Chapter 1398:

“Why are you yelling at me?” Macauley snapped back, rage flaring.

“Let her go!” Brandon’s grip tightened on Vivian’s neck as he dragged her closer as leverage.

“Brandon, release her!” Macauley shouted, veins bulging at his temple.

“If you harm Millie again, I swear I will not hold back.” Brandon’s arm flexed, forcing Vivian to gasp for air.

Vivian struggled helplessly, her nails scraping weakly at Brandon’s wrist.

Macauley cursed and reluctantly lifted his boot from Millie’s face. He retreated half a step, his eyes locked on Brandon while keeping the gun trained directly on Ari.

“Millie, can you hear me?” Brandon called, his voice cracking despite his effort to steady it.

Millie didn’t answer. Her fingers twitched once against the ground. Then she coughed up a thick mouthful of blood.

“Millie…” Ari’s cries grew harsh and broken, the sound of a child shattering under fear.

Brandon’s jaw tightened until it threatened to split. His eyes burned with a murderous heat, the kind that stripped a man of every last restraint.

“Let them go,” he demanded.

“Brandon, we agreed on an exchange,” Macauley said coldly. He gave Millie an extra kick—sharp, calculated—meant to worsen her injury just enough to keep her immobile.

Brandon’s teeth ground together so hard the sound nearly cracked through the silence.

“Are the arrangements ready?” Macauley asked.

“For Vivian and me to leave.”

Brandon pulled several items from his pocket and hurled them across the room.

Lynda had pressed them into his hand before he stepped inside.

Macauley crouched slightly, flipping through the documents with one hand while keeping the gun steady on Ari, the muzzle tracking every trembling movement of the little girl.

𝔾𝔸𝕃ℕ𝕆𝕍𝔼𝕃𝕊.ℂ𝕆𝕄 = 𝕆𝔽𝔽 ℂ𝕀𝔸𝕃

The abandoned factory fell into a suffocating silence. The only sound was the soft rustle of paper.

Brandon couldn’t stop glancing at Millie.

She lay in a pool of her own blood, dragging herself an inch at a time toward Ari, though her body barely obeyed. Each movement seemed to tear another thread of life from her.

A slow, seething hatred ignited inside Brandon, swallowing rational thought.

What Macauley had done today—

He would repay it a hundredfold.

He would finish Macauley.

He would tear him apart, piece by piece.

A black sedan tore down the road and screeched to a halt outside the crumbling factory.

Inside, Macauley finished leafing through the documents, checking every page with meticulous care. Once he was certain everything matched up, he stepped into the open.

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