Chapter 1175

They knew better than to push it. Dropping Ms. Payne's name wasn't going to save them this time.

"Let him go," the head of security ordered, stopping the others. "She said the lockdown would end once we got the call from Flint."

"Boss, I overheard the call. Did something happen to her?" one of the men asked cautiously. "You don't think it's true, do you?"

"For all our sakes, let's pray she's fine," the security chief sighed, offering a silent prayer to the universe. "Ever since they got together, the entire corporation has been a much better place to work. If something happens to her..."

Eclara City would drown in blood.

Leaving the residence, Shanley went straight to the underground garage.

His body was nowhere near recovered. He could walk, but every movement sent white-hot daggers of pain through his bones.

Dropping into the driver's seat, he leaned back, a thin sheen of cold sweat coating his pale face. The veins on the hands gripping the steering wheel bulged, trembling violently.

He took a few seconds to force himself to breathe.

Putting in his Bluetooth earpiece, he dialed Felton. "Where are her parents?"

"They'll be arriving in Eclara City at 3:00 PM," Felton replied nervously.

Shanley didn't bother responding. He hung up and immediately called Jimmie Tate.

"Where are you?"

"At my place." Jimmie had just gotten his phone back and heard the news. His voice was laced with tightly controlled rage. "Ebony Fox had us locked up. We still don't even know what really happened out there."

"Your parents are safe," Shanley said, starting the sports car and slamming the gas, tearing out toward Jimmie's estate. "But she made a deal with Corvus. She's gone."

"What?"

Hearing that, the relief on Jimmie's face vanished entirely, his mind going completely blank.

...

Forty minutes later.

The sports car screeched to a halt outside the mansion.

Shanley threw the door open and strode out.

"Aren't you supposed to be..." Harold Houston frowned deeply at the sight of the man who should have been bedridden.

"I'm fine."

Shanley gripped the car keys. His face was entirely devoid of color, and his tall frame was slightly Hunched from the excruciating pain Yet, his expression was stoic, showing no trace of suffering-only an overwhelming, consuming anxiety.

"Luella and Ebony Fox aren't back yet. They're doing everything they can to track

her down. Try not to panic."

Jimmie took one look at the man,

who was so pale he looked like a corpse fresh out of the morgue, and offered a low word of comfort. "She's not like the rest of us. She'll

find a way out."

"I know."

Shanley lowered his eyes, his lips pressed into a tight, thin line. His voice was deep and rich, holding an unwavering certainty. "I know she'll be fine."

Jimmie stared at him, unable to shake the feeling that something was deeply wrong with this reaction.

His girl was missing. He should be tearing the city apart right now.

He was way too calm.

"Your parents will be here soon," Shanley noted, checking the time. His tone was strictly business. "For their safety, we're moving them to the Sigma Network headquarters."

"Agreed."

Jimmie nodded. There wasn't a more secure fortress in the entire city.

"Let's go." Shanley opened the car door again, his dark eyes sweeping over the group with a numb, empty gaze.

The siblings watched him, a heavy, complicated knot forming in their chests.

Sigma Network Base.

Shanley, Jimmie, and the rest were anxiously waiting for Silas and Theia to arrive.

The anticipated joy and excitement of a family reunion were nowhere to be found; instead, a suffocating dread hung over the room.

"They're here."

Getting the notification, Shanley stood up. "This is a family reunion. It's not appropriate for me to intrude."

"You practically stole our sister.

What do you mean 'not

appropriate'?" Jimmie deadpanned,

shooting him a look. "You're going to

have to meet the in-laws eventually." Don't go soft on me now."