Chapter 1896

chapter1896

Only the dead have no memories.

Nellie could easily pick up on the underlying message in Santos's words. She glanced at the elite assassins, her fingers clenching tight, and whispered to Jim beside her, "They're after me. I'll distract them, and you try to get away."

Jim tightened his grip on Nellie's arm. "No way. If anyone's leaving, we're leaving together."

Even though he didn't fully understand Nellie's past, he couldn't bring himself to use her as a decoy to escape these assassins.

Feeling the pressure on her arm, a hint of bitterness crept into Nellie's heart. "You don't stand a chance against them. And remember, Mira's situation is even more dangerous. You need to save your strength to find her."

If she hadn't rushed back without her special gear, these assassins wouldn't have been a problem.

Or maybe... this was all part of Santos's elaborate plan.

"Even if the odds are against us, I'm not letting you face them alone," Jim declared, his grip firm. Years of leading hadn't been for nothing, and his face showed no fear. "Elite assassins or not, I, Jim, won't back down."

"But-"

Nellie wanted to say more, but was cut off by the sound of applause.

"What a devoted pair," Santos said casually, clapping with a mocking gaze fixed on Jim, as if he were nothing more than a bug. "Keir indeed, tougher than most."

At this, Grady, who had been standing by, suddenly put two and two together and exclaimed, "The assassination attempt-it was you!"

For weeks, he had been digging into who was behind the attempt on Keir's life. While all signs pointed to the council, something felt off. Now it all clicked. ? ?s? ?s f?ndnovel.net

"How else could we draw out Keir's beloved?" Santos nodded, not denying it. "You should be thanking me. Without my intervention, you might never have seen our leader again."

Nellie's fingers clenched so tightly her nails nearly broke the skin. "Shut up."

"Oh, haven't you told them about your past?" Santos teased, clearly enjoying the moment.

Nellie met Santos's gaze with icy silence.

"So when you first went to the Davis family and showed me those

photos you were already setting the

stage Jim spoke calmly, steering clear of questions about Nellie's past.

"Exactly." Santos's face was the same one he always used in public. "You were the key to our entry into the Massolio family. If nothing happened to you, how would Nellie show herself? And how would Can your niece-come to your rescue?"

Massolio?

Jim's eyes darkened. He had noticed a familiar bond between Nellie and his niece, as if they had known each other for ages. But before he could ponder it further, Santos's voice

ced through again.

"Though I didn't expect your blood to be the genetically mutated A3 subtype," Santos clicked his tongue.

No wonder Nellie had infiltrated the base years ago, destroying all the blood experiment data and misleading them into thinking she was the one with the rare blood type.

"What do you mean?" Jim asked, a frown creasing his forehead. He sensed a deeper layer to Santos's words, perhaps linked to Nellie's long disappearance.