?Chapter 1574:


    After a long moment passed, Ste turned toward Nina, her eyes hardening to ice. She spoke each word deliberately, with careful precision. “Tell me exactly how Arlo altered William’s memory, and tell me how to restore it. How do we erase those false memories he forced into William’s mind?”


    Her voice climbed despite her efforts to contain it, but her awareness of William sitting just ahead made her mp down hard, wrestling it back under control.


    Nina looked as though she’d just heard the most delicious joke, her lips twisting into something malicious and triumphant all at once. “Ste, you’re impossibly naive. Arlo’s methods don’t leave room for reversal. Those memories are buried deep in William’s mind now, rooted there. You can’t simply delete them.” Memories weren’t words scribbled on paper that could be crossed out and forgotten. Once changed, they remained permanent — irreversible and immovable.


    Nina drank in the sight of color draining from Ste’s face, savoring it like fine wine before continuing. “Do you honestly think this is over? Arlo knows you’ve recovered your memories by now. He knows William refused to surrender you. Do you really believe he’ll just walk away?” Nina leaned forward, something wild and unhinged flickering behind her eyes. “Without you in the picture, William would still be Arlo’s most trusted partner — protected, safe. But you’ve dragged him into danger, and Arlo won’t show mercy now. Just wait. You’ll watch yourself destroy the very man you im to love.”


    Ste shot to her feet, emotions churning violently in her chest. She stared down at Nina with an expression carved from stone, words dying before they could reach her lips.


    Luca had been listening from his position nearby, and he recognized the despair settling over Ste. He stepped in quickly, his voice reassuring. “Ms. Russell, don’t let her poison get to you. There’s definitely a way to restore Mr. Briggs’s memories.”


    Ste tried to convince herself that every problem carried a solution somewhere within it, but Nina’s words had already nted ice in her veins. She knew little about Arlo beyond his name, yet the fear radiating from Nina told her everything she needed to know — his reach extended far, and his influence ran deep.


    If Arlo nned to retaliate against William for protecting her, she needed to move first, before Arlo struck.


    Nina settled back into her seat, throwing a contemptuous look between Luca and Ste. “You’ll discover soon enough whether I’m speaking nonsense or truth.” The smug certainty on Nina’s face sent a wave of helplessness crashing over Ste.


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    She didn’t waste a single nce on Marc sitting beside Nina. Instead, she rose and made her way back toward William.


    When she stepped into the main cabin, William hadn’t moved from his earlier position. His eyes remained closed, his body angled against the seat as though the entire world beyond him had ceased to exist.


    She lowered herself back into her seat, drew in a steadying breath, and began, “William, I just spoke with Nina and Marc. They told me—” The words hadn’t fully left her mouth when William’s eyes snapped open.


    Ste’s breath caught in her throat. She hadn’t expected such a sudden movement, and surprise shed across her features before she couldpose herself.


    William’s eyes held nothing — no anger, no curiosity, nothing but the t calm of stagnant water. He turned his gaze toward the window, where familiar city shapes were gradually emerging below. His voice came out low, edged with irritation. “I asked for quiet. Must you talk so much?”


    The words struck Ste with sudden rity — he had heard every syble of her conversation with Nina. He had simply chosen not to care.


    Every word she had prepared lodged itself in her throat as she watched him turn away with cold precision, shutting her outpletely. The rejection squeezed her heart until breathing became an active struggle.


    Thirty minutes crawled past before the ne touched down smoothly on the private section of Choria International Airport’s tarmac.


    The cabin door swung open, releasing a flood of cool air that hit Ste like a physical blow. Dressed in nothing but thin pajamas, she began shivering immediately, unable to stop. Marc had dragged her from the vi wearing only these flimsy pajamas, leaving her no time to grab anything warmer. She had worn Marc’s coat briefly while abroad, but it had slipped away somewhere during her violent confrontation with Nina.


    Choria ran at least ten degrees colder, and summer had clearly surrendered to something harsher. Ste wound her arms tightly around herself, desperately trying to hold in what little warmth remained.


    William rose first, refusing to spare Ste even the briefest nce before striding directly toward the airstairs and descending without pause.


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