Chapter 600:

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“So Garrett, staying in that New York hospital, acts as a magnet. He’ll draw all of Brice’s attention and resources. That allows us to work in the shadows and, most importantly, ensure your absolute safety.” As a strategist, Clarence knew giving Amelia this sense of control was crucial.

Listening to his analysis, Amelia’s panic began to subside, replaced by a grim understanding. “What’s the plan?”

“We wait,” Clarence said. “We wait for Brice to reveal his next move. In the meantime, Casey is digging into the fire that led to Brice’s adoption. There has to be a secret there we don’t know about.”

Amelia was silent for a moment, then she remembered a detail she had previously dismissed. “Clarence, I just remembered something. Brooke Petersen once said that Brice was one of the survivors of that fire.”

She’d heard Brooke mention it in passing in Keystone City, but hadn’t given it a second thought at the time.

Clarence’s eyes lit up. Casey’s investigation was already pointing in that direction, but Amelia’s confirmation turned speculation into fact.

“He wasn’t just adopted, he was a direct victim of the fire…” Clarence murmured to himself. “That explains the obsession, the madness. PTSD combined with a family vendetta. He’s an unstable bomb.”

This new information prompted an immediate decision.

“Amelia, thank you. That’s critically important,” he said. “From now on, all external communications from the safe house will be under stricter limitations. Don’t answer any calls from anyone other than myself or Garrett.”

𝘠о𝗎𝗋 𝗱aіl𝗒 dо𝗌𝗲 o𝗳 ո𝘰𝘃е𝘭s оn 𝗀a𝗅ո𝘰𝗏el𝗌.𝗰о𝘮

He immediately contacted Sid Sutton, the head of her security detail, and ordered him to elevate the alert level once again.

“Double the perimeter surveillance radius and add two more patrol teams. I don’t want a fly getting in there without my knowledge.” Clarence’s command was absolute.

After the call, Amelia felt a sliver of reassurance. Clarence’s decisiveness was comforting, and she chose to put her faith in the Thornton family’s power.

She walked to the window, watching the security personnel patrol the grounds. They were a steel fortress, separating her from the world.

But she didn’t know that the most dangerous cracks often come from within the fortress itself.

In her room, Nina Webb answered another call from the loan shark.

The voice on the other end was impatient and vicious. “Nina, my patience is wearing thin. If I don’t see the money by noon tomorrow, you can visit your brother in the prison infirmary!”

Nina’s face turned ashen. She covered her mouth, sobbing silently as she nodded. “Please, just give me a little more time. I’ll… I’ll figure something out.”

“Time’s up,” the voice snarled before hanging up.

She slid to the floor, her body cold with despair. The world was collapsing around her. She was just a paid caretaker. Where was she supposed to get that kind of money?

She had considered asking Amelia, but Amelia was in her own crisis, and Nina couldn’t bring herself to ask.

In her desperation, she thought of someone: a man she had met through a previous job, well-connected but with a shady reputation.

She knew that asking him for help was like drinking poison, but she was out of options.

She wiped her tears, a look of grim determination in her eyes, and dialed his number.

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Message from Noa: We’re in the final quarter of the year, my dear ones, hang in there! God loves you and Noa wishes you all the best. (ɔO‿=)ɔ ♥

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