Chapter 1937
No.1
Before he could recover, a brutal kick slammed into his back, knocking the air from his lungs.
"Mercy... please..." Xavier curled into a ball.
Roman had already retreated to the corner, horrified as Alexander Kingsley descended on his prey like a beast.
Each kick seemed meant to shatter bone.
Xavier's screams grew weaker.
"Enough!" Evelyn rushed forward.
Alexander was a storm of unchecked fury, his entire body radiating violence.
As his seventh kick landed, Evelyn wrapped her arms around him from behind.
"Alex!"
He froze.
No.2
Evelyn rose onto her toes, cradled his face, and sank her teeth into his lip.
Blood bloomed between them.
Alexander's pupils dilated. The rage vanished instantly.
By the time he processed what happened, Evelyn had already stepped back.
"Better now?" She wiped her mouth.
On the floor, Xavier lay motionless like a discarded rag.
Roman hesitantly checked his pulse. "H-he's alive..."
Alexander stared at Evelyn's swollen lips, his throat working.
That bite left him trembling far more than the violence ever had.
Alexander Kingsley flexed his wrist slowly.
No.3
The rehabilitation training showed initial results, his joints emitting faint cracks.
"Throw him out."
Roman Young's eyes widened. "M-me?"
He fumbled like a startled rabbit.
Before Evelyn Sinclair could speak, two black-suited bodyguards entered.
They efficiently rolled up the bedsheet and hauled Xavier Stapleton away like trash.
...
Morning mist clung to the hotel alley when a janitor spotted a suspicious white bundle by the dumpster.
"What the hell?"
The moment he touched it, the bundle twitched.
No.4
"Help!" The janitor scrambled backward.
By the time paramedics arrived, Xavier was barely conscious.
Medical reports showed extensive soft tissue damage and minor internal bleeding.
"Tough bastard," Evelyn murmured over the chart.
She couldn't decide if his thick fat layer saved him or if Alexander had shown mercy.
The project team retreated urgently to Kingsbury.
Xavier remained comatose during transfer. Local police found no leads.
Security footage had mysteriously vanished.
The victim gave evasive answers.
"Just...got jumped by masked men," Xavier stammered.
No.5
The final blow came when Roman got promoted during Xavier's recovery.
Evelyn's new department occupied the adjacent office. Winston Strauss' interview teaser kept trending.
"Uncle Lee! That traitor's rising!" Xavier's wounds throbbed with rage.
He'd guarded his hospital room like a fortress, blocking Roman from contacting the Sullivans.
Yet the underling had climbed the corporate ladder unnoticed.
Now with Evelyn's backing, controlling him became impossible.
"Utter incompetence." Hugo Lee's face darkened.
Their perfect scheme lay in ruins.
Using Roman to frame Evelyn should've killed two birds with one stone.
Instead, the prey became the hunter.
No.6
Stranger still, the missing CCTV footage left Xavier too scared to press charges.
"Could that woman...have powerful backing?"
"Already checked." Hugo sneered. "The Kingsleys discarded her years ago."
He'd investigated the fire incident thoroughly.
After Evelyn's hospitalization, no Kingsley ever inquired about her.
If she truly mattered, why would they abandon her to obscurity?
Outside the hospital window, dusk deepened.
Hugo missed the blinking red light hidden in the shadows.
The news of Evelyn Sinclair's survival struck Hugo Lee like a thunderbolt.
He had secretly investigated her whereabouts.
No.7
At age ten, Evelyn was hospitalized for mutism before vanishing without a trace. The Kingsleys never publicly announced adopting a daughter, and Alexander Kingsley gave no indication either.
Melissa Lee personally confirmed Isabella Winslow had never mentioned Evelyn's existence.
"Just have someone eliminate her," Xavier Stapleton hissed through gritted teeth.
Hugo sneered. "You think the police are decorations? Roman Young would suspect you first."
"Then we take him out too!" Xavier's eyes gleamed with malice.
"Idiot!" Hugo slammed the table. "Do you want the whole world to know his identity?"