bChapter /bb343 /b

Author’s POV;

Jade spotted Night making his way back into the grand hall. The ce had been thoroughly cleaned after yesterday’s human bomb incident – marble floors gleaming as if nothing had happened. Even the shattered vases had been reced with identical ones, the bloodstains scrubbed away as if they never existed.

Night’s leg was properly bandaged, but he exaggerated his limp for sympathy. His face brightened when he saw jade, the bpain /bin his eyes momentarily reced with something warmer.

“Baby, I’m back,” he called out, voice deliberately pained. “Doctor says I might need physical therapy. Hurts like a bitch, but I’ll liveb./b*

He copsed onto the sofa beside Jade with a theatrical groan, cing his head on her shoulder. From the corner of her eye, she saw Ethan sitting alone on a single armchair, his jaw tightening slightly at Night’s disy. His knuckles whitened as he gripped the armrest.

Jade nced between them, a mischievous thought crossing her mind. What if she walked over and kissed Ethan right now? Night wouldn’t break downpletely, but he’d definitely aggravate his wounds out of spite, probably setting his recovery back by months.

“Baby, I’m tired. Help me upstairs?” Night asked, voice honeyed with fake exhaustion.

– as she pulled his arm around her shouldersb. /bHis body was warm Jade stood abruptly, yanking him up. He winced – genuinely this time against hersb, /bfamiliar yet somehow intrusive after bso /bmuch time with Ethan.

“Chris,” Night called out as they headed toward the stairs, “finish your tea and get some rest.”

This pointed exclusion of Ethan was deliberate. Night’s gaze swept past him bas /bif he didn’t exist, creating an invisible boundary that marked Ethan as an outsider to their little circle.

“Ethan,” Jade said deliberately, “get some rest too.”

This was intentional too. Ethan knew he’d being to her roomter to help with her medication. She watched satisfaction flicker across his face.

“Goodnight,” Ethan replied, eyes meeting hers with understanding.

Night’s grip tightened painfully as they climbed the stairs. Jade could practically feel his jealousy radiating through his fingertips.

The next morning, Jade activated the robot to patrol the apartment. Human bombs were just the beginning. Now that Shadow Organization had found her hiding ce, they would deploy increasingly creative tactics. A robotic sentinel could detect things humans might miss–like explosives surgically imnted in operatives.

If the robot had been active during yesterday’s attack, it could have scanned the Shadow operative and detected the bombs in his body cavity. Lives would have been saved. Jade wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

Ethan approached the robot as it scanned the hallb, /bits mechanical joints whirring softly bas /bit moved.

b“/bMaxi,” he called.

b11:30 /bbSat/bb, /bbOct /bb4 /b

The robot turned, its optical sensors scanning him from head to toe before continuing its patrol without acknowledgment. The cold dismissal bwas /balmostical.

Chris walked up and patted its smooth metal head.

“Please do not touch,” the robot responded in Ethan’s voice- so simr it created the illusion of Ethan himself speaking, low andmanding.

“She didn’t change his voice settings?” Chris asked, surprised.

Ethan looked startled too, a hint of pleasure crossing his features. Did this mean jade liked his voice enough to keep it programmed into her robot?

“Master has instructed me to patrol,” the robot stated in Ethan’s voice. “Please do not interfere.”

Ethan suppressed a smile, amused by the robot using his voice to address Jade as “Master.”

The robot’s patrol had woken Jade, and she walked into the kitchen, irritated and groggy, to wash her hands.

She heard Ethan’s footsteps behind her, then his low voice near her ear: “Master.”

A shiver ran up Jade’s spine, skin instantly prickling with goosebumps. She was suddenly wide awake, the word cutting through her morning fog like a knife.

She turned, expression nk. “What’s wrong with you?”

Jade flicked water from her fingers. “Since you’ve already said it, say it again so I can hear properly.”

Ethan hesitated before repeating, “Master.”

She couldn’t help the slight curl of her lips. Hearing him say it in person rather than through the robot was oddly satisfying. The word

sounded different when formed by his actual lips, carrying warmth the robot could never replicate.

“But robots are just machines,” he continued. “They’re not nearly as interesting as real people. Perhaps Miss Morgan would prefer a different game next time.” fn2f0a The source of th?s content is Find[?]ovel/fn2f0a

A cold smile formed on Jade’s lips. “Not a bad suggestion. I’m just concerned Mr. Haxton’s body might not be up to it.”

“We won’t know until we try,” he replied, voice dropping.

She nodded. “Had breakfast yet?”

“Waiting for you,” he answered.

“Come to my room after we eat,” Jade said casually.

Ethan’s expression shifted, surprise and anticipation shing across his face. “What?”

b11:30 /bbSat/bb, /bbOct /bb4 /b

She offered no rification, enjoying his confusion as she moved toward the dining room. Throughout breakfast, he deemed fork asionally pausing midway to his mouth, his mind clearly elsewhere.

distracted,

b89 /b

Jade ate methodically, mind already on practical matters. “What time will the weapons arrive?” she asked.

“Around noon,” Ethan replied, collecting himself. “Three separate shipments one here and two to other locations you specifiedb./bb” /b

She nodded, pleased. The shipments wouldn’t juste here but would go to multiple locations Shadow Organization’s hideouts she intended to target.

Jade was done waiting. Her hatred for Shadow Organization had festered long enough. She couldn’t dy any longer, even if it meant facing multiple high–level operatives like SPECTER, Queen of Clubs, and Jack of Diamonds simultaneously. Even if it meant potentially confronting their clone troops.

Every day she dyed put her at a disadvantage. As long as she had people she cared about, she was vulnerable. The moment she appeared in public, she’d be a target. Even here in this luxury apartment, she wasn’t safeb, /bas yesterday’s human bomb had proven.

And then there was Ethan. He’d already sacrificed too much time for her, spending weeks away from his business empire. Jade hated being dependent, hiding, waiting. The walls of this apartment, no matter how luxurious, were beginning to feel like a prison.

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