Chapter 732
Charlotte had just stepped out of the shower, water droplets clinging to her skin as she gave her hair a quick rub with a towel. She didn’t bother with anything fancy, just tossed the towel aside and headed straight to the desk. The chair creaked quietly as she sat and powered up her laptop.
She scrolled through everything she’d dug up at the research institute, cross- checking pharmaceutical ingredient lists from around the world. Still, there was nothing. No trace of any mysterious “D” compound. Whoever had covered this up twenty years ago had done a flawless job. It made her wonder just how deep their connections ran.
Solenia wasn’t exactly simple, either. The city was a maze of hidden players, alliances, and secrets. This wasn’t something she could rush. It would take time to unravel.
Charlotte bit her lip, then dropped a task into the N Organization’s intelligence feed. She hesitated, then opened up Anthony’s profile and shot him a message.
[Need your help with something.]
Anthony was in the middle of hacking into N Organization’s Falcon Unit when her message popped up. He’d just realized they already had a plan in place for him. Falcon Unit was no joke. They were top-tier, the kind of organization that kept even the best assassins up at night. Back when X Organization went head-to-head with N Organization, Falcon Unit was the reason N Organization hadn’t been wiped out.
Now, though, the whole unit was moving. All for him. That much was obvious. But what really got his attention was that they knew he was in Solenia… and nobody had told Lottie. That was odd.
He smirked and typed back. [Lottie, just say the word.]
Charlotte never asked for favors, not unless she was up against something she couldn’t handle alone. That thought made Anthony pause. Lately, she’d been out and about more than usual, other than the competition. Her ability to shake a tail was legendary, so he hadn’t risked following too closely.
She was investigating something. Maybe it had to do with her mother.
Lottie: [Check out everything the A1 Research Institute did in Solenia twenty years ago. I want to know exactly where the “D” compound ended up.]
N Organization’s intel was good, but X Organization’s was just as sharp. With both groups digging, they’d cover every angle.
Anthony: [On it. I’ll handle it.]
A1 Research Institute. So it really was about her mom.
He sent the message, then opened the X Organization’s network and posted an order. [Drop everything. Investigate all movements related to the Laboratory in Solenia from twenty years ago
[Anthony, you want us to stop everything?]
Halting all operations would cost them a fortune. He didn’t care.
[Yes, everything.]
Nothing mattered more than Lottie.
He’d barely finished when a video call request flashed across his screen. Anthony grinned, hit accept and Charlotte’s face appeared. She was beautiful, no matter the lighting. Her hair was still damp, her pajamas a little mussed, collarbone catching the soft glow from her lamp. There was something quietly seductive about her, even when she wasn’t trying.
His throat tightened. He couldn’t help but wonder if she was calling him this late just
to mess with his head.
“You’re not at home?”
She noticed the unfamiliar background right away. Her eyes sharpened, and the mood shifted. It felt like a wife checking up on her husband, all alert and watchful.
“No, I’m not,” Anthony admitted. “Had some work to deal with, so I’m staying at a hotel.”
“Oh.”
She answered, but her mind was
clearly somewhere else. She blinked, fingers moving quickly over her
phone, probably tracking
location. After he’d nearly blown his
cover at the competition earlier, Anthony had expected her to start getting suspicious.