Finished
Carl looked down at her from above, his gaze as sharp and frigid as ever. “Let’s talk outside.” His lips barely moved, but the sudden words made Jean pause.
Her grip on the doorknob tightened instinctively. “What do you want to talk about?”
His voice floated through the silence. “You.”
Jean’sshes trembled slightly. Talk about me? Did Carl… figure something out<i>? </i>
She raised her eyes, meeting his unreadable gaze. “What’s there to talk about, Dominic?” She forced a casual smile.
Carl’s mouth remained in a straight line, his expression unreadable. His eyes, though, betrayed a forceful pressure. “I’ll
get to the point. You’ve got a lot of secrets, don’t you?”
Jean’s fingers curled into her palms. Her face remained impassive, but her lips pressed into a thin line.
Carl nced down the quiet corridor beside them and said offhandedly, “Let’s talk outside.”
It felt like she’d been caught red–handed, and now she had no choice but to go along with him.
Because the truth was, she wasn’t entirely sure how much this man had already uncovered.
Reluctantly, Jean stepped out of her suite and walked beside Carl down the long hallway of the hotel.
The ce was eerily still, and there was not a soul in sight. Only the echo of their footsteps apanied them.
“If you’ve got something to say, then just say it,” Jean said, eyes fixed ahead, face nk and voice.
brisk.
“I think you’re pretty impressive.” Carl’s voice suddenly broke the silence.
Jean sucked in a sharp breath. The <b>air </b>shifted around them.
“Oh?” she murmured with a hint of augh, eyes downcast as she stared at the floor. “And why’s that?”
“You managed to find Bro before any of the trained search teams,” he said, voice cool and steady. his eyes still locked on the air in front of them. “In terrain like Northara, that’s not something just anyone can do.”
Jean felt like she was being interrogated under the pretense of small talk.
One wrong word and she’d blow her cover. <i>Don’t </i>panic. <i>Don’t </i>ramble. <i>Stay </i>calm, she reminded
herself
Chapter 144 Let’s Talk Outside
Finished
“So?” she replied with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, her tone light, <b>almost </b>flippant. “If there’s more you want to say, just spit it out. I’d like to get back to my room.”
She motioned toward a grand wall clock hanging ahead. “Say your piece, then I’m leaving”
Just as she finished speaking, she suddenly pitched forward. They had unknowingly walked up to a short flight of stairs, and Jean’s foot caught the edge of the first step.
She stumbled. Her body lurched forward,pletely off bnce.
In a blink, Carl’s arm shot out and grabbed her, pulling her back with almost no effort. He steadied her, holding her firmly in ce.
“You okay?” he asked, mistaking her nk, dazed look for fear. His voice softened for just a second.
Jean blinked. Then she looked at him, really looked at him, with aplicated expression in her
eyes.
“Carl… I want to go back,” she said, pressing her lips together. Her voice suddenly turned small, almost pitiful.
“I’m really tired. You dragged me out here and said a whole bunch of stuff… I don’t even know how to respond.” She rubbed her eyes like a sleepy child, pretending to be too tired to engage.
Carl’s eyes darkened instantly, his tone dropping to an icy whisper that carried an unmistakable chill. “So you really don’t want to talk to me, huh?”