?Chapter 1638:


    Outside the door, Ste pressed her hand over her mouth, forcing herself to breathe quietly. She hadn’t expected any of this. William had known everything from the beginning. Arlo’s maniption hadn’t fooled him. He hadn’t missed Merrick’s betrayal. He had just been waiting for the perfect moment to strike.


    Merrick’s expression turned cial, his eyes sharp with suspicion. “Your n sounds clever, but why would I help you? Arlo’s paying me more than you could ever match.”


    William tilted his head, eyebrows lifting as though he had just heard the punchline to a bad joke. “You think you actually have a choice right now? You already failed. When Arlo finds out Carson still wants to work with me, do you honestly believe he’ll hand over your reward?”


    Both men knew Arlo’s reputation. Failure wasn’t tolerated. Loyalty wasn’t rewarded — results were.


    ??i??сo?????? ?????? s??о??????s о?? ??a?????vе??s.??????


    Merrick’s face darkened, the color draining out of it.


    William pressed forward, his voice calm but relentless. “Take my offer, and you’ve got a shot at survival — maybe even a reduced sentence if you cooperate. Keep following Arlo, and you’re walking straight into a grave. Your call.”


    Silence stretched through the walkie-talkie. Neither man spoke.


    Ste stood frozen outside the door, her palms slick with sweat. It had been a long time since she had witnessed William dismantle someone so methodically, sopletely. He didn’t sound like a man whose memories had been twisted or whose mind had been fractured by illness.


    She also knew, with certainty, that William had been truthful about his bipr diagnosis. Which meant that when the episodes weren’t gripping him, his mind was razor-sharp —pletely lucid.


    No one could say how much time had slipped by before Merrick finally broke the silence, his voiceing out hoarse and strained. “If I agree to help you with this, I need you to guarantee my safety.”


    William gave a slight nod. “I can keep you safe until we bring Arlo in, but if you try anything foolish, you’ll end up in a situation far worse than anything Arlo could do to you.”


    Merrick stared at him with intense focus, his chest rising and falling with several deep breaths before he finally lowered his head.


    William released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, though his expression stayed hard and unyielding. He understood that the evidence in his possession only proved Merrick’s guilt. To bring down an international criminal like Arlo, he would need far more than that. For the time being, he had no choice but to pin his hopes on Merrick — and hope that Arlo wouldn’t discover he had turned, giving William the time he desperately needed to collect more evidence.


    Outside the door, Ste switched off the walkie-talkie and took a step back, pressing herself against the cold wall as she struggled to process everything she had just overheard.


    Sharon moved quickly to return the devices to the waiting servers, then joined Josie in guiding Ste toward a seating area a few steps away. Josie studied Ste’s pale face and asked quietly, “Stel, are you okay?”


    .


    .


    .