?Chapter 1578:


    In a vi situated far from the police station, Ste remainedpletely oblivious to the interrogations unfolding in those sterile rooms.


    She sat beside the window in her room, watching workers rearrange the garden in the courtyard below while cradling Felix — who had miraculously escaped the fire without injury — in her arms. Her mind wandered somewhere distant and unreachable.


    William hadn’t returned her phone after bringing her here, leaving her cut off from the outside world. Fortunately, Jewell’s number remained burned into her memory.


    She watched Tasha dusting furniture several feet away and wrestled with the decision of whether to reach out to Jewell. William had made his feelings brutally clear — he wanted neither her presence nor her voice. But she couldn’t simply surrender to inaction and waste away in this vi doing nothing.


    Nina’s words clung to her consciousness like a waking nightmare. Though she had never encountered Arlo personally, the knowledge that he wouldn’t release William from his grip poisoned her sleep every single night. Then there remained the problem of William’s corrupted memories. Despite Nina’s insistence that they couldn’t be erased, Ste refused to ept that verdict without consulting Jewell first. She couldn’t stand by while William lived the rest of his life carrying the weight of fabricated memories.


    Ste drew in a steadying breath, rose from her seat, and crossed the room toward Tasha.


    Before Ste could form the question, Tasha extended her phone as though she had read Ste’s mind. “Ms. Russell, please take it.”


    Surprise flickered across Ste’s features. “Tasha, how did you know I needed—”


    Tasha reached out and smoothed Ste’s hair with maternal tenderness, the gesture carrying the quietfort of a mother soothing her troubled child. “Ms. Russell, I don’t know exactly what happened between you two, but Mr. Briggs hasn’t set foot in this vi since the fire. That tells me some terrible misunderstanding has wedged itself between you.”


    The misunderstanding had settled over them like heavy fog, obscuring everything. Tasha had reassured Ste countless times that resolving it would fix everything, but she understood the painful truth — if exnation came easily, they never would have spiraled to this devastating point. Still, Tasha remained willing to help Ste fight this battle, no matter how many attempts it required. As long as Ste’s feelings for William remained alive, hope hadn’t diedpletely.


    Ste cast Tasha a look brimming with gratitude, epted the phone, and immediately dialed Jewell’s number without allowing herself time to reconsider.


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    Jewell picked up after only two rings, his voice flooding through the line warm and worried. “Ste? Are you alright? Word about the vi fire reached me.” He had attempted to reach William repeatedly over the past several days, but every call went straight to voicemail or rang endlessly unanswered. Only his ability to reach Luca and confirm William’s physical safety had kept Jewell from storming Briggs Group headquarters demanding answers. Receiving a call from Ste caught himpletely off guard, and he hadn’t drawn any connection between her and the fire, simply assuming the incident had frightened her badly.


    His concern sent warmth spreading through her chest. “I’m physically fine, but I desperately need your help. Can youe to the vi if you have time?”


    Too many details required face-to-face conversation — a phone call couldn’t possibly capture everything she needed to exin. Confusion colored Jewell’s response, but he agreed immediately. Just as he moved to end the call, Ste added one more request. “Bring Steven with you.”


    The request caught Jewell off bnce, but before he could voice his question, the line went dead.


    Jewell and Steven pulled up to the vi within moments of each other. Tension saturated the living room air, thick enough to choke on. Ste upied the sofa with a bandage still wrapped around her forehead and pallor draining herplexion, but her eyes burned with startling intensity. Felix rested quietly at her feet, periodically pressing its head against her leg in wordlessfort.


    Steven spotted the unfamiliar dog immediately, curiosity sparking as he reached down to engage with it — the gesture softening his usually serious expression. “What’s going on? You summoned us here urgently just to introduce us to your dog?” he teased, though his gaze caught on her forehead injury for a fraction too long before deliberately moving away.


    Ste swatted his hand away from Felix, leveled a frown at him, and inhaled deeply before speaking. “I asked you here because you need to know the truth. The reason William has changed so drastically — someone forcibly imnted false memories into his mind during that missing month. Memories of me betraying him.”


    She walked them through recent events in concise detail, focusing particrly on Nina’s coboration with a mercenary leader to corrupt and manipte William’s memories. With each revtion, Steven’s and Jewell’s expressions darkened further.


    The moment Ste finished, Steven’s fist crashed down on the armrest, disbelief and fury bleeding together in the impact. His eyes flew wide. “I knew something was wrong! William would never change that drastically on his own. Someone actually tampered with his mind!”


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