Chapter 1381


    Bernard couldn’t help but let out a bitter chuckle; he felt like he was a pawn in some sick cosmic game.


    Hisugh, paired with the bloodshot look in his eyes, didn’t seem to faze Yates.


    “I will give you ten minutes to think it over,” Yates said, then turned on his heel and left the sterile, white


    lab, his entourage of suited goons trailing behind


    him.


    Only Peterson lingered, waiting until Yates and the others had left before leaning in to whisper to


    Bernard, “Just y along for now, and once you’re out, you can exin everything to her.”


    “Boy, do you think I’m deaf?” Yates’ menacing voice came from outside the door, making Peterson


    mp his mouth shut and quickly step out of theb.


    Yates removed his mask, revealing eyes that simmered with malice, as he red at Peterson.


    “You’ve just earned yourself another twentyshes,” he ordered coldly.


    Peterson, slightly afraid of his grandfather, nodded his head in resignation and murmured, “Yes, sir.”


    Yates looked away, directing the others.


    “No.3, head to the control room and initiate the program; I’ll need itter.”


    “The rest of you, secure the chip in the mobile unit, and then destroy the chipb.”


    Once he’d finished issuing orders, Yates pulled out his phone and sent a message to all the operatives:


    no one was to speak of the chip or Bernard’s ordeal at Area Opaca ever again.


    He singled out Sheldon Pine, who, miles away in his office, furrowed his brow at the cryptic message.


    Ever since Bernard’s capture, Yates had been dishing out these bizarre orders.


    After the directive, Yates returned to theb, resuming his imposing stance over Bernard, who sat with


    his eyes tightly shut.


    “So, what’s your decision?”


    Bernard’s eyshes quivered slightly, but he offered no other response. Yates wasn’t in a hurry; he


    settled back into a couch, patiently waiting for an


    answer.


    Bernard knew that the only way to free himself from the chip’s control was to ept the deal,


    contradictory as it seemed to the promise of unlimited freedom 1-1 had initially offered. The offer might


    seem to favor Bernard, but the true beneficiary was 1-1 -clever enough to secure his own interests


    while grasping Bernard’s weak spot.


    Bernard had navigated the cutthroat business world for years, and now he faced a formidable


    opponent. A sardonic smile yed on his lips, like a soulless vessel, hollowly amused.


    “Eleanor’s unlucky to have a grandfather like you.”


    “She may be unlucky, but without the Siren Organization, she wouldn’t have faced these tragedies.”


    Pauline had been a victim of the Siren Organization. If she hadn’t been killed, Eleanor’s mother


    wouldn’t have remarried to Cameron, and Eleanor and her sisters would’ve been spared their


    hardships.


    Bernard opened his eyes, facing the masked man with a sudden urge to ask him what Eleanor’s


    misfortunes had to do with the Siren Organization. But just as quickly, his interest waned.


    Now, it wasn’t just that Yates had a vendetta against the organization. Bernard had his own score to


    settle, and whatever the reason, he wouldn’t let his brothers lie here in vain-he would have his revenge.


    With that thought, Bernard’s gaze on Yates turned icy,yered with hatred enough to burn through his


    protective suit. But being in a position of weakness, he reigned in his anger.


    “You want me to agree to your terms, then take off that mask.”


    “Eleanor will tell you everything she knows when she arrives tomorrow. Let her speak for herself.”


    Even if he couldn’t hide the fact that he was the founder of Area Opaca, letting Bernard know his


    identity prematurely would surely alert Eleanor


    tomorrow.


    Yates was not one to act against his own interests, so today’s negotiation did not involve revealing his


    identity in exchange for the founder of the Siren Organization.


    Judging by how Eleanor had negotiated, she seemed to know already. When the time came, Yates


    would find a way to use Bernard to probe for information indirectly.


    Yates kept everything under control, indifferent to Bernard’s fate. And Bernard, with deep eyes like a


    wild beast lurking in the shadows, looked back, his re full of dark promise.


    “If you dare to let me go, then I agree to separate from her. But to treat her cruelly? That’s impossible.”


    She feared his emotional coldness, a mistake he couldn’t afford to repeat. When the time came, he


    would talk to her kindly; he would never be indifferent again.


    This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.


    That was the concession Bernard was willing to make. If Yates pushed any harder, he might provoke


    the lion about to awake, and the bacsh wouldn’t be pretty.


    “Alright, I agree, Yates said decisively, shutting down any further discussion.


    “But if you try to exin things to her afterward, or if you attempt a reconciliation, I will activate the


    program to your chip and terminate her pregnancy. Even if the child is born, I will make sure it doesn’t


    survive!”


    With those chilling words, Yates stood up and strode to the control room to reprogram the chip in


    Bernard’s brain, ensuring that once released, Bernard would be under his thumb.


    After Yates left, Bernard turned his head slightly, his longshes casting a stark shadow in the harsh


    light, as deste and lonely as his spirit.


    His grandfather had once said that his undying love would be his greatest vulnerability, and he wasn’t


    wrong. Eleanor and their child were his weaknesses.


    Yet, as a husband, he couldn’t bear the thought of his wife suffering the slightest bit. So even though


    they were vulnerabilities, they were also the solitary beams of light that propelled him through the


    darkness.