?Chapter 891:


    Only when Lydia saw Wesley standing there did she finally allow herself to breathe. It was clear as day—he came for Elena.


    Without a word, Wesley reached for Elena’s wrist, his grip sure, his gaze locked and unreadable.


    Elena stiffened at the contact, her body recoiling on instinct. Was he nning to stop her from putting Earle down? Her voice dropped,ced with warning.


    “You’re here to keep me from finishing it?”


    When Wesley answered, his tone was calm but firm, like steel wrapped in velvet. “He will soon meet his end. Just not today.”


    Wesley’s men might’ve disabled the Shadow Base’s systems for the moment, but nothing in Avaloria stayed dormant for long. Killing Earle here would be a mistake they couldn’t afford.


    No words came from Elena, but hershes dipped slightly as her posture held firm.


    Wesley stepped closer, his voice a shade darker. “You have to trust me on this.”


    Elena didn’t speak. Instead, she bit down on the inside of her cheek, trying to…


    Silence thundered in her chest. Retreat was the only choice. Casper was already lost. They couldn’t afford to lose anyone else.


    Earle’s voice sliced through the tense silence. “You think you’re just walking out of here with her?” he sneered. “You always did think too highly of yourself, Wesley.”


    Rage cracked in Earle’s voice, his emerald eyes locked on Wesley’s hand, still gripping Elena’s wrist with stubborn control.


    Not once did Wesley acknowledge Earle. His focus remained solely on Elena, as if Earle didn’t even exist.


    In the end, something in Elena shifted. Her fingers loosened, and the dagger slipped lower until it rested quietly by her side.


    g?lnσνe??s is your update hub


    What she didn’t see—what went unspoken—was how deeply that small surrender struck both men.


    Earle’s face tightened, a storm gathering behind his furrowed brow. She’d actually heeded Wesley’s words.


    A spark lit Wesley’s eyes—she’d chosen him. She trusted him. Atst.


    “Did you really think slipping away was that easy?” Earle’s fury didn’t shout—it simmered beneath a crooked smirk as he pinned Wesley with a stare sharp enough to cut steel. With only a handful of men at his side, Wesley’s confidence in strolling out of Shadow’s den bordered on insanity.


    A small twitch from Earle’s hand was all it took. One of his men stepped forward. “Mr. Miller, our system was breached. Our techs are patching it up. Should be running again in five.”


    Earle hissed in annoyance, his tongue clicking against his teeth. Five whole minutes? Worthless morons, the whole lot of them!


    Wesley eased Elena into the back seat. Arion followed behind and shut the car door with quiet precision.


    Arion’s eyes flicked toward Elena just as the door clicked shut. She wasn’t just some pretty face riding shotgun with a high-level operative. He remembered how she had torn through tons of assassins back when they cracked Shadow’s firewall. Those assassins might not have been elite, but they weren’t the kind one dismissed either. Even by Abyss Cell’s standards, Elena was top-tier in the field.


    .


    .


    .