?Chapter 1585:


    What little color remained in Nina’s face vanished. She sank her teeth into her bottom lip. She had lived her entire life cushioned by privilege andfort, never once imagining prison walls closing around her. Lance had spoken the brutal truth: Arlo wouldn’t care about her now. She was a liability — no longer useful — and he wouldn’t spare a thought for her fate. Yet Nina still hesitated, clinging to her resistance.


    Lance delivered the final blow to her fragile hopes. “Arlo won’t rescue you. Your usefulness expired the moment you were caught. Now you’re nothing more than a threat to his operation. Consider yourself fortunate he hasn’t already sent someone to silence you permanently. Deep down, you understand this better than anyone, don’t you?”


    Nina’s lips had gone white from the pressure of her teeth, her nails carving crescents into her palms. She understood every word. She had witnessed Arlo’s ruthlessness firsthand and knew exactly what he was capable of. But her silence stemmed from more than fear of his retaliation. She also didn’t want William and Ste to have a good life. That vindictive desire formed the true foundation of her resistance.


    Lance read the truth written across her features and shifted his tone to something quiet and deadly serious. “Nina, are you genuinely prepared to sacrifice your entire future to spite someone? I know you hate Ste — but does that hatred outweigh the value of your own freedom?”


    His words shook her. Every time her mind conjured images of decades stretching ahead behind bars, violent tremors seized her body. She didn’t want that. She didn’t want that at all.


    Lance recognized the fear carved into every feature of her face and deliberately softened his approach, allowing a final trace of brotherlypassion to surface in his expression. “You’re my cousin, Nina. Despite the severity of your crimes, I still want to offer you another chance. If you cooperate with investigators and help them build their case, you might secure a reduced sentence. You could eventually walk free again. When that dayes, the Carter family will still have a ce for you.”


    Despite the catalog of wrongs Nina hadmitted, Lance had never seriously entertained severing ties with herpletely. Blood remained blood — she would always be part of the Carter family.


    His words caught her off guard, and her hatred-encased heart wavered unexpectedly. All at once she became acutely aware of emotions she’d spent years burying beneathyers of rage. She lifted her gaze to meet Lance’s eyes — eyes filled with profound reluctance — and something trembled deep in her chest.


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    Perhaps he’de not solely for Ste’s sake, but because some genuine affection for her still survived. The possibility left Nina momentarily disoriented.


    Memories from over twenty years flooded back — all the moments she’d shared with Lance. Before Ste entered their orbit, he had genuinely doted on her with the devotion of a true cousin. Even after her catastrophic mistakes — after William had her finger severed — anguish for her suffering had filled Lance’s eyes during his visit. Yet she had allowed hatred to consume those memories, burning them to ash.


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