?Chapter 1569:


    Ste fixed her gaze on Nina, the hatred burning in her eyes undiminished — nowced with an additionalyer of contempt.


    “Nina, you are nothing more than a pathetic creature cowering in the shadows. You have exhausted every scheme imaginable and transformed yourself into a hollow shell of who you once were. What have you actually gained? Oh, that is right — you have be Arlo’sckey. Nothing beyond an obedientpdog groveling at his feet.” The once aloof and prideful Nina had been reduced to working for a shady mercenary. She had copsed from grace long ago. What was there to be proud of in bing someone’s dog?


    “Shut your mouth!”


    Nina’s smile evaporated in an instant, her expression twisting into something grotesque with rage. Her fingers quivered as she thrust them toward Ste. “Grab her! Why are you all standing there like statues? Do you not want Arlo’s reward when you return?”


    The mercenaries surged forward immediately, moving with practiced efficiency to restrain her.


    But at the precise moment their hands were about to make contact, an intensifying roar thundered from above the warehouse roof. The sound escted rapidly — violent enough to shake loose dust from the rafters. Everyone snapped their gaze upward.


    Two helicopters materialized into view.


    Nina stood momentarily frozen. Then her eyes zed with unrestrained joy. These helicopters had to have been dispatched by Arlo — he wasing personally to im Ste. She understood exactly how much Arlo valued her, his obsession with extracting her memories. She could not suppress the triumphant grin spreading across her face as she whirled toward Ste. “Ste, there is no escape! Arlo ising to collect you himself!”


    Marc stared up at the circling helicopters in absolute terror, drowning in hopelessness. He wanted desperately to grab Ste and run, but he could not summon the strength to push himself upright. His bones felt pulverized — the mercenary’s blows had almost certainly fractured his ribs, and the agony was excruciating. He twisted toward Ste, his voice breaking. “Ste, run! I know you despise me. I do not dare ask for your forgiveness. Just get away — do not let them take you!”


    Ste remained standing perfectly straight, a flicker of shock crossing her features. She had no idea who this Arlo that Nina kept invoking was, but she recognized him as the person responsible for William’s torment. So despite William’s absence, she felt apulsion to confront him — to demand answers about why he had targeted William so ruthlessly.


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    The powerful downdraft generated by the helicopters whipped everyone’s clothing into a violent frenzy. The aircraft descended with deliberate slowness, their doors swinging open to release boardingdders.


    Nina’s smile stretched even wider. She had delivered Ste directly to Arlo. He had given her his word — once he possessed Ste, every one of her conditions would be met. And her primary demand was for William to experienceplete ruin ande crawling to her in desperation. She craved to see him taste the devastating bitterness of losing the one he cherished, forced to beg someone he had always regarded with contempt. The mere anticipation of it made her erupt into wild, unhingedughter.


    Until — a towering,manding figure appeared in the helicopter doorway.


    The altitude was too great for Nina and the others to make out his features clearly, but the overwhelming aura radiating from him — cial, authoritative — made Nina instinctively recoil with a shudder.


    Her triumphant smile disintegrated in a heartbeat, reced by sheer terror and disbelief.


    The man in the helicopter doorway was not Arlo.


    It was William.


    Nina’s heart lurched into immediate panic. She frantically pushed her wind-ravaged hair aside, desperate to see more clearly. This had to be an illusion. How could it be William? How could he have tracked down this location so quickly?


    William did not descend immediately. He remained at the helicopter entrance, his frigid gaze sweeping methodically across the scene below. When his eyes finally settled on Ste — her forehead bleeding, yet still standing with unwavering defiance — his expression ignited with volcanic fury.


    The t, open terrain at the warehouse entrance provided the perfectnding zone. Amid the deafening roar of the rotors, William descended, dramatically backlit by the helicopter’s intense light. Behind him came local police officers in full uniform, moving with tactical precision as they swiftly surrounded Nina and the mercenaries, forming an imprable circle before any of them could process what was happening.


    “Drop your weapons immediately! On the ground — do not move!”


    Witnessing the police arrive, the mercenaries instinctively tried to scatter — only to find themselves trapped on all sides with no escape route. Recognizing that resistance was futile, they exchanged brief, defeated nces before reluctantly releasing their weapons and dropping into crouched positions with their hands sped over their heads.


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