were true through this kidnapping.


    If William truly didn’t care about her, then the Carter family could still serve as his safety.


    Either way, taking Ste away was no loss to him.


    Ste let out a tired sigh and said, her voice edged with bitterness, “Do you really think kidnapping me will make him care? I think you’ve got the wrong person. He probably wishes I were dead. If he contacts you at all, it’ll likely be to ask you to get rid of me without leaving a trace.”


    She had never doubted the depth of William’s hatred.


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    What had happened in the study that day still lingered in her body, the faint soreness in her neck serving as a quiet reminder.


    As he listened, Amon’s expression remained perfectly unreadable.


    “We’ll find out soon enough whether it works,” he replied calmly.


    He understood his cousin’s efficiency well enough. By now, William should have already narrowed down their location.


    All that remained was patience.


    Yet as Amon met Ste’s gaze—eyes clouded with resignation and disappointment—a new thought quietly formed in his mind.


    “Ste,” he said suddenly. “Why don’t you work with me?”


    Ste’s breath hitched, her reaction sharp, as though she had just heard an absurd joke.


    This man had kidnapped her, and now he was suggesting cooperation. Since when did partnerships begin like this?


    She turned her face away. “I don’t think there’s anything worth discussing between us.”


    Now that she knew she had lost her memory, every day confronted her with things she had never experienced in the past twenty years.


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