?Chapter 1635:


    Inside the restaurant next door, Ste asked for William’s private room and strode toward it with Sharon and Josie close behind. The room was at the far end of the corridor, sealed behind a sturdy wooden door that kept the outside noise at bay. Above it, a small ss window was partially covered by an elegantce curtain, allowing only faint light and shifting shadows to show through.


    Ste and the others approached quietly, their footsteps swallowed by the plush carpet beneath them. Just as Ste reached for the door handle, Sharon caught her arm and held her back, shaking her head firmly.


    “Calm down, Stel. Let’s assess the situation first.” The William of today was no longer the man who had been wholly devoted to Ste. If they burst in and provoked him, there was no telling how he might react.


    Josie pointed up at the small window and nodded in agreement. “We can look through there.”


    Ste drew a deep breath and made herself still.


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    Ste rose on her toes and peered through the delicatece curtain.


    What she saw inside the private room left her momentarily stunned. William was there, but no intimatepanion sat beside him as Haley had implied. He upied the head of the long table alone, a ss of red wine resting untouched before him. Luca stood behind him in a crisp ck suit, his brow furrowed as he watched the person seated across from them.


    That person was Merrick.


    He wore a perfectly tailored navy suit, his eyes slightly narrowed beneath a practiced smile — one that, on closer inspection, never quite reached his eyes.


    Josie peeked from the other side and whispered urgently, “The atmosphere looks tense. Are they negotiating something serious?” Why hold a business meeting here, of all ces?


    Though the door remained firmly closed, fragments of conversation drifted through the window. Seeing William seated across from Merrick sent Ste’s thoughts spinning. He had known all along that Merrick answered to Arlo — and now they were meeting face to face. Were they nning to coborate, or was this a direct confrontation?


    Ste’s pulse quickened as she pressed her palms t against the wall.


    William had known. He had known from the very beginning that Merrick answered to Arlo. All those carefully chosen words he had spoken to her and Steven, seemingly defending Merrick — nothing more than an borate performance. She had always recognized William’s intelligence and his methodical nature. She had half-expected he would eventually see through whatever twisted arrangement existed between Merrick and Arlo. Now the pieces fell into ce. William had orchestrated this from the start — drawing Merrick out, setting the stage to force his hand and expose his true loyalties.


    Sharon caught sight of Ste’s troubled expression and read her thoughts instantly: she was desperate to hear what they were discussing inside. Sharon scanned the hallway and noticed two servers chatting quietly beside a food cart. A n formed in her mind. She moved toward them with purpose, discreetly retrieving several crisp bills from her wallet.


    “Excuse me, I need a small favor,” she said smoothly, extending the bills toward the two young servers. “Would you be willing to lend me your walkie-talkies for just a few minutes?”


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