Titan 208

Yolanda had no idea she was being live–streamed, so she was completely unaware of Xavier’s frantic reactions on the other side of the screen.

She kicked Leo away and glanced around.

She quickly realized that Andrew must have been the one behind all this.

Andrew always saw himself as Joelle’s loyal knight, and it looked like he’d been fooled by a few of Joelle’s cryptic lines again, showing up to take out anyone who threatened her.

There was no reasoning with a guy like him. Andrew would gladly lay down his life for Joelle, and there was no way Yolanda could talk him out of it.

Right now, staying alive was her only priority.

Yolanda hoisted her leg, still tangled in chains, up onto a chair, both hands straining as she tried to force the shackles apart.

But the chain wrapped around her ankle fit so snug, it might as well have been tailored for her–it was useless, she couldn’t move it one bit.

Her other foot was still on the ground when Leo, looking crushed and miserable, inched toward her. He rubbed his tear–streaked face against her foot, curled up small as if trying to hide from the world, his sobs tracing muddy rivers down his cheeks.

To be honest, after all these years, Yolanda had only ever seen him act like a pompous jerk, always thinking he was above her. This was the first time she’d ever seen Leo so completely and utterly defeated.

Xavier couldn’t stand it anymore. He started relentlessly spamming the live chat.

[“Yolanda, just you wait! How could you treat my brother like that? You’ll regret this, I swear!“]

Quinn watched the scene and finally breathed out in relief–things were finally back on track.

Yolanda was usually the quiet type, but she could always tell when someone didn’t like her. She’d never taken to Leo, so she’d always kept him at arm’s length all these years,

Out of the four, Samuel was easily the calmest of them all.

He had a stack of papers laid out in front of him, while his assistant stood respectfully at his desk, reporting back with meticulous attention to every detail.

“Here’s what we’ve got so far: the Andrade manor managed to snag that piece of land, but apparently there’s some sort of problem with it. No one’s figured out what it is yet. Cedric rushed over to the Andrade manor in the middle of the night, so we should be hearing more about that land any minute now,” the assistant explained.

Samuel’s gaze drifted over to his phone. The assistant, guessing he was checking out some business stats, considerately asked, “CEO, do you want me to bring over a phone stand?”

‘It’s probably a hassle for him to check the screen with the phone just lying there, the assistant thought to

himself.

Samuel pressed the power button and flipped his phone face down, sounding completely unbothered. “Don’t worry about it–just update me on any news about that land. And get someone to track down Andrew’s current whereabouts.”

Right now, Ian had control of the Crimson Gallery. If he wanted to track down Yolanda, he could do it in no time.

And with Xavier looking out for his brother like a hawk, there’s no way this livestream could drag on for much longer.

Samuel leaned back in his chair, thinking, ‘The longer we keep these tangled relationships under wraps, the safer we are. If this mess blows up, the Grant Family’s definitely getting dragged into the chaos.’

Yolanda would be left to face everyone’s blame, and that kind of pressure could grind her to dust.

If those two men ever decide to back her up, she might stand a chance. At the end of the day, though, it all depends on whether she’s got enough charisma to convince them.

Samuel lived by a single rule: never do anything reckless or out of line.

With all that responsibility weighing on him–and the Grant Family still climbing the ranks–there were just too many things outside his control.

He lowered his gaze, and once his assistant had left, quietly picked up his phone to check the livestream again.

Yolanda was still fumbling with the chain on her ankle, while Leo’s cheek rested against the foot she kept on. the floor.

He looked absolutely miserable, face flushed as he croaked, “Come on, just let me have a drink… Why are you being so cold–hearted, Yolanda? Please, I’m begging you…”

“Just one sip. Please… I’m so hot, I feel like I’m gonna burn up.”

His mumbling was so quiet, only Yolanda could actually hear him.

Yolanda just tuned him out, her fingers numb and aching as she tried helplessly to yank the chain open, but it didn’t move a millimeter.

Finally, she just let go and sagged against the chair, hoping someone else would show up and pull her out of

this mess.

Leo, his wrists covered in bloody scratches, slowly pushed himself up from the floor and knelt down beside

her.

Yolanda’s lashes fluttered as she immediately snapped upright, legs stiff with nervousness. ‘It’s not like I told him to kneel, she thought. ‘Seriously, if he remembers this later and totally freaks out about it, please just don’t let him go

Leo, dazed and burning up so badly he could barely make out anything in front of him, lurched forward in confusion.

The chair simply couldn’t take both their weight and collapsed backward.

Yolanda tumbled down with him, seeing stars as her world spun from the impact.

Sometimes, she seriously wondered if Leo was just her personal jinx.

She struggled to get up, saying, “Leo, come on, get a hold of yourself…” ‘Seriously, does he even hear me?‘ Yolanda thought, frustration written all over her face.

But before she could finish, the chair tipped sideways, and the overturned seat ended up blocking the camera by the window. On the live feed, all anyone could see now was Yolanda and Leo lying motionless on the floor, neither of them moving an inch.

Leo was still out of it, restlessly trying to get closer, pawing at the ground like a desperate animal rooting through dirt–the more he struggled, the more flustered and miserable he became.

It hit Yolanda late–she started to realize she wasn’t feeling right either.

The drug in her system was just a tiny bit, but with that delayed onset, the discomfort only got worse as time dragged on.

Yolanda lifted her foot and tried to kick him away.

The chair had flipped over, blocking most of the camera’s view.

The people watching on their screens had no clue what just happened; for all they knew, Yolanda and Leo were just getting into another heated scuffle.

Ian cut the live feed, and as soon as he locked down Yolanda’s location, he slapped on his mask and was out the door.

Only three people were left in the livestream now.

Yolanda’s head felt foggy, like her whole body was crawling with ants. Still, she was sure that Leo was the one with her right now.

She kicked out again, but ended up giving Leo just the chance he’d been waiting for.

‘Gotcha!‘ Leo thought.

Just as Leo buried his face, the livestream camera was blasted apart by a single shot. Right after, a car came roaring in, smashing straight through the old factory door like it was nothing.

The car had no license plates–nobody could even guess who it belonged to.

Leo’s lips had barely brushed hers when suddenly someone seized him by the back of the neck and hurled him aside without a second thought.

Yolanda, her whole body flushed red, was suddenly swept up into a pair of icy arms and carried straight out the door.

The man holding her radiated a chilling aura, gripping her so tightly it felt like he could crush her right then and there.

Yolanda could barely tell who this was–her vision was swimming. All she registered was the cold mask hiding his face and the overwhelming, suffocating presence closing in on her.

“Let me go…” she barely managed to whisper, her voice thin and trembling.

She didn’t even get the words out before he hauled her up and tossed her into the car. The next thing she knew, his lips crashed down onto hers.

Her mind snapped into focus for just a heartbeat, but the feverish heat roaring through her body swept her back into the fog.

Yolanda had no idea where this guy was taking her–all she could feel was like she’d been dragged through a burning desert for ages, about to shrivel up from the heat. Suddenly, she was slammed down onto a bed, snapping her out of the haze.

The room was shrouded in darkness, and the masked man was standing over her, looking down from above with a chilling intensity.