bChapter /bb224 /b

    Briar slept until two in the afternoon, missing lunch entirely.

    Ashton was no longer in bed. When Briar came downstairs, she saw Brandon standing by the dining table with a conflicted expression, as if holding back words, while Ashton, an apron tied around his waist, was stepping out of the kitchen.

    He carried a bowl of thick soup, its murky surface dotted with shreds of what appeared to be stew meat.

    Seeing Brandon’s reaction and Ashton dressed like that, Briar raised an eyebrow. “Ashton, did you cook this?” she asked.

    Ashton turned at the sound. “You’re up? Perfect timing. I made some soup. Come have some.”

    Briar felt a little touched, dashed over, and plopped herself down at the table, propping her chin on her hand, her eyes full of anticipation. She pretended not to notice the kitchen trash full of butchered ingredients and a shattered casserole dish.

    Ashton ced the bowl of soup in front of her, grabbed a spoon, and gently stirred it to cool it down. “It’s my first time cooking. Give it a try.”

    Briar took the spoon, scooped up a little, blew on it, and then took a bite, tasting it seriously. “It’s yummy. You’ve got some serious cooking talent, Ashton!”

    Ashton let out a sigh of relief. “I’m so d you like it.”

    ‘All those hours I spend ving over the stove are worth it,‘ he added in his mind.

    Briar seemed to love the meat soup Ashton made. Her slender fingers never left the spoon as she ate it spoonful by spoonful, finishing everyst drop.

    Having someone polish off his very first homemade dish like that boosted Ashton’s confidence.

    Full and satisfied, Briar wiped her mouth, stood up, and shed Ashton a smile before asking, “Shall we head out nowi?/ii” /i

    It was time to go and deal with the Garzas.

    She was just too sweet, and Ashton couldn’t find any reason to refuse her, so he nodded. “Okay. Let’s go now.”

    Brandon wiped theplicated look off his face and quickly headed out. He would be driving.

    Outside, the wind was picking up, whipping Briar’s hair all over the ce. Ashton shifted to shield her from the gusts, gently smoothed out her messy hair, and pulled her hoodie up over her head. “I noticed you always liked wearing hats back when you were in Qathana,” he said.

    That was something he’d seen when he was looking into her before. There were some photos attached to the files.

    Ever since she was five, Briar had worn hats in public, like baseball caps and hoodies, anything to shield her face. Few photos of her without one even existed.

    Briar nodded, her tonezy and a bit smug as she said, “Yeah, I’m good–looking. Wearing a hat cuts down at least half the people trying to hit on me.”

    Ashton was at a loss for words.

    He knew Briar was stating a fact, but the way she showed off still made both him and Brandon burst outughing.

    (+28)

    When the Garzas lost contact with Hayden, Geoff immediately gathered his family and took shelter in their secluded safe house outside the city. They thought they were being discreet, but the truth was, Ashton’s people had been monitoring their every move

    from the start.

    So basically, from the moment they left the vi to the second they pulled up at the safe house, they were under Ashton’s people’s watch the entire way.

    So after an hour’s drive, when their car stopped right in front of the Garzas‘ safe house and Ashton and Briar got out together, Qeturah, who was sitting in front of the surveince monitor, jumped up from his chair in fright.

    Hepletely lost it, shouting, “Dad! Dad! They’re here! They found us…”

    ‘This family is bound to fall apart sooner orter, with such a useless father and a spoiled, ipetent brother,‘ Manny thought, looking at Qeturah, who was scared out of his mind, her face full of contempt and frustration.

    Norma was so terrified she could barely speak. “This is the end. Our family is doomed.”

    Geoff let out a low sigh. One careless move, and everything was lost. All the years of hard work by the Garza family, and in the end, it all ended up ruined in Hayden’s hands.

    “Manny, go to the door and show Mr. Wade and Miss Jennings in,” Geoff said to Manny after a moment.

    Manny nodded, got up, and went to open the door.

    Soon, Ashton and Briar walked in, followed by a group of men in ck. The moment they entered, the men in ck immediately surrounded the Garzas. If the Garzas hadn’t been so obedient, they probably would’ve been tackled to the ground on the spot.

    “Mr. Wade, Miss Jennings,” Geoff’s voice was rough with age and exhaustion. Knowing full well Ashton and his people wouldn’t let them off easy, he stood up and gave Ashton and Briar a slight bow to show his respect.

    Seeing this, the other three quickly followed suit, standing up and bowing as they greeted, “Mr. Wade, Miss Jennings.”

    They were putting on the most pitiful, respectful act imaginable.

    Brandon narrowed his eyes. ‘Do these people seriously think that just because they’re bowing and scraping, Mr. Wade and Miss Jennings will let them go?‘

    Honestly, that was exactly what Geoff hoped for.

    Even though he knew Ashton’s people had already uncovered all the Garzas‘ overseasbs, those were just their foreign operations, and they didn’t touch anything in the domestic market. Ben thought maybe Ashton just wanted to stand up for Briar and wouldn’t go so far as to wipe out the entire Garza family.

    Perhaps this was just the desperate self–delusion of a drowning man, onest attempt to cling to hope before the storm hit.

    Ashton frowned, watching the family’s pathetic, two–faced disy. He didn’t even spare them a nce, just waiting for Briar to speak.

    Briar sneered. “What’s with the whole weak and pitiful act? You sure didn’t act like this when you were pushing those experimental drugs on my mom, did you? And maybe you can walk me through how you managed to steal her brain after she died, without anyone noticing? I want all the gory details.”

    Geoff’s eyes widened in shock. Briar’s words cut right through his self–delusion. “Miss Jennings, there’s been a misunderstanding here. I can exin…”

    09:55 Sun, 24 Aug 0

    Briar’s voice was t, cold as steel, every word cutting through the air with terrifying authority.

    A , 72%2

    Geoff couldn’t help but think that the real reason Briar was able to stay so calm was all because of thatst sentence, that she wanted all the gory details.

    ‘What kind of steely resolve does it take to demand the details of her own mother’s brain getting harvested?‘ Ben thought in fear.

    Qeturah’s legs gave out, and he dropped to his knees with a loud thud. “It wasn’t me… It wasn’t my fault…”

    +28

    Norma tried a few times to haul her husband back up, but when that didn’t work, she just gave up and got down on her knees, too. “It wasn’t me either, it was all the rest of the Garzas!”

    Geoff never saw his son and daughter–inw’s betrayaling. His wrinkled face cycled through every shade of shock and indignation.

    Briar couldn’t help but feel amused by the way this family was tearing each other apart. But she wanted to see just how low they’d stoop. So she stood there, arms crossed, watching the spectacle in cold silence.

    B