?Chapter 1620:


    One of Carson’s eyebrows climbed upward, interest sparking. “You’vee without Mr. Briggs’s awareness? How intriguing. You’re visiting a man who just terminated his business rtionship with Briggs Group. What brings you here, Ms. Russell — surely not merely concern for my well-being?”


    Ste dispensed with pleasantries. “Mr. Carson, I realize the ident in Choria may have shaken your confidence in Briggs Group’s logistical nning, but I assure you — they bear no responsibility for what urred.”


    Carson eased himself back, eyes narrowing a fraction. “Is that so? Briggs Group provided the driver. They mapped out the route. And yet you’re iming they had nothing to do with it?”


    Ste met his probing stare without wavering. “That’s exactly my point. This couldn’t have been Briggs Group’s doing. You investigated William’s track record before entering negotiations — you know he would never permit such an elementary blunder.” She let the words settle before continuing. “Furthermore, if you had been harmed in a vehicle they arranged, suspicion would fall on Briggs Group immediately. What kind of fool deliberately implicates themselves?”


    An error so tant it circles back to impossibility.


    Carson remained quiet, then broke intoughter. “Ms. Russell, you have a keen mind. Following your reasoning, what do you believe actually transpired?”


    Ste leaned forward, her voice dropping. “Someone wanted this partnership destroyed — and that person operates within Briggs Group itself, positioned high enough to control staffing decisions.”


    ?????????????? ???????????? ???? ??????????????????.??????


    Silence flooded the room. Carson’s fingers tapped a slow rhythm against the bed rail, his face revealing nothing as he contemted variables only he could see.


    After a moment, Carson said, “Ms. Russell, you risked provoking Mr. Briggs’s anger just to tell me this?”


    Ste hesitated, something uncertain flickering behind her eyes. “Mr. Carson, I don’t understand what you’re referring to.”


    Carson released a quiet chuckle, though his gaze lost none of its sharpness. “Before I arrived here, word reached me that Mr. Briggs has grown particrly distant toward youtely — and you’re not even his fiancée.”


    Ste’s heart constricted without warning. She hadn’t anticipated that even Carson, who had traveled from so far away, already knew about the fractured state of her rtionship with William. She lowered her eyelids, allowing her longshes to cast delicate shadows across her cheeks. When she lifted her gaze again, her eyes had cleared of any vulnerability.


    “Mr. Carson, whatever transpires between William and me remains separate from business matters. I came here today purely to protect the interests of Briggs Group.”


    Carson made no effort to hide his skepticism. “You hold no position within Briggs Group, so why invest yourself so deeply in its welfare?” If not out of devotion to William, then what drove her here?


    Ste drew in a slow, steadying breath, her fingers curling unconsciously into a tight fist. “Because William is the man I love. Even though misunderstandings have turned him cold toward me, I refuse to stand aside and watch him lose an important partnership.” She delivered the words while holding Carson’s gaze with unflinching sincerity.


    .


    .


    .