?Chapter 1676:


    Jayden rushed to her side, enfolding her in protective arms. “Tracy’s not ready to see you. Shall we leave?”


    Misery etched deep lines across her features as she nodded in defeat. “What choice do I have? She’s hidden away like a turtle in its shell, and I can’t force her out.”


    Jayden released a gentle sigh as he helped her rise.


    Above them, unseen, Tracy watched their retreat through tear-zed eyes.


    Her phone’s sudden ring shattered her reverie—Hardy’s name zed across the screen. Her movements were mechanical as she answered.


    “Well done. Elyse gave up and left,” Hardy reported. “Your cover’s blown, but we can buy you some time.”


    Tracy’s voice wavered. “She was crying just now… so heartbroken. It’s…”


    Elyse had waited anxiously for a day, her unease growing with each passing hour without news about Tracy. When the weight of uncertainty finally crushed her resolve, she sought out Jayden, who met her imploring gaze with grim news.


    “My surveince team only spotted Lowell entering the viplex, no sign of Tracy.”


    “Then she can’t be there, right?” A tremor of desperate hope threaded through Elyse’s voice.


    Jayden’s shoulders sagged beneath an invisible burden. “There are others inside. I believe Tracy sensed something and sought sanctuary there.”


    Elyse’s teeth worried at her lower lip as determination crystallized within her. “Where’s this vi area? I need you to take me.”


    His eyebrows arched in surprise. “You want to see Tracy? Are you certain she wants to see you?”


    “I have to try,” Elyse breathed, her resolve firm beneath the softness.


    After weighing the consequences, Jayden relented. “Very well, I’ll take you.”


    A suffocating silence enveloped their journey to the vi area. At a particr entrance, Elyse stood mesmerized by the dying sun, her emotions churning like storm-tossed waves.


    Her trembling finger found the doorbell. Once, twice, then frantically she pressed it, each chime swallowed by crushing silence. As desperation seized her, her fists thundered against the door. “Tracy, I know you’re in there! Pleasee out!” Her anguished pleas echoed unanswered until she copsed, tears streaming down her face.


    Jayden rushed to her side, enfolding her in protective arms. “Tracy’s not ready to see you. Shall we leave?”


    Misery etched deep lines across her features as she nodded in defeat. “What choice do I have? She’s hidden away like a turtle in its shell, and I can’t force her out.”


    Jayden released a gentle sigh as he helped her rise.


    Above them, unseen, Tracy watched their retreat through tear-zed eyes.


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