?Chapter 1102:


    Once the game ended, everyone went off to their rooms. Only Elena and Louis stayed in the living room.


    After a short pause, Louis leaned closer with a sneaky grin. “Hey, Elena, can you help me out real quick?”


    “What do you need?” Elena asked, raising an eyebrow.


    Louis looked toward the stairs and then lowered his voice. “I’m slipping out for a while. If Jeffryes asking, just say I went out to take a phone call, alright?” He sped his hands together, eyes pleading with her. He had already promised Kiera he’d take her to see the fireworks. If he didn’t leave soon, he’d definitely miss it.


    Elena had a good idea where he was going. She gave him a small nod. “Okay.”


    Louis beamed. “You’re the best! I seriously owe you one. If you ever need a cover story, I got you. I’m a pro at this—nobody will ever find out.”


    Elenaughed under her breath. “Then go. Don’t leave Kiera hanging.”


    “Wait… How did you know I was going to see Kiera?” Louis looked caught off guard and a little embarrassed.


    “Because I’m not dumb,” Elena replied with a sly grin. Louis was an open book. She’d known from the second he leaned in—he was up to something.


    His ears turned red. “Y-you better not tell anyone! I’m gone,” he stammered before bolting.


    He hurried to the door and nearly tripped over his own feet trying to get out.


    Elena almost cracked up watching him leave.


    Once Louis left and everyone else was asleep, the house finally fell silent.


    Elena opened her game app and jumped into a solo match. She moved up the ranks quickly. Right after she finished a round, her screen filled up with messages from Javier.


    “Yo! You started without me? Heartless!”


    “How much longer before you wrap up this round?”


    “Hurry up and join me next round. Let’s demolish these scrubs together!” Elena smirked at the messages and then casually sent him an invite to her game lobby.


    As soon as Javier popped in, he immediately started sending voice messages, chatting away. “Elena! You’re still awake? Thought you knocked out hours ago. It was dead silent. But nope, you’re like me—night-owl life, huh?” Heughed. “You lead, I’ll follow. With you on my team, those poor newbies don’t stand a chance.”


    Feel inspired by g?lnσν????s???????


    His voice buzzed through her phone, warm and chatty, breaking the silence that had filled the living room before.


    Elena’s hands flew across the controls. Her reflexes were sharp. She yed like a pro, slicing through each round in under ten minutes. With Javier riding along, they racked up ten wins in a row—pure dominance.


    Javier, who was normally the one carrying deadweight teammates, was living his best life getting carried by Elena. He was loving every second. “Elena, that was wild! Did you see them rage-quit the second we queued in? We didn’t even start and they already noped out. I can’t—” He broke off,ughing uncontrobly.


    But right when Javier was in full hype mode, Elena’s phone buzzed with a call. She nced at the caller ID and calmly said, “I’m logging off. That’s it for tonight.”


    “Hold on…” Javier began, but before he could even plead, her character blinked out—just gone.


    The iing call was from Wesley. Elena answered without hesitation. His deep, low voice poured through the phone like honey mixed with threat. “Come outside. I’m parked out front, waiting for you.”


    When Wesley spoke through the line, Elena walked over to the window and, just as she guessed, spotted him waiting by the Rolls-Royce. He stood alone under the streetlights, dressed in that familiar ck coat, a cigarette glowing in his hand.


    .


    .


    .