?<strong>Chapter 393:</strong>


    He descended into the basement, where the body of a many on the stark, cold surface of a bed, nked by machines for blood storage.


    The man’s form was gaunt, IVs punctuating his arms, his eyes wide open in a fixed gaze at the harsh fluorescent lights above.


    Wade stepped closer and pressed two fingers beneath the man’s nose, searching for a sign of life.


    There was none.


    Yet, the body retained a hint of warmth.


    “Complete the blood draw and get him out of here,” Wademanded, his voice eerily detached, sending shivers down the spine.


    “Mr. Potter, this is spiraling out of control!”


    Wade remained silent.


    The assistant, thinking he hadn’t been heard, pressed on.


    “Mr. Potter, we must stop this! Two have already perished!”


    Wade turned abruptly, grabbed the assistant by his cor, and pinned him against the wall.


    “I don’t need you telling me what to do,” he hissed between clenched teeth.


    The assistant didn’t dare utter another word. Even after Wade released him, he stood frozen, barely breathing.


    “We need another death certificate.”


    “For whom?”


    Wade’s piercing gaze fixed on him.


    The following afternoon, inside Joelle’s studio, a new intern tapped lightly and stepped in.


    “Ms. Watson, Mr. Miller has arrived.”


    Joelle was immersed in paperwork. Several brands were eager to partner with her studio, and her team hadid out a few proposals. She aimed toplete her review before the day ended.


    “Have him wait in the lounge, please.”


    “Understood.”


    Joelle hastened through her tasks, inadvertently making Adrian wait for around twenty minutes.


    Upon opening the lounge door, she found the intern deep in conversation with Adrian.


    More precisely, the intern was animatedly talking while Adrian scrolled through his phone.


    “Ms. Watson! Oh, I got so absorbed in chatting with Mr. Miller I forgot to excuse myself!”


    The intern was fiddling with a coffee cup brewed twenty minutes earlier, now cold due to her reluctance to leave. Joelle noticed but remained silent, recognizing the need for guidance as the intern was a recent graduate.


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