Chapter 1168:

🍙 🍙 🍙 🍙 🍙

Eaton sat in his chair, staring at the reagent in his hand. Finally, he let out a soft sigh. “It seems everything comes down to fate in the end. Theo… I truly hope this works. I hope you get another chance.”

He stood and walked to the bookshelf.

He pressed a concealed button, and with a soft mechanical click, the entire bookshelf swung inward like a door, revealing a narrow staircase that spiraled down into a hidden chamber below.

Inside the hidden basement, every wall was covered floor to ceiling with photographs of Theo.

They chronicled every stage of his life — childhood, adolescence, young adulthood — a complete visual biography.

Eaton stood surrounded by the photographs, pausing before each one with hungry, desperate eyes. “Success is finally within reach…” The words emerged thick with barely restrained emotion.

He released a shuddering breath, tears carving glistening tracks down his face. “If I’d known then what I know now, would everything have been different? If I’d stood by you from the start, would you be the one standing here celebrating success?”

Crushing regret and self-loathing swallowed him whole. He sank slowly to his knees, the hand clutching the vial trembling violently.

At that same moment, Gracie had just exited Holt Group when her phone’s insistent ringing shattered her train of thought.

𝗜ո𝗌𝘁𝗮𝘯𝘵 аcc𝘦𝘀𝘴 𝗈ո 𝘨a𝗅ոove𝗹𝘀.𝗰𝗼𝗺

She glanced at the caller ID, hesitated for half a heartbeat, then accepted the call.

Rudolf’s voice came through without preamble. “Gracie, can you meet with us? Now?”

Thirty minutes later, at a café in the heart of the city, Gracie pushed through the entrance and immediately spotted Rudolf and Marley occupying a corner booth.

Marley’s eyes were swollen and bloodshot — she’d clearly been crying — and raw anxiety radiated from every line of her face.

Gracie slid into the seat facing them. “Mr. and Mrs. Holt, what’s happened?”

“It’s Jessie — it’s about Jessie—” Marley’s voice broke on a sob, the words fragmenting before she could complete a coherent sentence.

Rudolf nodded, his hand covering hers in a gesture meant to comfort. “We received a call from a stranger thirty minutes ago. He claimed Jessie contacted him, begging for help.”

“A stranger?” Gracie’s frown carved deep lines across her forehead.

Both parents nodded, then began recounting the bizarre call they’d received.

Thirty minutes earlier, Rudolf had just hung up with his most trusted contacts, instructing them to call in every favor and deploy every resource at their disposal to locate Jessie.

The moment he’d disconnected, an unknown number lit up his phone.

“The man said he’d received a call from someone claiming to be Jessie. She begged him to contact the police and her parents — said she was being held prisoner at some resort.”

Rudolf’s expression twisted with pain as he met Gracie’s eyes. “After your visit, we started suspecting something was wrong. We’ve demanded to see Jessie for days, but Eaton keeps refusing. Now we know where she is, but Eaton… he’s still our son.”

His entire frame sagged with the weight of impossible choices.

Gracie’s frown deepened into something darker. “Why didn’t this stranger call the police himself?”

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