Chapter 1687:


    Bernie’s gaze shifted instinctively toward Vincent. The man remained seated, his expression a mask of calm detachment, as though the swirl of activity around him held no power over him whatsoever. His bearing radiated an air of utter, untouchable remoteness — his emotional disengagement absolute, as if carved from ice.


    Bernie’s voice dropped to a low murmur as he issued a quiet directive. “Monitor Vincent’s every move.”


    Vincent’s presence here, in and of itself, was already an anomaly.


    “Yes, Mr. Norris,” the subordinate affirmed.


    The session of auctions proceeded uninterrupted. Upon emerging from the restroom, Katelyn settledposedly beside Vincent and said, “I purchased a woman.”


    Vincent’s eyebrow arched in a brief, unguarded flicker of surprise before his expression smoothed back into neutrality. “Understood,” he replied, his voice a low, measured note beneath the ambient noise.


    Katelyn was relieved by hispliance. After all, members of Butterfly Valley still lingered nearby.


    Following the auction of a group of children, various women took to the stage and performed seductive dances.


    Katelyn was speechless. Her stomach lurched, revulsion rising so swiftly her mind could scarcely process the sickening spectacle before her.


    Then, in that same moment, the woman who had been forcibly removed earlier was brought before Katelyn. This time, she offered no resistance — she settled obediently beside Katelyn, cheeks flushed.


    Fury erupted in Katelyn’s chest, a wildfire of outrage. One nce at the woman’s ssy eyes and ck posture confirmed it: she had been drugged. For the effects to manifest so quickly, the substance’s potency had to border on lethal.


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    The attendant remained stationed before her, his demeanor a mask of deference, yet his gaze held her with unwavering scrutiny. She understood — to betray even a sliver of her true emotions would unravel everything.


    Sheid her palm against the woman’s chest, her lips twisting into a calcted approximation of approval. “Passable,” she remarked, her tone dripping with detached appraisal. “Authentic enough, I suppose.”


    Vincent’s gaze lingered on Katelyn with cool, clinical curiosity, yet he made no move to intercede.


    The drugged woman was none other than Alfy.


    Alfy’s body betrayed her, her limbs moving with a hollow, feverish instinct as she swayed toward the stranger’s touch. A low, involuntary groan slipped past her lips — a damning testament to the drug’s hold on her.


    Alfy was fighting to suppress her own groans, yet her body was entirely beyond her control. The shame she felt was immense, tangled with a sense of utter helplessness.


    She pressed close to Katelyn, leaning in involuntarily, finding an oddfort in their proximity.


    Satisfied with the drug’s effect, the attendant slipped out of the room. Their organization had developed this substance specifically to subdue resistant women, and it was proving devastatingly effective.


    From his elevated vantage point, Bernie watched everything unfold. His earlier doubts had dissolved entirely.


    Katelyn inched closer to Vincent, her hand grazing his lightly, her expression yful and unreadable. “Mr. Adams, this girl is quite the catch — care to join in the fun?” she murmured. Then, dropping her voice further, she added, “Bernie is here too, and he approved my purchase.”


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