?Chapter 1174:


    Relief and confusion warred within Sadie as she drew a steadying breath, forcing her racing pulse to slow.


    As long as he was willing to help Noah, everything else could be negotiated, adjusted, or ovee.


    She gave a casual shrug, though her voice required conscious effort to maintain its rxed tone.


    “That’s fine. If you can save Noah, we can discusspensation—provided your demands remain within the realm of possibility.” Her gaze locked onto his, searching for any hint of his true intentions.


    Her words seemed to trigger something deeper within him, and he turned toward the expansive window, his attention drawn to something beyond the ss.


    His profile revealed the tension he’d been concealing—jaw muscles tight, eyes reflecting emotions tooplex for Sadie to interpret with certainty. The silence stretched between them before he faced her again, wearing a smile that concealed more than it revealed.


    “We have an agreement.”


    Wave after wave of relief crashed through Sadie’s chest, though she fought to keep the emotion from showing on her face.


    Stuart hesitated, weighing each word before they left his lips.


    “Ms. Hudson, I’m curious about the depth of your knowledge regarding my background.”


    Confusion creased Sadie’s forehead as she tried to decode the underlying meaning of his question.


    Theprehensive investigation she hadmissioned on Stuart had yielded frustratingly little information, as if someone had systematically erased most traces of his existence.


    The few facts she had managed to gather painted a picture of exceptional brilliance in neuroscience,bined with an almost hermit-like existence that made him nearly impossible to track or predict.


    References to family appeared only once in all her research—a twin brother whose existence seemed almost mythical.


    Every trace of this brother had vanished sopletely that it suggested deliberate erasure, as if someone with considerable resources had methodically eliminated his digital footprint from existence.


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    “Dr. Lawson, I need you to rify your meaning.”


    The man raised his head slowly, and Sadie found herself staring into eyes that gleamed like polished metal—hard, cold, and utterly unforgiving.


    “The man you believe you’re addressing doesn’t exist in this room. I am his brother—Hurst Lawson.”


    Shock drained all color from Sadie’s face, leaving her expressionpletely vacant.


    Her head snapped toward Tina, only to find her assistant’s face mirroring the same devastating realization.


    The individual who had presented himself as Stuart Lawson throughout their entire interaction was now dering himself to be someone else entirely—Hurst?


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