?Chapter 407:
That evening, Freya met with Ashley once more, who had finally reported back to the man behind her. The man, seeing Ashley on the video call, was taken aback by her newfound boldness. He had always viewed her as the docile pawn, but now she was showing a defiance he hadn’t expected.
“Failed?” the man asked, his image flickering on the screen, his body the only part visible as he sat in the shadows. “You know exactly what I told you.”
“After thest incident, Kristian no longer trusts me,” Ashley admitted, her voice trembling. “I’ve really tried my best.”
The man sat motionless, casually spinning his ring between his fingers. Ashley couldn’t see his face, nor could she decipher the emotion behind his silence. All she could hear was the relentless ticking of the clock on his end, each second stretching out and tightening the knot of panic and fear growing heavier in her chest.
“It seems I’ll have to spread your secrets to your neighbors and your brother’s school,” the man finally said, his voice deliberate, his long, slender fingers moving with a calcted grace, as if each one was sculpted to perfection. Ashley’s eyes widened in fear.
The man’s tone was measured as he spoke again, “Your brother is taking the SATs next year, right?”
“I have another way!” Ashley responded quickly, following the n Freya hadid out for her. If not for her steely resolve, she might have crumbled by now.
The man’s silence was unnerving as he waited for her response. Ashley, with sweaty palms, sat before herputer and said, “We can have Freya Briggs take action.”
At the mention of Freya’s name, the man reacted. A light chuckle escaped him before he spoke again. “Go on.”
“Kristian is trying to win Freya back. Because of some past events, he feels guilty toward her,” Ashley continued, her throat tightening as she swallowed hard, the fear evident in her voice. “Freya can definitely kill him. It’s just…” she trailed off, her voice faltering.
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What the man didn’t know was that a piece of papery in front of Ashley’sputer.
On the desk in front of Ashley was a script Freya had carefully prepared, anticipating the man’s questions and providing Ashley with the exact words to say. When people were nervous, they often stumbled over their words or forgot their lines. With this script, Ashley was less likely to make a mistake.
“Just what?” the man asked, his voice low,manding her to continue.
“I’m not sure how to exploit Freya’s weaknesses to force her into this,” Ashley confessed, not ncing at the script in front of her. “But I can assure you, if she agrees to do it, it will seed.”
As Ashley spoke, the man’s eyes, hidden from her view, darkened with an unreadable intensity. He stared at her through the screen, his thoughts shifting to Kristian. Finally, he spoke, his voice low and measured. “You just said Kristian is trying to win Freya back?”
“Yes,” Ashley responded, confused by the question but answering truthfully.
“Forget about Kristian for now,” the man said slowly, his voice chilling. “Just stay put in Alerith.”
Ashley was left bewildered. After everything, was he giving up?
“Keep your phone on you,” the man said, his voice calm but carrying a sharp edge. “Don’t make it hard for me to contact you when I need to.”
Ashley didn’t dare probe further. The moment she whispered a meek “yes,” the man abruptly ended the video call, severing the connection as if slicing a taut thread. His gaze drifted toward the glowingputer screen, his fingers idly toying with a ring as though it were a puzzle piece to arger enigma. He sat still, ensnared in thebyrinth of his own thoughts.
After a pause that hung thick in the air, he turned toward the man seated nearby and posed a chilling question. “Zane, tell me—would Dorothy feel a deeper satisfaction in dismantling Kristian’spany and ending his life, or in helping him conquer Freya’s heart, only for her to kill his beloved woman herself?”
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