?Chapter 1293:


    Sadie took a deep breath and gently pulled away. “How’s ine holding up?”


    Noah raised an eyebrow, feigning irritation, a spark of jealousy slipping into his voice. “Honestly, the way you worry about him is making me jealous.”


    Sadie rolled her eyes and shot him a look. “Can you drop the jokes for once?”


    Noah grinned, lighthearted even when the situation demanded seriousness. He reached over and mussed Sadie’s hair, his expression softening. “Rx. ine’s tougher than he looks—he just needs time to recover.”


    He paused, studying Sadie’s face as his eyes grew serious. “Sadie, is there something you’re not telling me?”


    Those words hit Sadie unexpectedly, leaving her momentarily stunned. Her thoughts raced. Was there anything she could say that would even make sense? For some reason, Jack’s broken phone shed through her mind, along with that strange message. Had Noah really instructed Jack to rescue Hailey behind the scenes?


    Her gaze drifted away from Noah’s; she found herself unable to meet his eyes. A sigh escaped him. “If there’s something bothering you, you can just tell me,” said Noah, his voice calm. “I sent Jack out that day to check on something for me. I still don’t have all the answers, so I’m not ready to exin just yet.” Nothing in his eyes suggested he was hiding anything—he lookedpletely honest.


    Caught in that unwavering stare, Sadie realized he’d seen straight through her doubt, and embarrassment crept into her cheeks as she nodded, flustered. Compared to his honesty, her suspicions suddenly felt silly and unfounded. She lowered her voice. “I… I understand.”


    Sadie deliberately fixed her eyes on the floor.


    “Oh, right,” she said after a beat. “I ran into Beal, Alex’s assistant, downstairs. He mentioned Alex was at Nirvana yesterday, too.”


    Noah’s expression tightened, his brows knitting together as a trace of surprise flickered in his gaze.


    “Alex was at Nirvana yesterday?”


    The coincidence was too sharp to ignore. It lined up almost too well with the theory he and ine had had. If Alex had really shown up there… was he tied to Tina’s and Malcolm’s deaths? Or worse…


    g??????σv??????.c?m – check it out!


    Sadie’s eyes stayed on Noah as she quietly read the subtle shifts in his face. “What is it?” she asked gently.


    “Nothing,” he replied, his tone clipped yet calm.


    He reached out and softly brushed a thumb beneath her eye, tracing the faint weariness shadowing her skin. “You’ve had a long day, Sadie. Let’s head back to Myrtlewood Estate and get some rest.”


    “I’m not tired,” she said, shaking her head with quiet determination. “I need to find Alex and ask if he saw anything yesterday.”


    At this point, every sliver of information mattered—there was no room for missed chances.


    Noah exhaled, a soft sigh escaping as he took in her resolve. “I’ll go.”


    Sadie paused, concern flickering in her eyes. The history between Noah and Alex was far from smooth, always teetering on the edge of conflict. She feared their next meeting could ignite another spark.


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