?Chapter 1393:


    Arlo.


    Her heart stuttered. She stared for a beat, then picked up just before it stopped ringing. “Hello? General White.”


    Arlo was still fuming from his conversation with William. And when he thought about Nina, it made his blood boil even more. She had brought William to him.


    “Nina,” he said, voice cold. “You once brought William to my base. You begged me to save him. Do you remember the promise you made me back then?”


    Nina’s heart clenched. “I… I said I’d do anything to save him.”


    Of course she remembered. That whole time was burned into her brain. She still dreamed about it. But the dreams weren’t soft—they were nightmares.


    Arlo wasn’t calling just to reminisce. She knew that much. She had no idea what he wanted from her now, but her gut was already churning.


    “Good,” Arlo said. “You remember. So you already know—when you made that promise, you handed your life over to me. In exchange for William’s survival. And now? It’s time you do something for me.”


    She had prepared herself for this day. Still, hearing it out loud made her stomach drop.


    “What do you want me to do? I don’t think I can be of much use. My hand’s useless.”


    She sounded defeated. She felt it too. William wouldn’t even listen to her. What could she possibly offer anyone?


    But Arlo wasn’t moved. “The task I have in mind doesn’t need your hand.”


    Nina couldn’t refute his words.


    “William refused to bring Ste to me,” he continued. “So I need you to find a way back into the Carter family. Earn their trust again. Once you do, you’ll know what to do. I’ll be in touch when the next phase is ready.”


    Nina let out a bitterugh. “Arlo, I know I made that promise, but I can’t help you with this. You might as well send someone to kill me. I feel like I have nothing left to live for.”


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    She was tired—bone-deep tired. Tired of fighting William. Tired of being shut out by the Carter family.


    If it didn’t hurt so much to die, she might’ve already done it.


    Arlo’s voice darkened. “You’re giving up? Just like that? I thought you were tougher than this, Nina. You always struck me as someone with grit.”


    But his taunt didn’tnd.


    She felt like a ghost of herself. Like someone who had already lost, no matter what she tried.


    What was the point of pushing forward when every path led nowhere?


    Arlo went quiet, thrown off by how checked-out she sounded. He couldn’t control either of the people he’d once thought he could use.


    She wasn’t even afraid to die anymore. That frustrated him more than anything.


    But then it hit him—she wasn’t defiant. She was empty. And emptiness didn’t respond to threats.


    So he shifted tactics. “Nina,” he said, voice lower now, more calcting. “I know what you want. I can help you get it if you work with me.”


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