?Chapter 1022:


    Inside the car, Nate’s arm remained securely around Corrine’s waist, while his other hand rested casually on the door frame. He looked down at her, and their eyes met in an unexpected moment of stillness.


    Nate raised an eyebrow, a teasing smile tugging at his lips. “Are you scared now?”


    “Absolutely,” Corrine replied, her voiceced with yful sarcasm as she snuggled closer. “I’m positively terrified.”


    Nate indulged her with a soft, reassuring tone. “Don’t worry. I’ve got you.”


    Just then, Saul and Presley returned, tapping on the window.


    Nate slowly lowered it. Saul reported, his expression calm, “Mr. Hopkins, there’s no one in the vehicles.”


    Nate’s face remained impassive, his eyes revealing nothing. He nced at the overturned vehicle with barely a flicker of interest. “Leave a team to secure the area. The rest of you, return.”


    Presley frowned, about to speak, but when he saw Corrine still sitting in the car, he thought better of it.


    Once the team was ready, they resumed their journey toward the Grand Pce.


    But Presley seemed distracted now—his mind elsewhere—narrowly avoiding a collision with another vehicle. Thankfully, Saul grabbed the wheel just in time.


    A cold sweat broke out on Saul’s forehead as he instinctively nced at Nate and Corrine in the back seat. Lowering his voice, he chided Presley, “What’s going on in your head?”


    Presley snapped back to reality, his eyes meeting Nate’s and Corrine’s through the rearview mirror. He bit his lip before finally speaking up, unable to hold back any longer. “Mr. Hopkins, besides your grandfather, who else knows about your return to the Independent Continent?”


    Nate’s movements were always tightly controlled, especially given the shadows that threatened him at every turn. But the appearance of the three vehicles seemed far too coordinated to be a coincidence.


    Nate’s gaze cut through Presley with a cold, piercing intensity, his silence more damning than any words.


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    Presley shivered but pushed forward. “This is all too strange. Those vehicles—it’s like they were waiting for us. They seemed to know exactly when we’d leave the Hopkins family estate, and… no one was in them…”


    The mystery hung heavy—they had surrounded the three vehicles, yet there was no trace of anyone behind the wheel.


    At that moment, Corrine, still loungingfortably against Nate’s shoulder, let out a soft, knowingugh. “Autonomous driving technology.”


    Frustration creased Presley’s brow. He was certain Corrine had missed the point, addingyers of confusion to an already convoluted puzzle. Nate gently took Corrine’s hand, brushing his thumb across her palm with a yful glint in his eye. “Any thoughts?”


    Corrine sighed, a faint smile tugging at her lips. “Those cars are custom-built. It’s no surprise they’re outfitted with autonomous driving technology.”


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