----
“The experiments are still in progress. Losing twenty test
subjects isn’t a big deal; it’s just a small lesson for you. Now,
notify our people in the Darling family—activate the worms."
“Also, the hospital has reported Xavier hase out of
surgery, and Danielle was the one who arrived just in time.
Our informant was killed by Jaden."
"Yes, sir," Hugh replied.
"Danielle is already half-dead from the poison. Once she’s
gone, the Darling family will be easy to break."
"What should we do next, sir?"
“Right now, the Darling family is well protected. It won’t be
easy to strike at them. We’ll focus on Howard and Vivian
instead."
“Understood.”
“Everyone leave. Leave."
----
The man’s words were final. As the
servants disjersed, he leaned back
into the sofe,his cold, calcting
eyes narrowing. The small snake
coiled atound his wrist seemedsto
senseits master’s mood, wriggling
upto’him in a way that seented
almost like an attempt to-somfort
him.
----
"Good snake," he muttered softly, running his fingers over its
tiny head.
The butler stood in the background, eyes filled with cold
determination. The Darling family was to me for all this,
and only when they were destroyed would his master return
to his normal life.
"Go," the man snapped at the butler.
"Sir, I’ll head to the hospital and finish the job with Xavier."
"Death is easy. What I want is to break their hearts. You
know what you need to do." The man’s voice was cold,
devoid of any warmth.
"Mother never let me set foot in Aleria. Now that I’m back,
the Darling family’s reckoning has just begun..."
----
In the ck Web Group conference
room, Daniel{’left the hospital, not
letting David apany her this S
time. Wit&vall the recent poisonings,
she felftike her body had barely held
up, she had to find thoseshidden
inthe shadows before it gave out on
Hét.
The people gathered in the room were those Danielle
trusted the most.
----
Her expression was serious as she sat at the head of the
table. The usual banter was absent—everyone could tell
something major was happening.
“You’ve all been with me for a long time, and I trust you more
than anyone else. You all know each other well, and you’ve
trained together, so from now on, you’ll need to help each
other."
Danielle tapped her fingers twice on the table, her eyes
scanning the room.
Emery spoke up first. "Danielle, you don’t need to say it—
we’ll always have each other’s backs. We’re loyal to you,
and wherever you lead, we follow.”
Taylor added, "Is there something you need us to do?
Whatever it is, count us in. We’ll follow you into hell if it
comes to that."
----
Aiden chimed in. "Just say the word, Danielle. Who do we
take down this time?"
Denny cracked his knuckles. "I’ve been itching to get some
action. Let us know what to do."
Juniper, who didn’t quite think like
the others, séq uietly as the weight
of the situation hit her. Danielle was
never thi€-serious. They typically”
handleddifferent tasks, but now; she
wasgathering them all together.
Something was definitely up:
----
As Juniper pondered, everyone turned their gaze on her.
“What are you staring at me for? I’m just like you guys—
whatever Danielle says, goes," she said, shrugging
nonchntly.
Danielle sighed. She wasn’t gathering them just to reinforce
loyalty; there were other matters to attend to, and before she
could exin, the others started chattering.
“I might be gone for a while,” Danielle said, silencing them.
“Only contact me if absolutely necessary."
Emery nodded. "ck Web Group’s new business should
continue if possible. If not, we pause."
Taylor and Juniper said, "Theb’s new research is going as
nned. I’ve sent you the forms, and I’ll be focused on
that."
----
L spoke up. "I’ve recruited ten new designers. They’re
talented, and their designs are impressive. The designs for
next quarter are almost ready, and from now on, I’ll leave
design work to them—I don’t have time to focus on that
anymore."
Aiden and Denny exchanged nces. "There may not be
any major threats from gangs at the border right now, but we
can’t ck off. We’ll double the training and stay alert."