?Chapter 1073:


    Nate’s warm, calloused palm slid over Corrine’s eyes, shielding her from the bloody scene. His other arm coiled around her waist, drawing her tightly against him.


    “It’s bad luck to linger near the dead,” he murmured.


    Just as he turned to lead her away, the door burst open. Presley stormed in with his men, moving like shadows in the night. In mere moments, the remaining adversaries copsed one by one, their lifeless bodies hitting the floor without a final cry.


    Nate barely spared them a nce. His icy stare swept over the corpses, regarding them as nothing more than insects crushed beneath his heel. He might have let things slide if they had yed their tricks elsewhere. But they had crossed the line the moment they targeted Corrine.


    “Clean it up,” hemanded.


    Presley nodded. “Understood.”


    As Corrine brushed past Presley, a flicker of insight shed in her eyes. His timely arrival, the ruthless precision with which he disposed of the remaining enemies—he hadn’t just stumbled upon the scene. He had been lying in wait all along.


    There was no doubt about it. The man had earned his ce as one of Nate’s most trusted aides.


    Once Nate and Corrine exited, Mandy let out a long sigh of relief. Had anything happened to Corrine tonight, even death wouldn’t have been enough to atone for her failure.


    Presley surveyed the room, his sharp gaze lingering on the fallen bodies before shifting to Mandy. A trace of admiration surfaced in his eyes. “It’s been a few years… You’ve improved.”


    Mandy pressed her lips into a thin line. “Tonight, both Mr. Hopkins and Miss Hond joined the fight.”


    A simple statement, yet it sent a chill down Presley’s spine.


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    Nate rarely dirtied his hands. If he had stepped in himself tonight, it meant he had been truly enraged.


    Meanwhile, Saul crouched beside the bodies, rifling through their belongings in search of any clues. “What about the nearby vi?” he asked, his fingers flipping through a bloodstained wallet.


    Presley tucked his gun into the waistband at his back and motioned for his men to continue cleaning up. “Didn’t hear anything—”


    Before he could finish, a voice boomed from the adjacent balcony. “Are they all dead over there?”


    Presley and Saul exchanged nces before making their way through the debris-littered living room to the open balcony.


    Across the distance, Presley called out, “What’s your status?”


    Vulture stood on the other side, casually lighting a cigarette. The ember red, casting fleeting shadows across his sharp features as a curl of smoke escaped his lips. “There were six here,” he said, exhaling. “One’s still breathing. You shoulde get them.”


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